Okay, couple of points if you want to have an honest discussion here.
the opposition was meant as a joke but all the things I stated were things the opponents of Marijuana legalization have used or still use as propganda against it.
Yes, it was a joke. Yes, its things used in the past by some that have been against marijuana. Its still essentially belittling those that oppose your position from the onset and suggesting from the beginning that their view point is ridiculous based on the arguments of the least rational on that side.
This would be like me starting a thread about keeping Marijuana legalizd and after making a legitimate case for it going "Or you could say it should be legalized because it has absolute 0 negative affects to anyone at any time so is absolutely safe to use before, during, or after any activity, even driving, and is less dangerous than water".
An image from a random blog isn't really going to sway those that don't agree with you.
An image from a random blog with
zero indication as to how those numbers are found makes it even less likely.
Are drunk driving individuals labeled under the Alcohol listing? Are deaths from driving under the influence of marijuana alos included then? Negligent acts while under intoxication, are those included? Death attributed to long term use, if they're used how does it certify that a death occured due specifically to a specific substance? Is this just based on deaths from overdoses? Etc.
No, something like what you posted above wouldn't "Make me reconsider".
Now, at the end of all that, I'm for legalization. I think we have many of the tools in place in crafting the laws for regulating it and allowing it into the legalized market place. Sell it in situations akin to hard liquor, IE in most states, within an authorized ABC store with a 21 years old age limit (frankly I think alcohol should go down to 18, but it should be the same as alcohol). Have similar laws regarding intoxication and use in public, driving under the influence, etc that we have with Alcohol. Also use cigerettes as a baseline idea in regards to laws of indoor smoking of it in public. While I'm generally not in favor of public smoking bans, if they're in place in the state they should be applied to marijauna as well. Similar to Tobbaco in some states I imagine you'd start to see "bars" that cater specifically to marijuana users with the proper ventiliation required to be able to have it geared towards that. I am not sure of the legitimacy of a contact high in a bar situation (I know in a very confined space its possible, but more difficult for such to happen in a large open area room), but depending on that it would potentially be a more realistic raeson why to keep it out from places of business specialized in its use as it would potentially make the notion of a designated driver impossible in bars if there's a chance one with a low tolerance for such things could get a contact high.
But utlimately I see no reason not to legalize it. Its short term affects on a person ranges from less to about on par with alcohol, its long term danger is less, its intrusiveness on others around you is around the same as smoking, and its addiction level is low. It would potentially reduce the violence some on the border, would free up law enforcement resources, would generate jobs and revenue both in the private sector and public sector. Decriminalize it at least, legalize it preferably.