Thoughts in Writing 4

I am writing to express my opinion on the current debate over the de-criminalization of marijuana and its possibility of becoming legal, as opposed to the continued consumer access to alcohol in its many forms.
Alcohol has been my first love and it eventually turned on me. I drank when I could get a phony draft card and then found a bar that would serve me. I was the "go to" guy for beer, wine, and booze. It made me feel important. I drank as often as I could afford it. Before I was in the work force, I had means and opportunity.
Later I became a "pothead" and ate "gorilla biscuits" (or pills) and the effect was pleasing and also destructful. I would mix combinations to escape the emotional imbalance which caused me much grief. I had demons which haunted me continuously, and I could not-no, would not, reveal them to anyone. The desired effect from the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs gave me release from the demons haunting me, only to return later.
Alcohol for me was my all time companion. I could buy it at any store and it was legal unless it involved public intoxication or some illegal activity.
Drugs were the ultimate escape. It gave me the potential to be a victim of an overdose and a receptor of sympathetic grieving. But, alas, I was given mouth to mouth by my fellow addicts and resuscitated more times than I can count. (I should have given some of those guys an engagement ring for the many times they saved me by mouth to mouth). 
To compare the drinking to using prescription and street drugs, I would like to offer this analogy.
Drinking has been my main source of pleasure. It allowed me entrance to bars, clubs, and other establishments where I could meet and greet the opposite sex, dance and have fun. There were times, unfortunately, when I drank too much and went home with a six pack and depressed. 
Drinking is to me what cocaine is to me. I have a bottle which I have started and intend to save part of for later, tomorrow, when ever. But knowing it is there, it attracts me like no other lover. I cannot resist having just a little bit more. But each time I reach for it, the time has grown shorter and shorter. I eventually have no alcohol left and need to get to a bar and run a tab or get to a bootlegger.
I did enjoy cocaine, but it had the same effect on me as alcohol. I would buy a piece to deal back home, but after trying it out, I ended up with an empty pocket and no coke. I was greedy and at the same time needy. I had to have more. It not only satisfied me, but it gave me escape like no other.
Heroin, on the other hand, was my next to perfect drug of choice. Once I had it, I could nod or settle down and get the thoughts which haunted me under control. Unfortunately, my employers had no intentions to have a drug addict remain on the payroll. I went to counseling and to detox and rehab. It did eventually get me clean.
In between the alcohol and cocaine, came the speed and LSD. I was dealing speed and making a profit which went to other means of destruction. The speed eventually wore off and I was back to my self again.
But the acid! I loved to trip and had a few of my 100+ trips become problematic. I would see things or people I did not want to see. But friends could help me through it. We were having too good a time partying and  enjoying ourselves. Only one time I took STP, a drug lasting more than LSD, and I did up methadrine sulfate. It wasn't the crystal I thought. And I went on a three day trip which eventually came down after meeting friends at a crash pad and smoking reefer.
I also tried DMT. It was fantastic for the half hour or so it lasted. It was like an LSD trip on short term. But it also caused me to lose connection with reality and find myself lost.
I can only say that the days of old have gone and the reality of today is present. I find that if we are able to have access to legal marijuana, then it can be no more than the worst of alcohol. But I am sure that the reason that it is being debated is that: 1. The government does not have a plan to license the distributors; 2. The government has pressure to keep the age of obtaining weed to 21+ and where it is to be sold; 3. the law enforcement people do not have any way to determine if a person is under the influence. After all, THC remains in the blood stream for about three (3) months if a regular user.
But we must also consider the potential for abuse of pharmaceuticals. Doctors give to us many different forms of pills to make us feel better or take away the aches and pains. I am not saying that the pain is imaginary or conceived to gain a prescription for medication. But after having been prescribed these pain killers, many are forced to look to other doctors or sources for relief. Is this an answer to the problem of pain and pills? 
The use of marijuana can be regulate the same as prescription drugs can, possibly easier. After all, only one product is being monitored as opposed to many different types of medications. But the stigma remains that marijuana is the gateway drug. But in reality, the prescribed medications from doctors are really the gateway. What is one to do when the script is now empty and the date of renewal is days or weeks away?
Having said that, I can say myself that the effect of marijuana on my system could be more easily monitored or regulated as opposed to the ingestion of pharmacy or other drugs. For those who experience no pain or need to rely on pharmaceutical drugs to alleviate the pain, may you always have a healthy life. But for us who are in pain due to accidents from cars or work injuries, I hope that there is an answer.
As I said once again: Please discuss this with one who is experiencing the pain and humiliation at times of having to have a script refilled again and again.
Thank you.