Dear Joe Biden: Marijuana is not a gateway drug and it should be legalized.

[NNadir]

97. The experience of being a designated driver at a wild party has some relevance here.

One of the most brilliant people I ever knew, a high school friend, when he went to college could drink all night, get wasted drunk, wake up at 8 in the morning, take an exam in differential equations in a class at a prestigious college, and get the highest grade in the class.

When I visited him at college, I saw him do it. He was a brilliant musician, a witty person, a decent artist, and a tremendous conversationalist.

I have heard stories from people I know who worked with a rather prominent chemist, a Nobel Laureate, that that Laureate had a habit of getting blitzed.

Neither of these stories of course prove that alcohol is good for you.

The high school friend I described is dead. He was killed in an auto accident before he was 30.

When I was around pot when it was incredibly illegal - one could go to prison for a couple of joints - I saw lots of pot smokers who said they were just fine, and they had no problems.

Of course, they were making this judgement about themselves when they were high; their judgement was impaired, which became pretty clear if one was in the room with them and one wasn't high.

This was often the point of Cheech and Chong routines.

You say you're a good person and it sounds very much as if you are, at least from your self description. However you don't know if you would be an even better person if you didn't smoke pot.

I no longer know anyone who smokes pot other than my nephew; but I'm sure if I did they'd all tell me how good they're doing without knowing how much better they could be if their judgement isn't impaired.

I am more concerned about young people than I am about us old farts who have ruined the world in our sybaritic consumer self indulgent race for material and ersatz emotional ecstasy. We had our chance and we blew it.

I personally have failed to give back to the world what it was my responsibility to give and as the end of my life approaches I am filled with regret for not giving more. Part of my failure is to have viewed myself with impaired judgement.

My nephew breaks my heart. He had other emotional problems; his parents divorce; their poor parenting; and their insistence on living in a "cool" town for old hippies with lousy schools. Addressing these problems by smoking pot, by self medication, has put him into a tail spin from which I hope he emerges. I've seen people re-emerge. Frankly from what I've heard, I'm hoping he doesn't become a suicide.

I am not in favor of mass incarceration to address social problems. That said, I don't want pot openly distributed and legal to sell. Yes, I believe fines are appropriate.