If drunk driving causes more deaths than Marijuana smoking, should the drinking of alcohol be made illegal?

No. Banning alcohol has been tried many times. It was an abysmal failure in the USA and probably would be here too. You'd just create a black market. Banning marijuana hasn't worked either, and it's not even as popular a drug as alcohol. I'd like to see it made legal too because it's a waste of the police and the court's time dealing with drug offences and finances other forms of organised crime. I don't know how it would work if it was legalised though, since there would need to be some sort of regulation to make sure people didn't drive or operate machinery or whatever while high.

by Jennifer Muirhead

I've seen people drink drive and also smoke marijuana and drive and I think that both behaviours are truly abhorrent. I don't know the stats on either but having seen people under the influence of marijuana I would NEVER get in a car with them. I don't really know that banning alcohol completely would necessarily save more lives - as you ban one substance another will pop up and people will still access it illegally. Plus, do we really want to run the risk of returning to prohibition days and gangsters and all that?

by lizzi

Yes to your question plain and simple.
Save more lives.
So if a person is going to drive that day NO Alcohol can they consume.

by jonaja

That's a bit paternalistic. I just feel that people who consume alcohol need to own up to their mistakes if they end up in a situation after drinking. But I know it's not a perfect world. If alcohol was made illegal, it would be a pandora's box, because cigarettes cause lung cancer which kills thousands each year, so cigarettes should be illegal too. Unhealthy Fast food causes obesity leading to diabetes and heart disease, so fast food restaurants should be made illegal as well. I mean where do you draw the line?

by Happy Mom

You'd be opening up a can of worms! Have to draw a line in the sand somewhere of we'd be making lots of things illegal!

by Sandy Ludinski

I think drink driving is too important to let go :)

I agree, Jona. Just meant you can't ban everything that is detrimental to us. After all, common sense and personal responsibility should dictate to MOST of us what we do and don't partake of. I know this doesn't work for everyone, but banning things won't work for everyone either, it just pushes it all underground. No easy answers!

Making alcohol illegal will never work, and marijuana being illegal has been a hard road for authorities. My vote would go towards legalizing marijuana, it's worked out really well for the American states that have done it thus far. Police have been able to focus on more severe crimes, it has created a huge job market and those states are taxing the sale of marijuana heavily. The tax money collected is being used for rehab programs for all substances, to further education programs and so on. Making these things illegal isn't the answer, but proper education regarding their consumption is.

by DamienR

Driving under the influence of ANY substance should be illegal, enjoying a little consumption now and again should be legal, or in the case of marijuana, at least decriminalised.

by meggf

I would say yes if it could practically be done, but, because it cannot, I think the government should certainly lift the legal drinking age to 21.

by Vee