Public Policy Statement on Marijuana, Cannabinoids and Legalization

Given these statistics.... is legalization worth the consequences....
Cannabis has been found to be the most frequently used drug in the U.S. after alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. 
The risk of developing addiction associated with cannabis use has been reported to increase to about 17% among those who start using marijuana in adolescence, and to 25-50% among those who smoke marijuana daily.
The long-term effects of marijuana use include altered brain development and cognitive impairment, including impaired neural connectivity in specific brain regions, decreased activity in prefrontal regions, and reduced volumes in the hippocampus.
Cannabis is most commonly consumed through smoking, a route of drug delivery that predictably has a variety of negative effects on pulmonary function. Smoke from marijuana combustion has been shown to contain a number of carcinogens and cocarcinogens, as well as many of the toxins, irritants, and carcinogens as tobacco smoke.  Additionally, marijuana smokers tend to inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than cigarette smokers, which leads to a greater exposure per breath to “tar” (the carcinogenic solids in smoke). Regular smoking of marijuana, in the absence of tobacco, produces visible and microscopic injury to the large airways
http://www.asam.org/docs/default-source/publicy-policy-statements/mariju...