Drugs and Prohibition

Awhile back I was watching a show on the History Channel about drugs and their use and history in this country. I find it very interesting that we as a nation prohibited drugs after the violence and corruption caused by prohibition of alcohol. I was brought up to believe that millions and millions of people were using drugs, and a druggie was waiting around every corner with his coat collar turned up, ready to forcibly put dope in my mouth. Of course as I got older, I found out the difference between myth and reality. I never was a big time drug user. My experience with drugs amounted to smoking O.P. reefer ( O.P. meaning Other People's). I knew people in high school who used drugs and I was pretty good friends with some of them. The "druggies" I knew didn't seem much different from anyone else. Certainly not much different from others I knew that used alcohol. What I'm trying to get at is this: I think it's a total waste of money, time, and resources to wipe out a product that people want. As far as I'm concerned (like what I think matters) marijuana is no more a threat to the nation than alcohol. If anything, alcohol is worse in the regard that it makes people violent depending on what kind of alcohol one has been consuming. I've talked to police officers about this subject and they've all told me that they'd rather deal with someone that's been smoking reefer than deal with somone who's drunk on Jack Daniel's. Whiskey drinkers get crazy violent, I know because I used to be one. Prohibition doesn't work very well, especially in this case where the government actually makes money from said prohibition. Marijuana should be legalized, taxed, and sold in the convienience stores just like alcohol (in states other than Pennsylvania that is, but that's another story). Legalize it, tax it, put an age limit on it and let people make their own evaluations and decisions about using it. We'd save a hell of a lot of money, and make law enforcement's job much easier in the process.