"Should cannabis/weed/marijuana be legal?" or "Should Alcohol be illegal?"

Yes, although alcohol is quite harmless at small doses (2-3 std drinks), but because it is so socially acceptable people often binge drink i.e drinking a lot alcohol in a short time; also while most people use alcohol, they do not know the correct dose (for example one can of full strength beer does NOT contain one std drink, it actually contains about 1.75 drinks see this article here http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au...) therefore alcohol overdoses are relatively common. Ethanol alcohol is not very toxic in its original form but cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol, so once alcohol is in the bloodstream it can diffuse into nearly every biological tissue of the body.Alcohol is an addictive drug that can greatly exacerbate sleep problems. During abstinence, residual disruptions in sleep regularity and sleep patterns are the greatest predictors of relapse. here are some effects of alcohol.(from http://en.wikipedia.org...) Euphoria (BAC = 0.03% to 0.12%) Overall improvement in mood and possible euphoria Increased self-confidence Increased sociability Decreased Anxiety Shortened attention span Flushed appearance Impaired judgment Impaired fine muscle coordination Lethargy (BAC = 0.09% to 0.25%) Sedation Impaired memory and comprehension Delayed reactions Ataxia; balance difficulty; unbalanced walk Blurred vision; other senses may be impaired Confusion (BAC = 0.18% to 0.30%) Profound confusion Impaired senses Analgesia Increased ataxia; impaired speech; staggering Dizziness often associated with nausea ("the spins") Vomiting (emesis) Stupor (BAC = 0.25% to 0.40%) Severe ataxia Lapses in and out of consciousness Unconsciousness Anterograde amnesia Vomiting (death may occur due to inhalation of vomit (pulmonary aspiration) while unconscious) Respiratory depression (potentially life-threatening) Decreased heart rate (usually results in coldness and/or numbness of the limbs) Urinary incontinence Coma (BAC = 0.35% to 0.50%) Unconsciousness (coma) Depressed reflexes (i.e., pupils do not respond appropriately to changes in light) Marked and life-threatening respiratory depression Markedly decreased heart rate Most deaths from alcohol poisoning are caused by dosage levels in this range. and, more often then not, people do not wait for their BAC to drop below 0.08% before driving therefore causing a large amount of accidents, in fact 40% of traffic incidents in the USA are alcohol related, in Australia in 1993, of all drivers, motor cyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists who were killed or injured in a road crash, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was known for 74% of fatalities and 50% of hospitalisations. Of these, 29% of fatalities and 22% of people hospitalised had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 or more(http://www.abs.gov.au...). In fact death caused by alcohol exceeds by far the amount of most other drugs including COCAINE!!! (as seen in my last argument, there was also a link to http://www.guardian.co.uk...) The only drugs above it on the chart heroin & morphine were included together. As for the non harmfulness of marijuana, you can see that it is right down the bottom on both charts, also here is another chart showing other drugs also with alcohol at the top http://upload.wikimedia.org... links from above Acohol and its effects http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au... Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org... Australian traffic incidents report http://www.abs.gov.au... Guardian datablog article (chart 1&2) http://www.guardian.co.uk... link to chart 3 http://upload.wikimedia.org...-