There's a world of difference between cannabis and street drugs like meth, crack and smack. About as much difference as between beer and Sterno.
Pot isn't terribly good for you, but all by itself it won't drive you into the gutter.
The other weekend I helped a women on Meth who had abandon her children over the drug. I recall reading an article stating how big of a problem this is (women abandoning kids), especially out west.
I tend to have libertarian views on drugs, but some of the harder ones are hard to swallow as it is really almost a form of suicide.
Yet the governmental war on drugs forces a billion dollar industry to go underground and criminalize, resulting in horrific violence and a degredation of morality. Similar to the effects of prohibition.
I think that the current system is such a failure that it is better to err on the side of liberty.
But still, it would warm my heart to see a few of those meth dealers swinging from some trees.