War on drugs is a failure in the sense that it has made many people believe that marijuana is as dangerous as other drugs, like speed, coke and heroin. Some people just don't grasp the difference, but legalizing marijuana would surely cut down on expenses and the criminal offense of possessing it.
I say it's less harmless than alcohol. I'm not smoking it myself (I'd rather have a glass of wine or a beer), but I have tried it years ago. The people I know who do smoke it, are highly educated and well functioning people and fun to be with.
Like with everything, it's the exaggeration? that harms people.
That's my two cents.
Edit* I'd like to add what John said about the subject, when it was discussed here years ago:
"Alcohol and marijuana have been around for hundreds, presumably thousands of years. And the world would probably look quite a bit different if they hadn’t. I’ve often thought that it would be thought provoking to write a book on “The World’s Greatest Alcoholics”. Alexander the Great was supposed to have drunk up to 10 liters of wine a day (and died when he was about 32). Winston Churchill loved his Cognac. Boris Jeltsin certainly knows how to put a couple of vodkas away. These are very important men who have affected the development of our civilization.
And then there are the arts. How many great works of art have been created “under the influence” of something or other I wonder? (Poets in the 1800’s indulging in opium just one example).
These are all naturally existing drugs, but what about all these complex molecules that we are consuming more and more of nowadays? The wonder drugs that are supposed to solve all our problems. They’re just called PILLS. You’re supposed to take them if you’re hyper, take them if you’re depressed, take them if you’re tired, take them if you’re too thin, take them if you’re too fat, take them if you’ve got a headache. Whatever. There are even reports of drug companies trying to invent disorders so they can produce an antidote and make another million bucks!
If we really knew the truth I think we would be shocked to find out how many “great” men were dependant on “illegal substances”. Here again, in recent times we have people like John F Kennedy (amphetamines and pain killers) and my childhood hero Winston Churchill (a manio-depressive dependant on Benzedrine and alcohol).
… and why do we do this? Partly because we’re inundated with advertisements for these products day in and day out. All in the name of the holy dollar. After all, in a capitalistic society, the drug companies first priority is to make a profit for themselves and their stockholders (just like the tobacco companies). They sometimes find out much later whether their products are harmful to the consumers in the long run, and will always try to deny it.
At least marijuana is a physically non-addictive substance, which alcohol and a majority of pills most definitely aren’t. And the idea that It makes you feel and act stupid and it is more harmful than cigarettes. doesn’t fit with my experience at all."
Jonza
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