Watch out for this pothole

The president of the United States approves, as do, apparently, six out of every 10 Americans. So why are some of us still so wary of legalizing marijuana?

The president and other pot proponents do have some points. Legalizing the drug could open jail and prison space for more worthy occupants. It could also generate revenue for states that could funnel it toward education and other noble investments. We suppose it could even dampen the passionate fires of experimentation within young people who want to try something simply because they're not supposed to.

But when people compare pot to alcohol and say one isn't necessarily worse than the other, we shudder. Both have the ability to destroy lives, quickly or over time. Pot isn't worse than alcohol? Fair enough. But cyanide isn't worse than strychnine, either. And a gun isn't worse than a knife if you really, truly want to kill somebody.

Maybe that's a bit melodramatic. Let's assume that pot is a relatively harmless recreational drug that most users will consume responsibly according to the laws of Colorado and Washington. While we're watching all those jail cells emptying out and state coffers filling up, what can we expect to see in our pot-accepting communities?

To look ahead we first looked back. We researched the impact of marijuana on people in then '60s and '70s, when pot made quite the splash as a piece of the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll American trifecta. And here's what we saw (not through personal experience, mind you; through, um, research):

We saw a lot of people who calmed down to the point of being inert - some might say useless. We saw some of the personal attributes that made our nation great - work ethic, ambition, energy - take extended THC-induced vacations. Yes, we saw a peaceful aura emerge from a multitude of smoke-filled rooms, but we also saw many of these innocent enough pot smokers go on to bigger and more sinister things, like cocaine and heroin.

In all honesty, we're eager to see how legalization of marijuana goes in the states taking that step. We hold out the very distinct possibility that what our gut is telling us is not what we'll see happen.

But common sense is a nagging thing, and it suggests that at precisely the time we must all ramp up our games, to get better at the things we do so our families, our communities and our country stay strong in an era of dramatically increasing competition, making pot readily available and socially acceptable is the wrong way to go. No matter what the president says.