[Porsche-O-Phile]

I suspect legalization would have about a "zero" end effect on overall usage rates. Initially you'd see a spike, but after a month or two, I'd expect rates to drop to about where they were before the legalization. People who have a predisposition to abusing substances are ALWAYS going to abuse them, legal or not. That isn't going to change. The upside is that there would be more revenue directly from the taxation of the product to fund the abuse & recovery programs rather than having it come out of the general slush fund. That doesn't sound like a particularly bad thing.

Another positive benefit would be the law enforcement resources that could be freed up. Right now cops spend far too much time going after guys selling nickel bags than going after serious criminals.

Naturally these sorts of positions come from the point of view of a person that can make the distinction between "shades of grey" rather than seeing the entire world in black and white, like politicians. Unfortunately lawmakers strive to eliminate any sort of personal judgement from the lawbooks, lest some idiot misinterpret it and cause harm, undermining the intent of the law, or leave a loophole. The whole "zero tolerance" attitude is a major contributor to why our system is failing. I can see why it's done, but OTOH, it'd be awfully nice to have laws that said (effectively), "common sense will apply here - don't be a dumbass". In reality, that's what was originally intended with "trial by a jury of one's peers", but government found out pretty quickly thereafter that there's much more money and power to be made by sidestepping that wherever possible.