I never claimed that. I think that's derailing the conversation. The point is that our cultural (and law enforcement) ideas around drugs are straight up delusional and entirely detached from reality.
It's pretty clear that US laws don't treat alcohol the same as most other drugs with regards to the potential for harm, but I think it's a big leap to say that Americans are "straight up delusional and entirely detached from reality." I'm sure people do underestimate the dangers of alcohol, especially for long-term health, but I feel like it's very well-known that alcohol kills way more people than e.g. marijuana.
And yet, one is legalized in every state and the other is a schedule one drug on par with Heroin (although legal in some states).
Right. But public policy does not correlate strongly with what the public wants. I’m making the distinction between laws and culture.
The drug scheduling regulations are delusional and do not reflect the actual research potential, medical use, or harm potential of drugs. I'd remind you that marijuana is scheduled more harshly than cocaine, and so are a lot of other relatively harmless drugs.
Yes. I’m making the distinction between the laws and what the people actually believe.
Just because murder is bad doesn't mean jaywalking isn't also bad.