The thing about alcohol and tobacco is that it is a personal choice that affects the people making that choice directly. The diseases can be spread from genera

The thing about alcohol and tobacco is that it is a personal choice that affects the people making that choice directly. The diseases can be spread from generation to generation. And the problems tend to be worse for kids that are born with these diseases than if they contracted them in adulthood. I personally have no moral qualms with prostitution as long as prostitutes are making the decision freely and not coerced (even indirectly by lack of options to survive economically) into it. My point is that it is somewhat reasonable for people to have a default rule of thumb that says 'this activity is not a good idea and I feel some revulsion for it'. Kind of like swimming in stagnant, slimy water. Legalization has some definite appeal -- I mean, if it is going to happen anyway (and it will) it might as well be above board so we can at least exert some level control and have society offer legal protections to those invovled -- there is some level of danger reduction. But legalization cannot remove the inherent dangers of the activity and the dangers are real and lasting and not as fully understood as some seem to think.