Answering the Libertarian argument for drug legalization

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by AceArcher

You did however omit some crucial portions of the study. Namely this chart and the fact that both Cigarette use and Alcohol use have been dropping. It's my position that these abuses are decreasing because they are legal, regulated, and thereby kept out of the hands of teens.

I think the increased regulation of alcohol and tobacco have played an important role in reducing use by teens, both in showing teens that society believes they are dangerous and because their use has been more tightly restricted since the late 1980s.

Recall that the drinking age has been raised from 18 to 21 in most states over this period. This means that almost no high school students may legally buy alcohol, but it also raises the access bar because other parties supplying alcohol to teens need to be 21 to legally purchase. I would be curious to know if the libertarian-minded advocates of marijuana legalization are hoping to put the access age at 18 or 21. Your analogy argument with alcohol ("legalization would reduce teen access") is only valid if you intend to make the age of access 21. Drunk driving laws are also tighter and more strictly enforced, with much stiffer penalties for those under 21 driving under the influence.

Public smoking has also come under much tighter restrictions in the US over the past 20 years, and several states have raised their ages for legal purchase.