[Do you believe that legalization would lead to a large surge in addictions? Curious. Do you think there are more alcoholics than there were under/because of prohibition?]
It is at best my logical assumption. I do not purport to know or have researched it. Maybe I am wrong. I have no idea about whether or not there were more or less alcoholics before or after prohibition. I do know that 70 years ago, there was personal accountability and honor in a larger percentage of American citizens. I do believe that two generations ago were more responsible and accountable. Today, drugs are the crutch and the reason someone's life is ruined, it never has anything to do with bad choices. I don't think our "more socialist" society is responsible enough to NOT use a "legal" dangerous and destructive narcotic. Therefore, I believe MORE people would want to "try" it, many would like it and "try" it several times and that is about all it takes to "need" it.
This is just my opnion based on experience. I have know a couple of great people with high ideals, enthusiastic passion for life and hardworking that ended up dead, in jail, and unknown of respectively. I cannot explain what led them to their eventual demise other than my first hand knowledge of them just "trying" those drugs. In all three cases, they just tried cocaine and graduated to other stuff. Two of the three, to my knowledge, weren't even pot users before they "tried" cocaine.
If three good decision makers made bad decisions and ruined their lives, I shudder to think of how many feable minded Americans would run out to try the new legal pleasure and like it.