(last post on this thread)

hmk,

My two dissenting opinions:

As a rather libertarian minded thinker at heart, I am still willing to make sacrifices so that my State can protect me (Patriot Act for example, as I have no problem getting searched head to freakin toe before getting on a plane, as I expect everyone else to be since there is nothing to hide) Drugs are another, and here is why

#2 - Normal people dont say "hey lets shoot up this weekend!", but tragic things happen to normal people who then no longer think "normally" or "rationally". If normal Joe just lost his son to juvenile cancer thats gonna be a tough time, but normal Joe doesnt know any drug dealers and never has - enter the problem: now otherwise normal Joe is tempted to stroll into his local store and induce some euphoria to ease his pain - uh-oh, it consumed his life now and ruined himself and his whole once normal family. Then throw in the other side, youthful experimentation. I even once asked my regular dealer if he came across any meth or mescaline to let me know, out of sheer idiotic curiosity. Had I been able to stroll into my store and "check it out" one weekend since its legal, who knows, theres a chance it could have consumed my life (goodbye job/school, girlfriend, friends, family, etc) Fortunately for me, there was no "supply" to be found so I stuck with the weed.

I see and understand the two main angles - the ill-fought "drug war" and the freedom from state issue, but I and probably most Americans are comfortable sacrificing the $$$ spent, the lowlifes who resort to dealing, and the freedom to keep the supply as limited as humanly possible.