Does it mean it's a good idea to ban alcohol though? Since exactly the same applies.
Drugs problems aren't banned away. It simply doesn't work - it isn't working.
Nobody believes that, you know that right?
Cannabis isn't physically addictive. That's tabloid stuff. No drug is totally harmless, yes, but cannabis is certainly one of the least harmful in existence.
"There's a strong desire to use, which overrides other activities, so friends and hobbies and work are neglected," he says. ""There's difficulty in controlling the amounts you use. There's a degree of tolerance developed so you need higher doses to have the same effect. And then you persist in using despite the fact it's causing you ill health or debt."
The main thing that separates cannabis from heroin or nicotine is that the physical withdrawal state is not normally as severe."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2004/jun/17/thisweekssciencequestionsTo be honest, though, it's the idea to which I object. The fact of criminalizing people for what *they* put in their bodies, for something that is no crime, I find to be more pernicious than the existence of any harmful drugs themselves.
It's a personal decision.
I think you meant it's the thought of it. If that's what we're dealing with, then I truly believe that the thought that (if/when I have a child) my 18 year old son/daughter saying "It's my choice and I'm going to do it!" is certainly not going to put an end to my striving for them to stop, even if it involves me snatching the drugs off them and destroying it (which would count as theft, or violating the property of others, in the eyes of some people here I guess). I would never in a million years accept their choice too waste away the rest of their life on hard drugs, even if it is their free choice.
You see, it's just the thought of saying "Ok son/daughter. I respect your choice. I'll sit here and watch you exercise your freedom" that I am against.
And, call me old-fashioned if you will. But some coke addict begging for more, having severe withdrawal effects, desiring nothing, no food, no love, no friends, no life... just a little bit more white powder up their nose... if they whisper to me: "I'm free" I'm going to say "No, you're really not". If freedom is anything, it's not that.