[benjaminmhaley]

The major problem with legalization is the incentive that companies have to promote addiction in our society. Tobacco use is much higher than it would be if it weren't for marketing that promotes tobacco (this is why those companies spend so much on marketing).

The same is true for alcohol, prescription medication, illegal drugs, and many non-drug products like food and materials goods. Businesses, legal and illegal, have an incentive to promote addiction that caters to customers short term desires but not their long term happiness and satisfaction.

The ultimate manifestation of this is the horrors inflicted on China from opium sales.

So we are stuck with a balancing act. Black markets create violence. Free markets create addiction. Planned markets create poverty. We need laws that try to balance these problems against each other and find the best mix of incentives to minimize violence, addiction, and poverty.

[drumdance]

Eh, smoking has declined in the US despite marketing. But even if you accept that addiction will go up, the deadweight loss of putting people in jail is enormous compared to spending that money on treatment and education.

Rates of alcoholism went up after prohibition but alcohol-related crime went way down.

Also, I've always thought this comic about Milton Friedman's predictions about drug prohibition explains the issue very well:

http://www.stuartmcmillen.com/comics_en/war-on-drugs/

[rapind]

Make the substances and use of them legal to sell and use on one's self. However, make it illegal to market / advertise the substance since that is much easier to control just using fines instead of incarceration.

Attach stigma to it, like we have done with cigarettes (though not e-cigs...). The art / film / literary world will still try to make it sexy (rebellious) on occasion, but without full on marketing it's unlikely you'd see widespread use.

Possibly tax it, although I'm not 100% onboard with that, since it would eventually motivate government to lift the marketing restrictions.

For anything that's instantly addictive after one or two uses, perhaps it would be possible and worthwhile to try and create a diluted version that's safe for people to try it out without completely destroying their life.