You are assuming that if pot were legalized, total usage by the population would not increase. I tend to disagree with that assessment.

There would also be no "boost" to the national economy as a whole. Maybe some small farming communities in the South would see some more jobs, but it would not be a boon to the national economy.

The proliferation of gambling casinos across the country was full of the same promises..."It will help the ecomomy". It hasn't helped shit. Many said it would help the local economies. That hasn't happened either. Have you ever been to Atlantic City, NJ? Casinos were supposed to revitalize the entire town. That has never happened in the almost 30 years gambling has been allowed. It is beautiful in the casinos. Walk one block to the west of the boardwalk and you are in an urban blight shithole.

If pot were legalized, the cigarette companies would jump right into the business. Marijuana would also require a license to grow and market. It would be similar to how tobacco is currently handled. You would not be allowed to grow your own pot in your backyard and sell it. You can't grow your own tobacco and sell it under current law.

Any tax revenue that is derived from legalized marijuana sales would disappear into the general funds of various governments and would most likely be offset by the expense of more government run drug dependency programs and healthcare costs to treat problems related to increased pot usage.

I don't even know if you can calculate the loss to the national economy from the prospective loss of productivity. Some claim that business loses billions a year because of office web surfing and the loss of productivity that ensues. Legalized pot would most likely be far worse as far as overall productivity losses.

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Consider that even now, if you want to get weed, it's WIDELY available, even in schools.

So, you are saying you want to make it MORE widely available.

Don't parents have a hard enough time trying to keep their kids away from drugs? Now you are advocating government sanctioned availability of a drug.

It also seems that you may be in denial that pot is a "gateway drug".

How many drug and substance abuse counselors advocate the legalization of pot or any drug? Most of them are formers drug users. I don't think you find very many.

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Show me the down side of this that is not all cop / war on drugs propaganda that has been shoved down your throat since your teen years.

No "war on drugs" propaganda has ever been shoved down my throat.

I remember having similar conversations with friends as a 19 year old even while I was smoking a joint. Even while smoking pot I always thought it was the right thing that it was illegal. I never thought my desire to smoke a joint overrided the best interests of society as a whole.

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Madman, you're one of the biggest "don't beleive everything you read / consider the source" advocates here, yet on this subject, you're buying into all the bullshit the government has spewed about marijuana use.

You are correct. I don't think people should buy into everything they read and gather information from multiple sources and decide on their own.

However, regarding drugs... that includes marijuana... I think the government is on the correct side. I believe in fighting the good fight and I believe fighting against all narcotics and marijuana is the good fight.

I think you are a good guy Desert Rat. We agree on many issues. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree that we do not see eye to eye on this particular issue.

It doesn't make either of us a bad person.