There's little sense soapboxing on the latter; I've had more than my fair share of the sauce. I've resolved to drink a bit less this year, and I'm pleased with my current consumption level. I think that if there were more to do in Vancouver socially during the colder winter months, we all wouldn't spend our nights pouring drinks down our throats¹.
I haven't touched a lot of drugs - I didn't try pot until high school was long over, and I wasn't very impressed, to be honest. I ended up choking up black phlegm the next day to boot, which was the end of that. I don't think it should be illegal at all, intent to distribute or not, because you'll find less health concerns in a dime bag of pot than you will in a cheeseburger or a cigarette. If anything, I think it should be entirely legalized so the city of Vancouver can take a major financial motivator out of the hands of gangs, and tax it the same way they do everything else.
I'm somewhat impressed with Vancouver's progressive drug laws; they've set up InSite, a place for heroin addicts to safely exchange needles, shoot up in peace, and discuss with health professionals any issues they have, including rehabilitation. Taking a hard line on hard drugs isn't cheaper, and it doesn't fix anything. People are human, and need to be educated on the issues of drugs, as it's fairly clear to see that the hard lines in the States haven't actually prevented any drug use at all.
¹That being said, Vancouver has a wonderful theatre scene. But, it's also very expensive and fails the face-time that most people are looking for.
Have you seen the documentary "The Union" ?
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