@Feed: Making every drug available legal would be detrimental if we sold them exactly as they were today, absolutely. Cut and sold with other things added, with no regulation, and with only the desperate need to make a profit driving the business -- no doubt allowing [I]that[/I] business would have negative repercussions. That said, in what America do you live in that this is how such a hypothetical could exist? We live in a country where a bill arguing for mandatory Kindergarten was and is still controversial in many states. If something like this ever became a reality it'd be riddled with stipulations and ultimately changed into an entirely new, regulated business. Your experience and points are absolutely valid, I don't mean to suggest you don't know what you're talking about as you clearly do and I respect that, but what we're talking about wouldn't likely act or be treated in the same way as what you're expecting.

I believe our evaluation of drugs is extremely outdated. Our expectations of how people act and the result of usage is based on an unregulated system where those in poverty are exposed to suspiciously created/obtained drugs and sold them by people who absolutely need them to become addicted. Drugs are cut with other more addictive materials and manipulated in such ways to ensure profit and not customer health. If we legalized drugs I'd expect it'd likely be a blend of how Colorado treats marijuana and how the pharmaceutical companies sell medications. Each drug would have a dosage, higher dosages of stronger substances may still be limited. The drugs are not necessarily deadly, quality and strength are very important. In America many of our veterans were given amphetamines throughout their services over the last several decades. While how they did this was deplorable, in my eyes, it is an example that we once believed drugs can be used positively and negatively. As a result we have medications that are comparable to street drugs today that we sell for medicinal usage (and many still use, legally obtained, for the occasional recreational trip). So is it that drugs are deadly and 'bad' or is that our casting them out completely has left only the worst that they may be? 

I'll throw this out there. My room-mate spends 8 hours a day after a full day's work in front of his massive television gaming. He has more than $2000 of equipment purchased solely for this purpose and continues to do such before other basic necessities. When he stops, he becomes a bit off, very agitated. The guy clearly gets a rush and a happiness from this habit that I imagine is akin to the dopamine rush experienced by anyone when they find something enjoy. He likes it very much and despite it breaking many relationships, he feels it more important and inescapable. Why is this form of addiction less deplorable that of hard drugs? His health has taken a serious toll due to this constant habit (this coming from a guy who enjoys a game now and then too) and its absolutely life-consuming. 

The fact is drugs, gaming, alcohol, these are all too often vehicles for escapism. We should focus our attention to improving lives and finding ways to use these escapist paths in order to enrich life rather than replace it.