Some underrepresented truths, from somebody who thinks this is none of the government's business, and we should legalize most stuff anyway -- but you should probably still know these things.

1. Prohibition does not prevent all illicit activity, [i]but it prevents a hell of a lot.[/i] The staunch remainder is the sort that would rather break the law than give up drinking, which is precisely what makes them such a dangerous element -- but it absolutely CAN bring down use. Iran is a dry country -- that's not an example to follow, I know, but it's an example to prove a point. 

2. Legalization and regulation [i]does not prevent illegal distribution[/i]. Especially potent example is [url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/21/264573592/making-moonshine-at-home-is-on-the-rise-but-its-still-illegal]moonshine[/url], if you'll excuse the pun (but it is [i]proof[/i] -- get it? Proof? aaaaaaah?). [url=http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/01/06/High-Tobacco-Taxes-Spark-Huge-Black-Market-in-Northeast]There's also an American black market for Tobacco[/url]. Remember we're talking about [i]perfectly legal substances[/i]. It's [b]still[/b] cheaper, easier, and stronger (as in more potent) for the 'criminal' element to produce and distribute. That trend is not going to change with harder drugs. The cartels have an insurmountable headstart; they will always win the price war, and legalizing will not rob them of their profits. 

3. [url=http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/50bd12cdeab8ea9876000011/this-new-faces-of-meth-ad-is-utterly-harrowing.jpg]Meth[/url] [url=http://media.oregonlive.com/oregonian/photo/2011/05/9635180-standard.jpg]is[/url] [url=http://dirty-mag.com/v2/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Faces-of-Meth%EF%BF%BD-2005-M36-300-DPI.jpg]not[/url] [url=http://localtvkdvr.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/23456299254920-271256171.jpg%3Fw%3D627]a[/url] [url=http://cbswzlx2.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/faces-of-meth-3.jpg%3Fw%3D420]hobby[/url]. 

4. Improving access, absent moral input, tends to increase both use and abuse. This is just as true for potentially-dangerous drugs like [url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/philip-seymour-hoffman-dead-46-autopsy-expected-today-article-1.1600477]heroin[/url] as it is for [url=http://fixingthegame.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/most-visited-websites-during-work-hours-every-day/]internet usage during work[/url]. 

5. Particularly with regards to drugs and human health, the real effects are often unknown and far more serious than you thought. For instance Ambien, a super-popular prescription sleep aid in common use for over a decade, [url=http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/Ambien-heart-attack-zolpidem-aortic-dissection/2014/01/08/id/545967]was just demonstrated to increase heart attack risk by up to 50%[/url], among [url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/ambien-zolpidem-er-visits-emergency-department-hospital-_n_3201728.html]other problems[/url]. Arguments such as '_____ is safer than ______' are [i]almost certainly total bullshit[/i], by which I mean, they're just as likely to be false as they are true -- one, or two, or ten, or a hundred, or a million case studies are incapable of demonstrating this comparison for a fact in almost any instance.

So, just some food for thought. As I said, lots of stuff should be legalized IMO. Plenty of stuff shouldn't -- there's no justification for shit like mescaline, bath salts, meth, arguably LSD and heroin..... okay so a lot of stuff. Whatever. I err on the side of freedom, but also, I don't like to err when I can help it. There's an awful lot of drugs we don't need to be fucking with.