The often peddled argument is that cannabis is a "soft drug" is, according to what I have seen, a complete lie. It is capable of completely and permanently altering a person's personality in negative ways. Also, I would not want my kids using it.
Food (or the addiction to it) is also "capable of completely and permanently altering a person's personality in negative ways". Outlawing a substance because of the potential for abuse does not solve the underlying problem.
Hopefully, when you say "according to what I have seen", you are referring to respected scientific literature rather than anecdotal experience and heresay...
> The often peddled argument is that cannabis is a "soft drug" is, according to what I have seen, a complete lie.
Cannabis is a "soft drug" when compared to drugs like heroin and cocaine - "soft" is a relative description. It is not meant to imply that using cannabis is entirely without negative effects.
Pointing out the existence of a worse legal poison is not a very good argument for the legalisation of another one. Perhaps it should not be used at all.
Another argument is the incredible damage that drug prohibition has done to our society. Millions of drug users have been criminalised and/or jailed just because they wanted to alter their state of mind. Drugs on the street are often tainted with adulterants. Violent drug cartels have wreaked absolute havoc on entire countries.
The war on drugs does not work, so let's take a fresh approach.
I hate to be the one to break this to you, but it is very likely that your teenage kids already have access through someone to marijuana [0], regardless of its legal status in your state.
The question you need to ask yourself isn't whether or not your teenage kids - soon to become independent adults - will try weed. The question is, do you want them to be educated about potential harms and get ID'd until they turn 21, or risk them getting an illegal product that isn't tested from a violence-ridden cartel (that doesn't check IDs, by the way)?
I highly recommend that you educate yourself about this drug, as I'm not sure of what scale of harmfulness cannabis can be classified as a "hard drug" [1]. The New York Times' 2014 editorial board's writeup on this issue is thoroughly documented and excellent [2].
Your teenage kids probably already know whom they could talk to if they wanted to buy marijuana. I'm pretty sure I did in the affluent US public school I went to. I was never interested, so maybe I'm wrong about one or two of the folks, but I knew at least 8 people whom I thought would be able to get me some.
People get addicted to drugs mainly because they self-medicate for anxiety or depression, that's what you should really worry about actually, concerning your children.
@Archio I hate to break it to you, but I was a teenager myself in to the so distant past and I am fully aware of the opportunities available. My point is that I don't want my kids being turned into stoners and that the law should be on MY side, not the guy pushing drugs on them.
GordonS> "Millions of drug users have been criminalised"
Well yes, they are criminals who have broken the law. Your argument is defeatist; drug prohibition works quite well in places like Japan and Singapore.
Do you honestly think that drug prohibition is working WELL in this country?
The current POTUS smoked cannabis regularly in his youth. Can you imagine how his career might have turned out differently if he was stuck in prison for a few months or years, because hey he's a criminal and he's broken the law? Which would have done more harm there, the drug or the criminal charges?
