John Stossel says this over at Townhall.com.
His reasons, with which I tend to agree are:
After years of reporting on the drug war, I'm convinced that this "war" does more harm than any drug.
Independent of that harm, adults ought to own our own bodies, so it's not intellectually honest to argue that "only marijuana" should be legal -- and only for certain sick people approved by the state. Every drug should be legal.
and
While drugs harm many, the drug war's black market harms more.
And most importantly, in a free country, adults should have the right to harm themselves.
He feels compelled to deal with some myths of the drug war, including:
Myth No. 1: Heroin and cocaine have a permanent effect.
Truth: There is no evidence of that.
Myth No. 2: If you do crack once, you are hooked.
Truth: Look at the numbers -- 15 percent of young adults have tried crack, but only 2 percent used it in the last month. If crack is so addictive, why do most people who've tried it no longer use it?
Myth No. 3: Drugs cause crime.
Truth: The drug war causes the crime.
....
In turn, some buyers steal to pay the high black-market prices. The government says heroin, cocaine and nicotine are similarly addictive, and about half the people who both smoke cigarettes and use cocaine say smoking is at least as strong an urge. But no one robs convenience stores for Marlboros.
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