Pot and Paradigm Shifts

I wish to comment on a debate that seems to even have conservatives split down the middle. That is, the legalization of marijuana. Let me say straight up that I do not believe it should be legalized. I recognize, however, that this is a heated issue because on one hand you have children involved and a dangerous substance that can destroy lives and on the other hand you have principles of freedom that tell you we should all be allowed to do what we want. Where do you draw the line? At what point do you sacrifice certain freedoms in order to preserve even greater ones?

There are a lot arguments that need to be considered in this debate. One, you can argue that the health effects from marijuana are no worse the alcohol and cigarettes, and you would have a lot of medical evidence to support that. Two, you could argue the economics of the issue, saying that there is a lot of tax revenue to be gained and money to be saved by loosening the war on drugs. Three, you could argue the social aspects of the issue, that kids already have access to it anyways and the stuff they get their hands on is dirty compared to a legally manufactured kind. Finally, you could care less about any of these arguments but believe that everyone should be allowed to do whatever the heck they want, even if it is pot. All of these arguments make valid points, and I do not wish to argue economics or health. I would rather talk about our society and our children.

You have a vast spectrum to consider here. On one end you have extremism in the form of Obama trying to tell us we shouldn't even drink (a.k.a. taxing) sugar soda and on the other you have morphine available in every candy isle. I think ALL of us agree that we would not support either extreme. So, in an admittedly illogical attempt to find some sort of middle ground we have decided that we should have the right to consume certain substances but not others. We have even had to go through some trial and error (prohibition) in order to find a medium that seems to work. In truth, the line we have drawn doesn't make a lot of sense. Since marijuana is illegal, you could make an excellent argument that nicotine and alcohol should be as well. Conversely, since alcohol and nicotine are legal you could make an excellent argument that marijuana should be as well. It seems like a conundrum, and in reality it is. (cont.)

My point of all of this is that since we have drawn a line, that for decades has gone unchanged, to move that line in either direction at this point would require no less than a paradigm shift for our entire society. It would cause us to re-evaluate every other substance we have deemed illegal and one thing we have learned over time is that if you give an extremist an inch, they will take a mile. You would have to restructure our entire education programs that discourage kids from doing drugs. And soon, you will see the extremists want to shift the line a little more (and since it had already been done once, it will be even easier next time). And then again, and again. And then all of a sudden we are experiencing the absolute disaster that European countries have already experienced having traveled down this road. And that is not the America I want my children growing up in. So I say, let's leave the line where it is.

What do you think?