I don't know Ashley MacIsaac from a hole in the wall, but judging his statement strictly on its merits (without the larger context of his other behavior, with which I am unfamiliar), I have to say I agree with him. Again, the statement basically says that, in an either/or choice between giving alcohol to 10-year-olds, or marijuana to 10-year-old kids, he thinks marijuana is preferable. Given the damage that alcohol does to huge numbers of people worldwide, I'd say his point is well taken.

Robert Downey Jr. is another person I'm not very familiar with, but from what I gather he has a whole host of problems. One of his problems may be that he blames his behavior on an isolated incident from his childhood, rather than accepting personal responsibility for his actions. I would venture a guess that he has consumed his share of alcohol, too, so there may be some question about which is truly the "gateway drug" in his case.

Perhaps we can all agree that substance abuse by little kids is a bad thing, and leave it at that?