"Legalization advocates note that pot addiction is not nearly as destructive as, say, abuse of alcohol."
Interesting that the word "addiction" isn't used with alcohol, which is physically addictive, but is used with pot, which isn't physically addictive. Seems like a better writer would've gone with the simple and straightforward "... as destructive as alcoholism." Adding the "say," in there, and using the more detached "abuse of alcohol", seems like an intentional weighting of the comparison.
Physical addiction of all narcotics is way overblown. The inability of "dependent" users to stop using drugs, including alcohol, is way less about physiological issues than it is simple habit.
Contrary to what they show in the movies, alcoholics and smack heads do not writhe around and wail when locked up away from their fix.
Interesting that the word "addiction" isn't used with alcohol, which is physically addictive, but is used with pot, which isn't physically addictive. Seems like a better writer would've gone with the simple and straightforward "... as destructive as alcoholism." Adding the "say," in there, and using the more detached "abuse of alcohol", seems like an intentional weighting of the comparison.