EnglishPaul

Well I think that it all depends on what kind of society you want to live in. Do you want the occaisional crime that comes with an illegial drug scene; or do you want a lot of people either in a chemically altered state, or worse still in a constant (addicted) altered state.

I hate that drugs fuel a lot of crime. But I suspect that the incidence of addicts would be huge in a permissive society. And that would have lots of consequences.
As for pot, the argument over side effects continues.
As for smoking, the social tide is turning in the uk (and not before time).
As for alcohol, it is the test case to prove which countries and people can handle drugs. And by the levels of alcohol induced incidents, I think we in the west have proved ourselves quite untrustworthy!