Mixed feelings here! As Dragonslayer put it I'm a product of the 60's, plus a Vietnam veteran so it should be a given there. Finally stopped using it in the 80's, and have no desire to ever go back to it. There really IS a reason they call it dope! And yes it can and will lead to other drugs.
Now, just like my Christianity those are MY beliefs for MYSELF. To each their own. We all have free will and have the right to choose what we do. Myself it wrecked my life and was a factor in two divorces. I shudder to think just what I could have been and accomplished if my brain wasn't clouded up with drugs. It made me lazy and stupid!
OK now to the point in hand, legalization. I will draw an analogy to prohibition. When the government tried prohibition it lead to one of the highest times of crime this nation had ever seen, and a huge loss of revenue as well. That being said the idea of legalization does make sense in terms of tax revenue and if it is not a crime then a lot of the criminal activity including the violence will decrease drastically. Drug addiction will then be a social issue just like alcoholism and gambling addiction. Of course burglary and robbery will continue to be an issue as people addicted will need to support their habit, and unemployment will still be a problem. No, I'm not saying that those that occasionally use will become addicts any more than I would say anyone who drinks is an alcoholic, I'm just saying that addiction will not go away just because it becomes legal.
Bottom line, as it becomes legal more power to it, great source of tax revenue, and it will make some people happy and who knows maybe it will be helpful to some, just like giving narcotics works as a pain killer. I shudder at the implications that it is one step closer in the decline of advancement of science and technology as people in general become stupider by the minute...
Been there, done that, bought the tee shirt, what's next!