Damn Drug Addiction

I was waiting for a ride from school today, and one of my friends from middle school walks by me. A little louder than he should have been speaking, he was explicitly describing his pot sessions with his friends. What I mostly had felt was dissapointment, he was a great guy who was really talented, but he is ruining his high school education by getting into the drug scene. That leads to the bigger issue. Drugs. Yae, nae, or who the hay cares?
This is a topic I hope a lot of you will post on, because I want to hear other peoples points of view. Personally, I will never get into the drug scene, and that is not just ignorant assertions. I have conquered peer pressure before. I just sigh and turn my head whenever kids talk about their drug abuse, a lot even with pride. I think it is really screwing with your brain, and ruining a lot of great people's lives. The only catch I have is the illegality of it. I don't necessarily have an opinion on the illegality of drugs, but a few people raise some good points: Why is alchohol illegal, when it is involved in much more deaths than marijuana, and just as harmful to your body and state of consciousness? Other countries have it as legal, and they haven't turned into the spawn of the devil yet, or been torn to peices in mass confusion and social breakdown.
Now on the anti-drug side, just turn the argument: Make alchohol illegal, but the problem with that was seen in the 1940's duing the alcohol ban. It is a delicate balance. What do you think?