Legal Marijuana better than legal alcohol

California wants to legalize marijuana. Good idea! Why not? You can drink lots of liquor and get impaired and drive...so why not smoke lots of pot and get impaired and drive? Last night Fox News had Nancy Pelosi's daughter on talking about how she would have a problem with people smoking pot in a bar, getting high, and then getting behind the wheel. Really? But she is ok with people drinking in the bar, getting intoxicated, and then getting behind the wheel? What's the difference? Actually, as an NP in an ER I can tell you there is a BIG difference. The ER is filled on a daily basis with drunk people seeking help. Withdrawal from alcohol is lethal...deadly. Withdrawal from pot is...nothing. Alcohol withdrawal costs the hospital millions of dollars yearly and takes up the majority of inpatient beds! The average person does not know this fact. No pot smokers are tying up hospital beds. The Lancet just published an article stating that raising the price of alcohol can reduce consumption, illness, and premature deaths in drinkers and reduce the burden on health care systems. There have been days I've gone to work and every ICU bed was filled with a person in severe, life-threatening, alcohol withdrawal. No pot smokers in the ICU. The political talking heads should be asking the health care professionals about legalizing pot. Nancy Pelosi's daughter has no basis for her decisions regarding legalizing pot. Alcohol is far more dangerous and eats up far more health care dollars than any other social issue. The politicians are in the dark about this topic. I think we should legalize marijuana. I think we should tax alcohol, not soda. Smoking is smoking, the cancer risks are there for pot just like cigarettes. Just give the people the information...tell them the risks of alcohol and the risks of smoking pot. Then let the people decide if they want to drink and smoke. Then tax it. I can see it now...going to a local bar and having a "back room" where you can smoke pot. Where the bartender can take your keys if he/she thinks you are too impaired to drive. The potential for entrepreneurs is limitless!