Stoned Driving

One of Sullivan’s readers wants people to stop equating weed and booze:

But as we all know, booze and pot aren’t the same.  When people smoke pot, they’re usually doing it at home.  They’re not out at bars or out at live sports or wherever.  They are, like me, sitting in their own living room or back yard, enjoying a joint, listening to some music, then watching some Breaking Bad and going to bed. They’re far less likely to be in a position to make the poor choice to get behind the wheel because in many cases they’re probably already home.

Well, he’s right of course, but I don’t think this argument actually means anything in terms of a legalization discussion. People aren’t smoking at bars because they’ll get arrested, not because its a substance that is inherently best enjoyed at home. If we pursue legalization, people will smoke in public just like they drink in public. I don’t have a problem with that, but its an issue that will need to be sensibly addressed. It’s not something that legalization advocates can ignore or wave away, because the majority of current use occurs in the home. It occurs there because if it doesn’t we ruin your life. Legalization advocates do themselves a disservice by pretending otherwise.

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