"So, like the vast majority of people who try drugs, we aged out. We left marijuana behind. I don’t have any problem with somebody who gets high from time to time, but I guess, on the whole, I think being stoned is not a particularly uplifting form of pleasure"
Yup - contrary to the Reefer Madness blather on this thread, they didn't turn into heroin addicts, wards of the state, or zombies standing in the rain. I think playing video games or watching reality shows or professional wrestling "is not a particularly uplifting form of pleasure" either - but that's no reason to imprison those who do, or those who supply those non-uplifting pleasures.
"I’d say that in healthy societies government wants to subtly tip the scale to favor temperate, prudent, self-governing citizenship. [...] In legalizing weed, citizens of Colorado are, indeed, enhancing individual freedom. But"
No but - individual freedom IS self-governance ... the alternative is one group of citizens governing a different group. And there's nothing "subtle" about imprisonment; if one wants to "subtly tip the scale" against pot, one will support sin taxes, warning labels, and public service messages - none of which (except, if taken to excess, the taxes) will help enrich criminals as the illegality of pot does.
Yeah, only one in six becomes addicted now, presumably with less use than will occur if it’s legal. No problem.
Please provide a link to any of the following that make exactly the claims that you and others have made — that pot is less harmful as cigs or not harmful at all:
1. Growers.
2. Producers.
3. Distributors.
4. Retail shops.
And it can't be a loosely affiliated group of pro-pot entities. It must be directly and financially tied to the above entities. Either funded by or somehow financially tied.
Why, because by making the claims that you and others are making, if you were a business making money off of those “claims,” that later turned out to be wrong, you would be open to litigation. Just like the tobacco manufactures of a few years ago.
We have the history of tobacco to refer to. And the tobacco companies made similar claims when it was clear that tobacco was indeed harmful.
Also, these links must be very clear. No mights or maybes or we don't know right now, or further studies are necessary.