Roger Goodell does, Jon.
As well as law abiding citizens.
Marijuana is a gateway drug for fucks sake.
I don't believe that. There's no inherent property of marijuana that provokes people to seek out crack, meth, or heroin. At least not that I know of and I have never seen any of the number of fully functional people I know who smoke week fiend'n for something with a little more kick.
If there was then you would expect that the Netherlands to be higher in terms of illicit drugs use rates than the US but best I can recall, that is not the case.
The only "gateway" aspect that I believe exists is that you force people to become criminals to acquire and use it. They have to contact criminals to get, they have to deal with criminals to acquire. You put people in an environment where the norm is breaking the law, and as a result you are exposed to all sorts of addicts that you otherwise wouldn't even know exists. You go to your dealer and he's moving coke as well and there you are submersed in the environment.
If people could readily purchase it, you wouldn't have such exposure and people who otherwise wouldn't have any inclination to even try it wouldn't have it floating around waiting for a night where they aren't in the right mindset either because physical or psychological stress. Or fuck, how about just drunk. In college, people were getting hammered and keeping the party rolling they would get a little bump.
I would expect the same to happen with alcohol if prohibition was around. Once you force people to become criminals to drink or smoke weed, you've created an environment where breaking the law is the norm.
I don't smoke weed at all. Never have, although when I was in Amsterdam I did have a space cake or two. Some of the most successful people I know smoke weed. Likely some of the most successful people you know as well, just the stigma of it has forced people to seclude the fact that they occasionally smoke weed.
That said, your law abiding citizens aspect is spot on. It doesn't matter how harmful it may or may not be. It's illegal, end of discussion. In Denver they are going to start openly selling it after New Years. I've heard they already do in Washington. Of course, I've heard people flat out say that they're going to operate under federal law so employees won't be free to smoke at will.
If it were legal, I don't think people would be any more likely to move on to coke, meth, or heroin than they are now. Would it go the other way, I dunno. I suspect not. I think the real gateway to that type of shit is just fucked up members of society.