Sorry, but I have to "butt in" here as for children getting access to legalized drugs. No matter how many laws are written nor how many people are jailed, there will always be people who will use and abuse drugs. This includes children. However, just like alcohol is a "controlled substance," so would be drugs. This means that if it were sold in a pharmacy, or a store, you would have to produce ID in order to purchase. Right now, with the blackmarket of drugs, it is much easier for dealers to prey on our children. Yes, some may fall into the hands of curious teens, but the war on drugs itself produces more misery than the drugs itself . Families are disrupted when the fathers and mothers go to jail, many having to go on social welfare in order to survive. When the parents are released, there is further damage when they find themselves unable to support their families because they can't find a job because of their past criminal record. Young people who are prosecuted for drug crimes cannot get financial aid for college therefore limiting their own ability to secure the future for themselves and their families. This list goes on and on...

Tobacco use has decreased about 34% since 1988, and you can bet your life it was not due to the substance being illegal. Tobacco use has declined due to smoking education, higher tax prices, and higher prices in general.

The problem with our country's current situation with regards to drug use/abuse is due mainly to the criminalization of it and not the use itself. And, yes, the politicians are going to use the "but we've got to protect our children" issue, but fail to consider that if they are going to use drugs, they will find a way. I'd much rather have my child be able to go down to the local health department to get his drugs, knowing that what he was putting in his body was safer than some adulterated product that he purchased off of his local neighborhood drug dealer. (Not to mention that the local neighborhood drug dealer may just decide to shoot him for his money while he was attempting to make his purchase).