I'm still stuck on the lack of an answer to what society gains by having it illegal. Is it as simple as the fact the "the ruling elite" wants to keep the "proles" in their (our) place? Clearly, large numbers of people smoke despite its being illegal. Clearly also, most of them do not use other substances. I'm going to weigh in on the personal level, and perhaps someone can tell me why I should have done jail time to "benefit" society, and also why it is valuable to spend the hefty weight of criminal justice resources on doing so.

We were SO stoned! Oh yes, we were. I am NOT ASHAMED that I smoked! I did it; I LOVED IT; and I would do it again! And if life is good to me, I will.

Some of my circle of friends smoked over the three year period that we were tight, as much as two or three times a week. Some seldom smoked. I, myself, smoked occasionally three times a week, but more often only three or two times a month. Mostly, it was pot. On ocassion, we were fortunate enough to have some hash. But I enjoyed that sweet smell! I enjoyed the companionship of sending it around the circle as we all slowly got more buzzed. We listened to music; we discussed ideas, literature, history, philosophy, solved the world's problems--mostly through peace, love, and music--imagine that!--we ate WAY more food than we normally would; and we laughed hysterically at most anything. Firesign Theater and Frank Zappa records were a favorite, because they were funny even if we were straight.

Although a few of us tried acid a few times, no one in my group ever "went on" to narcotics. One of our group, however, did become an alcoholic. None of us ever perpetrated any crime other than "normal" traffic offenses. Among our group--this was 30 years ago--there is now a museum curator, a writer, a college professor, several K-12 teachers, several IT professionals, a classical musician, a silversmith, an astronomer, a medical doctor, a lawyer, a Navy Seal--now THERE was a huge disappointment!--an insurance salesman, an NSA employee, and assorted other productive members of society who have families, pay taxes, consume "stuff" (as all good consumers MUST do to keep the economy going), and just generally live their lives.

I enjoyed those times, and I would do it all over again. I would be more likely to smoke again if I were not so concerned about my lungs. The fact that it is illegal and the current atmosphere is paranoid and hysterical to the extreme is also a deterrent. If it were offered at a party, I would likely imbibe. I am confident that I would enjoy it, and that I would not injure society as a result of smoking.

Some of the group still smoke on ocassion; most don't. Some have taken up tobacco. Some have become drug-free to the point of eschewing most persctiption drugs, even. One smokes (pot) pretty regularly--perhaps five times a month. One of the former group reports that he has smoked a few times over the years in what he thought were the last few minutes of his life before he committed suicide. He reports that getting that buzz relaxed his tendency to do himself in and that he instead focused on listening to some music, finding food, and then falling blissfully asleep. By the time he "returned to normal" that he felt much less like killing himself. We don't know if he might have already killed himself otherwise. But I would not be the one to tell him to never ever again smoke pot. And don't start with "he should have sought treatment,etc." since we KNOW how that one would go, given the deplorable state of health care in the US, the confusion over how to treat depression, and the increasing likelihood of his personal information ending up on the Net.

Whether we smoke now or don't is most likely a result of us being in a different phase of life. The legality obviously has not stopped those who still smoke, iside or out of my own particular group. And society would not be better off if they were costing the taxpayers $50k to house rather than being productive, taxpaying professionals.

Of course, this is only anectdotal. YMMV. But I still cannot come up with any good reason for using the considerable force of law to punish someone for smoking pot. I have a long list of things that DO constitute harm to the community that should be powerfully punished. Let's start with making people completely responsible and conscious in their automobile driving. That means, stopping ALL distrative behaviors and use of ANY substance that might inhibit response time. But the power establishment, in its wisdumb does not see it my way.

Finally, would society be safer if Willy Nelson, Satchmo, and about MOST of the entire rock world had been made prisoners? How about Carl Sagan? Examples abound, and I eagerly await an answer.