I want to say something about smoking pot. I liked smoking pot. But smoking pot is not harmless.
I tried it when I was a teen but didn't really get into it until after high school. I fell into a group of people after graduation that were into it. I was in a circumstance that it soothed what I have come to understand was deep pain and shame. That led to being a 35 year smoker of pot. I partnered and married someone who used it the same as I did. We enabled one another. If it was in the house I wanted it. I had very little self control around it. Smoking first thing in the morning. After work. Before a bike ride. Before a run. Doing chores around the house. Etc. etc. The only way to regulate was to run out. I do not have that trouble with alcohol.
I had a pot problem. I will be smoke free 4 years this September. I feel much much better. People comment frequently that I look younger. Some people may be able to smoke once in a while but I am not one of them. If that is you, more power to you.
With all the celebration and media cheer leading about legalization I just want to say that it is not harmless. It does cause real problems. The same way alcohol can cause real problems. I think there will come a point in the media narrative when the downside is reexamined and a new media narrative will be born. But for now I think some problems are being ignored.
So the point is this. Pot is not harmless.