As for legalization of marijuana, even Britain is reconsidering its leniant legislation:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article332383.ece
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The original decision to drop cannabis's status to C also reflected advice that it carries a lower risk of addiction and health-related problems than other drugs. However, fresh studies have since indicated that there is a strong link between the drug and "psychotic symptoms".
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I think that you have to go one way or another: either legalize it with taxation & regulation, or keep it illegal.
I worry that decriminalization alone would put WAY too much money in the drug trade. People sometimes have a utopian vision of marijuana being grown by nice old hippies beside crops of corn. Not so, the marijuana is a mafia-controled, violent business.
Furthermore, the marijuana we (
err, I mean some folks who partake in such illagal activitiues) get today is a whole different drug than it was in the 60's & 70's, it can be a very hard drug. The biggest problem is you don't know if you're goig to get a mild buzz, or end up laying on your back, seeing spots and speeking to God.
That unpredictability is dangerous. Imagine if you didn't know whether one beer would get you flat-faced drunk?