I live by the adage “everything in moderation”. Of course this can’t apply to everything, and it doesn’t apply universally to all people. People with severe add

I live by the adage “everything in moderation”. Of course this can’t apply to everything, and it doesn’t apply universally to all people. People with severe addictions probably shouldn’t try moderation of their vices. Part of moderation is a recognition that nothing is endlessly good or bad. Working is good, but working too much is bad. In fact, working too much is the reason people crave a stress release and go binge drinking after work or on the weekends. Outlawing cannabis — or other substances used for similar purposes ignores the fact that the present state of society doesn’t work for the people who need a “break”. You won’t change the fact that people aren’t coping with whatever issues they’re having fitting into the mold of the model citizen. Instead, those people will be marginalized and pushed into the fringes of society where they lose respect for the rules and land in the prison system — which has a very poor track record of reintegration. Alternatively, they pursue other things that are legal but are equally or more self destructive. If you’re scared of substance abuse potential, then you should be ten times more scared that our social contracts are becoming so aggressive that it’s a problem, and we’re merely treating the symptoms with prohibition.