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Originally Posted by #-3
Not sure it's that easy to make direct comparisons.
Social harm does need to be weighed against social benefit.
Example does that volume of economic development supported by our transportation infrastructure justify highway deaths? sadly the answer is a resounding yes.
Does the rest and relaxation / social lubrication brought by drugs/alcohol justify with harms created (how many fewer people in the worlds labour force would there be without a few good drinks, a little social lubrication goes a long way  ).
You'd also need to weigh it against the harms created by prohibition. In societies that have become very restrictive regarding guns we have largely seen the intended benefits, while with Alcohol prohibition has brought on some pretty undesirable secondary effects. |
My point is that if we want to decide whether something should be legal based on the societal benefits, then alcohol should be made illegal.
But of course we have long moved past that kind of reasoning as a country, and have realized that if reasonable limitations are applied, most law abiding citizens are generally not an issue.
Except when it comes to gun control. For some reason when it comes to guns all reasoning goes out the window.