Wow…seriously?

Ever argued with an idiot? Because that is honestly what it feels like when trying to convince someone who is for the war on drugs. Obviously, I am alluding to the discussion on Friday in which the class argued whether or not drugs, all or only some, should be legalized. Surprisingly, and to my dismay, I learned that not everyone was for the legalization, but I guess I expect too much out of people.
Where do I even begin? I suppose I will begin with the fact that alcohol and cigarettes are both legal. Despite the health risks and addictive qualities of both of these substances, they are legal and millions of people partake in using cigarettes and alcohol frequently. So does it not seem nonsensical to have some drugs remain illegal even if they are proven to be safer, or 100% safe for that matter, and if they are less, or not all, addictive at all: marijuana, to name one.
The War on Drugs is also another big issue. Care to guess how much money has been dumped into this program since Nixon started it? One trillion dollars, yeah that’s twelve zeros. Just imagine what one trillion dollars would do for our economy. Obviously, Nixon’s time period was a different era, and politics were different, and perhaps there was more propaganda and less knowledge about the true effects of certain drugs, but now there is no excuse. The majority of the population is probably aware of the most popular drug of choice: pot.
Speaking of the economy, legalizing drugs would most assuredly benefit our economy. I could not find actual figures that would predict the amount of money each state could make if they tax a certain drug, but I do know that seventy billion dollars is spent every year fighting drugs. In my opinion, this seems pretty senseless to put forth so much effort and so many resources just to arrest and prosecute non-violent offenders in order to ironically “protect people from themselves”.
Especially when it comes to whether or not to legalize marijuana, there almost is no case for not legalizing this drug. Not only has it been proven to be physically addictive, anything is psychologically addictive even ice cream has the potential for addiction, but the death toll for marijuana related deaths every year is zero while cigarettes and alcohol obviously kill plenty of people. Unfortunately, the government continues to spew out propaganda. For example, I have seen government funded reports of how the majority of people are admitted into drug rehabilitation clinics for their “marijuana addiction”. Except, they usually forget to mention the fact that 99% of the non-violent offenders were admitted into these clinics by court order for possession or whatever case related to marijuana.
Also, try to imagine what would happen if all drugs were legalized on a more personal level. Do you honestly think that America would become drug crazed, and we would all turn into heroin addicts? This scenario seems unlikely, because the majority of people that try and do hardcore drugs were going to try or do them regardless if it was legal or illegal. It is highly unlikely that legalization of something like meth would attract new customers due to the negative connotation associated with this drug as well as the horrific effects it has on its users. Most likely, if drugs were legalized, they would still remain a taboo topic and would probably be frowned upon and discouraged to all of the public.