Virtually nobody smokes anymore, or certainly not on the prior scale, so I don’t think that’s it.
The fact is that pot is not good for you and also has no social history. Alcohol has been used by many cultures throughout history, has health benefits, and is only a problem when it is used to excess.
Marijuana, hashish and the derivatives are popular in ME cultures (we can all see how great they are!) because Islam permits it. It has no health benefits other than being a pain killer, the smoke is worse than tobacco smoke in terms of tars, and it has a proven record of causing long term problems without even long term use, particularly among adolescents.
Look at an alcohol permitting culture and a pot permitting culture. Which one do you want to be part of?
No social history... only where there’s been hemp, fire, and some imagination. Maybe it’s such a small deal that it doesn’t gain the opprobrium that alcohol does.
I think you are being “conservative politically correct.” (Yes there is such a thing.)
I say the sooner we stop scapegoating THINGS the sooner we can credibly call PEOPLE to account for what they DO.