We still have alcoholics despite liquor being legal. What we don't have is a drinks industry controlled by criminals. For the argument that soft drugs lead to hard drugs I have only contempt. It deliberately omits from the category of 'soft drugs' alcohol and tobaccos. Let's be either consistent or reasonable.
Consistency means placing alcohol and tobacco under the same ban as cannabis.
Reasonableness means recognising that cannabis is no more harmful then tobacco or alcohol. It hasn't curtailed the demand. It hasn't reduced the number of deaths. It hasn't brought down the number of drug-related crimes. It doesn't work even in prison.