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I worry that legalizing marijuana throughout the country will create more people who are unfit to work or parent. OTOH, I don't want to put people in jail for harming themselves. Do you think marijuana should be legalized?

I'm certain that marijuana will not create more people who are unfit to work or parent than alcohol, immaturity and mental issues already do.

The reason for my certainty is based on two factors:

1) Marijuana is simply not a very strong drug. It does not free social and moral inhibitions the way alcohol does, and it definitely does not trigger the sort of violence that excessive alcohol does.

2) Marijuana is already freely available to anyone who wants it. Any person who wants to use marijuana in the US can obtain it with minimal effort, regardless of legality. This has been the case throughout my entire life - one kid I'd known since the third grade was dealing in the parking lot in high school, in a very nice area of Silicon Valley.

We're only making drug smugglers rich and sending some dumb kids to prison by keeping marijuana illegal. Enough lives have been ruined, enough Central American and Mexican gang members have been made millionaires.

We're only making drug smugglers rich and sending some dumb kids to prison by keeping marijuana illegal. Enough lives have been ruined, enough Central American and Mexican gang members have been made millionaires.

Guess what? They're not going away. If they're making money hand over fist selling it when it's illegal then why would they stop when it's legal? They're going to easily be able to undercut commercial pot.

The ONLY way to make them go away is to either make them the official dealers...in which case they're all for it. OR we have to have a war on drugs to end all war on drugs so it will no longer be profitable or wise to sell illegal pot.