Comment: It doesn't matter one bit

I m always annoyed with those "Marijuana is better than alcohol", or "Marijuana causes less deaths than cigarettes" and so forth. Who cares - it doesn't matter one bit !
It's not about what causes less harm - it's about the fact that the govt should absolutely not have the right to tell a grown adult what they can put in their bodies. To think otherwise is to accept the fact that you don't own your own body, but rather that it's a property of some soulless bureaucrat.
And yes, before anyone asks, the same goes for heroin, crack and anything else.
If your "conservative" friend is afraid for his children he should take a role of parent and not expect govt be a nanny for him.