“Whether it is legal or illegal has no bearing at all on whether or not people use it or do not use it.”
Hmmm, go to just about any Mid Eastern country and ask them whether their laws prevent what they consider bad behavior. Our laws aren’t draconian or have no teeth at all, or we end up just legalizing bad behavior. So, laws can indeed influence behavior. It just depends how stringent you want those laws to be.
Now, I actually don’t care who smokes marijuana within the confines of their home, but the minute they get in a car and start driving while under the influence, they are a lethal weapon as far as I am concerned. Same with alcohol. That’s when the tougher sanctions come in, because they are no longer just hurting themselves, but potentially others, as statistics will show.
I will not dispute posing a danger to others at all. That is when society must step in in my opinion.
However, even in mid eastern countries where, for example, homosexuality is punishable by death, the behavior still exists. That is another demon that some people are burdened with in this world, and those people will either defeat it or be defeated by it.
The legality of it has no bearing on the person engaged in that struggle.