Have you heard of addiction. Speaking of facts. Cigarettes and Alcohol addict you in then kill you. Look at the mortality rates of cigarette users and alchoholics. That is a price to pay.

You joint = pack fact is a distortion. I would think that is a lot for just one person to smoke a day and not something they do everyday. Sure, if you are stoned every minute of the day, then the health effects could be the same as cigarettes, but that is not the frequency, manner or volume a casual pot smoker takes. Nor are they physically addicted to the drug.

You casual drinker has no ill effects but a casual pot smoker would have minimal effects too. Based on some studies, you are right, the alcohol sounds like it is better for you. But then again that is eliminating all alcoholics from the medical cost, which is not honest. This is where the medical cost is great and outweighs even the rastafarian level of pot smoking.

The reason to ban pot compared to cigarettes and alcohol is not for the medical comparison. It is for the social one. Cigarettes only give a mild "high" and Alcohol can be used in moderation. But smoking pot is not something that you can only have "one of" and not be effected. It is a significant "high" every time it is used. That is why socially unacceptable. If pot was so mild that you could have a hit at lunch and return to work, like a cigarette or a beer, it would be legal. It is just too flagerent.