Socially Accepted Vices

marijuana legalization took another blow today. i don't get why it is such a big deal. i feel like marijuana is on par with something like alcohol, which is, of course, legal in the united states with some obvious restrictions. why can't the government do the same for marijuana? it has semi-legal status in amsterdam and they aren't dissolving into a state of pure mayhem and anarchy. so what is so scary about this idea that it leaves some politicians frothing at the mouth? adults have the right to drink alcohol, which offers up some serious health consequences, not to mention the right to pop a million different kinds of pills, from prozac to oxycontin. this arbitrary division when it comes to a natural-growing plant seems somewhat ludicrous. anti-hippie-ites.