Correlation doesn't equal causation. The amount of states which have legalized marijuana pales in comparison to the number which it's still criminalized in. Obama questioning why the number of youths in the workforce in the entire country is decreasing could have absolutely nothing to do with weed becoming more and more socially acceptable, but I'm sure it contributes to a small amount. I'm the first to say that the way the media represents weed is harmful. It was once portrayed as an insidious plant which turns everyone who touches it into loser burnouts, and I think we've over corrected. Now it's shown as something completely without any level of harm, the cool thing to do, and as actually being inarguably beneficial. This leads many kids to get into it without any level of restraint, to the detriment of their lives. I was once one of those kids. But it's just ridiculous to assume that cannabis is somehow the be all end all which decides if kids have jobs. Why don't we focus on the fact that these entry level positions which the youth has traditionally held are now being taken up by middle aged folk trying to support their families? Or how individual state laws such as California wildly raising the minimum wage in response to this makes it much more difficult for these youth to hold employment. When an employer knows that he can ask much more of these older people who absolutely need that job versus the kid who can quit when he gets pissed off with them, who do you think they're going to hire? If you're paying more you may as well get the biggest bang for your buck, right?

Sure, drugs can destroy lives. So can sex, biker clubs, food, and knives. Should all of these be illegal? You're obviously biased against drugs to assume that the ratio of individuals who can use responsibly and those who cannot is as you believe it to be, and I can't blame you for that due to the society we live in. However it's time to stop viewing what's simply another tool to release dopamine and serotonin as something so wildly different from anything you indulge in on a daily basis. People create issues with everything, drugs included. If someone is content with ruining their lives and living in squalor chasing a high then it shouldn't be the governments job to parent them. They shouldn't be receiving welfare or any other kind of government aid, that's for damn sure. But at a certain point if people don't wish to help themselves you just have to sit back and let them burn.