If we were to just now discover alcoholic drinks and tobacco -- with our modern ability to discern their issues -- they might indeed be immediately outlawed. That they're not is mostly an accident of history because of the eras in which they were discovered and our lack of medical understanding.

Nicotine is by any measure highly addictive and it's what keeps many people from permanently quitting smoking. We know the problems with alcohol, but because it's been around for thousands of years we've accepted a certain social cost to its usage, foolishly in my opinion. (The late-19th and early 20th century temperance movements sought to stamp it out, as did our failed attempt at prohibition, and look what it's done to Russia and other eastern European states.)

Opium and opium-based drugs, as well as cocaine (from the coca leaf) were at one time widely available (Opium wars, legal opium dens, etc.) but society relatively quickly (at least, quickly as it relates to the long scale of history) recognized that opiates were harmful and highly addictive and moved to control their use. Hopefully, we can do the same with opiates, because we've been sold a massive bill of goods on their safety, for one.

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"Politics is just show business for ugly people."

I'm fast-forwarding to July 1, where pot will become legal all across Canada, and what will then happen, at land and airport US Customs check-points. That could get VERY interesting.

No one seems to be talking about this. I've not seen one mention in the media at all.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

What makes so little sense to me is that if you're going to rank drugs in terms of potential to lead to dependence/addiction and the health consequences of regular use, marijuana is a pretty benign drug. I'd rank it somewhere between caffeine and alcohol. Probably closer to caffeine than alcohol. I've used all 3 habitually (at modest levels) at various times in my life and caffeine was by far the hardest to stop due to the splitting headaches which ensue. Neither caffeine nor marijuana will absolutely wreck your health like a serious drinking problem.

So how does it benefit the gov't? If it didn't, it wouldn't have gotten to the point it is now.

Oh, that's easy! Big Pharma and health insurance company lobbyists directly fund politicians. Mountains of taxes fund the gubment.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Cigarettes would be easier to effectively ban than either pot or alcohol.

Pot grows anywhere. Of course good pot takes better conditions, but you can grow it on your patio, harvest and smoke the same day.

I make alcohol by accident. This fall I pressed some cider, a couple gallons got left in the sun for a couple days, and I have hard cider. Anyone can make wine type products with nothing but a jug, a stopper, and some tubing in a glass.

Neither takes any effort or facilities.

Tobacco takes more of both than most people would put up with.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

A LEO I know would rather have pot legal and alcohol not mainly because he said dealing with someone stoned is infinitely easier than someone that is drunk. Just offer them a bag of Cheetos and you are good to go.

That being said I too have never done it but believe it should be legal recreationally.