I think there are legitimate arguments to be made in support of this proposition, but the alleged medical benefits of Marijuana and its analogy to tobacco are not among them. First, the active ingredients in MJ are already legally obtainable with a Doctor's prescription. Secondly, tobacco is legal only because of its historically widespread usage. If it was introduced today, it would never receive FDA approval. In the absence of any credible medical studies to the contrary, it must be assumed that the same harmful effects of ingesting carbonized tobacco particles would be realized by ingesting carbonized MJ particles into your lungs.
That being said, society should have the ability to evaluate its laws based on a cost-benefit analysis. Whether the costs of exposing more children to marijuana and trying to enforce impaired driving laws are outweighed by the benefits of lower drug enforcement and incarceration expenses is an open question. As with the death penalty, practical considerations may trump moral imperatives. What say you?
That being said, society should have the ability to evaluate its laws based on a cost-benefit analysis. Whether the costs of exposing more children to marijuana and trying to enforce impaired driving laws are outweighed by the benefits of lower drug enforcement and incarceration expenses is an open question. As with the death penalty, practical considerations may trump moral imperatives. What say you?