The reason alcohol is such a huge problem is because of “accessibility”. It is available everywhere - stores, bars, liquor cabinets at home and the refrigerator.
I’m not advocating prohibition, just the fact that alcohol is the major problem it is simply because it is legal for adults and accessible to teenagers.
Legalizing pot will create and add to the abuse problem because it will be far more accessible one day, just like alcohol. The stigma of buying an illegal substance will be gone. It will be in the home - far more homes than when it was illegal. Sure, people were buying when illegal, but once legal - it will be far more within reach of kids and people who wouldn’t have tried it when it was illegal. It’s just a fact.
So, legalizing it, or any other drug, only creates more abuse problems. The question is, is legal access to it worth the societal damage it will create? I guess we’re going to find out.
I would argue that anyone who wants to smoke pot now has access to it.
In 100% of cases.
Marijuana is MORE accessible to teenagers BECAUSE it is illegal for adults - so sellers have no marginal incentive to not sell to kids.