Not all illegal drugs are the same.

Supporters of legalizing marijuana have long complained that it's gotten a bad rap, that it is the least addictive of all the drugs the federal government classifies as dangerous. We're all thinking: did they ever try pot? Do they really not understand the difference between it and cocaine?

If you're still reading, you probably know the difference. Cocaine is addictive. Marijuana isn't.
Heroin is addictive. Marijuana isn't. Alcohol is addictive. Marijuana isn't.

If you're addicted to coke or its nasty relative crack, and if you run out, you're likely to knock over a 7-11 just to get money to buy more crack. If you've been smoking marijuana and you run out, you say, "Bummer" and don't worry about it until you get some more, if ever. Until you get it, you just drink beer or whatever. You don't obsess about getting more.

Not all illegal drugs are the same. Some addict you and even drive you to unspeakable deeds. Meth is famous for that: guys coming down from that "rush" have been known to kill people to get more of it or, again, the money to buy more. That's never happened, so far as I know, with users of marijuana.

The problem with the drug laws in our country is that they lump so many different kinds of drugs into a single category: illegal and dangerous.

Let's back off for just a moment and re-consider.

To re-cap. There are, to be sure, some very dangerous and addictive drugs. These include heroin, meth, and cocaine. Their danger is that they give you lots of un-earned energy (which is why you feel like sh*t when they wear off). They also can suppress your appetite, which depletes your body. Over time, they can kill you. Even if you're young and athletic. Or an artist.

There are also drugs that mess with your mind and let you see things that don't exist, meaning the hallucinogens -- LSD most famously but others I don't even know about. Used sparingly, on special occasions, among like-minded friends, they can be a source of extra-planetary entertainment. Used indiscriminately, alone, by troubled people, they can lead to big trouble.
Psychosis and violence.

Then there are the anti-depressants, like Valium and Prozac and others, which can entice sad people into a dependency that is hard to get out of. They lull you into not dealing with issues in your life you probably need to deal with. I'm willing to bet you know someone who is addicted to an anti-depressant, whether she or he admits it.

Marijuana is in a class by itself. It elevates your mood a little, makes you more aware of things around you and also gives you the munchies, which is why it's so often prescribed for cancer patients whose horrendous treatments have left them with no appetite. It really is kind of a miracle drug: makes you feel better with no side effects, including no hangover. And it's not manufactured, as the more addictive drugs are: it grows wild, ready for the picking, a weed.

I'm sorry that our nation's leaders -- many, if not most, of whom have tried marijuana -- are too chicken to legalize it and tax it and make it available to everyone. Lord, those of us who have used it -- and would like to again -- would pay big money to be able to buy it legally, so much money, in fact, that we could likely pay for a health system to cover all Americans.

If you haven't tried marijuana, and if you get the chance, give it a go. You'll be surprised, and, like me, you'll wonder why in the world we didn't start selling this legally and taxing it a long time ago.

Some solutions slap us in the face, but we pretend we didn't notice the slap.

Slap! Didn't get that? Here it is again. Slap!!!

Legalize marijuana. But keep an eye on meth and coke and crack and heroin. Know your enemy, but don't confuse your enemy with your friend.