Hopefully that helps in the ballot initiative states where things are close, such as Arizona. This line was particularly interesting:
In addition, the study concluded that the rate of compliance to underage marijuana laws was potentially higher than that of retailers selling alcohol.
Not a big surprise. Like alcohol, once you’re legal, it’s not worth the few bucks to risk jail time and losing a license.
This is a point I made locally. When you regulate something, it makes it harder for minors to purchase. High school kids on the island I live on say it’s much easier to get illegal drugs like heroin and meth than regulated drugs like cigarettes and alcohol.
That’s the thing – if you legalize everything and regulate it, treat addiction as a health issue rather than a criminal one, then a lot of problems revolving around drug use start to disappear.