To answer your question about when did I quit:

I quit both because I “grew up” and because I was forced to. That’s the best sentence I can come up with to explain it. Let me expound in a paragraph.

I had already come to the realization, if only through guilt, that my drug usage was not helping me achieve any of the lofty goals I had as an adolescent. The guilt alone was not enough to get me off the drugs while I was still under their influence. However the US Navy threw me in the brig for 120 days hard labor. That both caught my attention and gave me time to clear my system of the effects of the drugs. Not perfectly (I still used drugs a time or two while confined) but good enough that I started to appreciate the clarity of mind none drug use gave me.

After I got out of the brig I cleaned up my act and even made Chief. I’d be willing to bet I’m one of the few past or present Chief Petty Officers that ever served that much time in the brig.

so you avoided my earlier question. since Prohibition reduced alcohol consumption by 30-70% would you ban alcohol and make other harmful substances such as tobacco illegal?

Unless, of course, there’s a giant current wave of fans of 1995 films that I haven’t heard about.

kirwin, let’s go back to Prohibition for a sec. alcohol consumption was reduced by 30-70% during that time. So yes, the primary intent of making a substance illegal did reduce consumption. But was Prohibition good or bad for the country overall? that’s the discussion Jeremy and I are having. if simply banning a substance caused people to consume it less without any consequences, then would you be in favor of bringing back Prohibition? support Huckabee’s nationwide smoking ban? help the War on Obesity by eliminating trans fats? If the govt is so successful at controlling and improving our lives then why stop short?

What ARE you smoking?

Read a bit. Every study shows that drinking between ages of 18-21 declined after the passage of the 21 drinking age (passed by Ronald Reagan….surprised?).

Shock! Surprise! Something is made illegal, and people do it less. Why is it people who never agree on anything like Jeremy and me can understand that basic truism but you refuse to?

The 18 drinking age is an interesting issue. It would push the frontier closer to high school, where kids would be even less equipped to make good decisions, but still more under their parents guidance.

As for drugs, all those societal pressures already exist, and yet drugs continue to be a major problem. And if you think that poor parents who abdicate the responsibility of raising their children will suddenly “man up”, and act responsibly if they can’t depend on the threat of incarceration to guide their kids choices, then you have greater faith in them than I. I’m more inclined to see those same parents thinking “hey, it won’t land johnny in jail now, so i can care even less” or “If the govt says its OK, then why should I care?”. It’s like a get-out-of-guilt free card.

legalization of any activity will likely cause a spike at the beginning but I’m more worried about the long term trends. We are seeing many university presidents (over 100) pleading with the govt to lower the drinking age to 18 because due to the rebellious nature of people in general, it has increased alcohol consumption on campus. similarly, as there may be an initial jump in usage, I think overall there would be a societal backlash against it. sort of like New Coke.

you also mentioned you didn’t do drugs and alcohol because it was illegal. but what if you had peer pressure from your friends not to do it because they would call you a loser? or your family talked to you about the importance of not doing drugs (they may have, not sure) or even your pastor saying you would go to hell if you did drugs? I think these societal pressures combined with education are more effective in dealing with these complex social issues. but when it becomes law, I think most people take a backseat and say they’ll let the police handle it.

littleDavid, I hardly think marijuana is harmless. but what made you quit? did you “grow up” or did something bad happen?

Amit, do you serioulsy think that use will not spike with legalization? We are a nation of addicts – food, alcohol, gambling, spending. Open another door and we will pour through it. I’ve never done drugs, one of the major reasons being that it is illegal. Indulging in experimenting with an addicitve, illegal substance just didn’t appeal to me. And while I can probably count on one hand the number of times i drank before i was 21, one it was legal it became a habit. I now drink a glass of wine or a beer daily.

As for the whole “gateway drug” syndrome that most supporters decry as a fallacy – the Netherlands is pretty much acknowledged to be the largest source of Ecstacy to the US and the rest of the world. And while pot use is legal there, Ecstacy is not. I’m thinking there might be a causal relationship to that.

You stated you have no experience with marijuana. Well you accept the life experiences from someone who does have the experience?

Experts say that the psychoactive elements of marijuana builds up in the fat tissues. From my personal experience this is probably true. It took me at least several weeks if not a few months to clear the mind fogging effects of marijuana out of my system once I decided to quit.

However alcohol does not have such long term debilitating psychoactive affects. Yeah, you might wake up with a hangover the next day, but you are no longer high. Not true with “harmless” marijuana.

Alcohol does not build up in the fat cells.

It is interesting that Amit will describe tobacco as harmful, but attempt to describe marijuana as harmless. Is marijuana smoke less harmful then tobacco smoke?