In the U.S. marijuana is a schedule 1 drug, the hardest drug category
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Schedule_I_drugs_(US)
Interesting that the U.S. government ranks the following as the most dangerous drugs
Marijuana, most opioids and opium derivatives, peyote, psilocybin.
The U.S. government ranks as schedule 2, not as bad as scedule 1, the following drugs
hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, methadone, methamphetamine etc.
Raw opium is listed as schedule 2 but is much harder to obtain in the U.S. than pharma synthetic opioids.
Had they legalized weed, then less number of people could have taken the dangerous opiates and other hard drugs. Many thousands of lives could have been saved. But unfortunately, the pharma cartels will not allow that.
This is a personal choice of each person. They and without legalization in some countries get the grass or heroin. Personally, I do not want to be a drug addict and slowly decompose because my mind is stuffing something.
Ultimately it is a personal choice but the reality is that a person in most countries spends most of their energy trying to learn the government's rules rather than natural rules, so it is effectively a government choice.
Most people experiment when they are young with drugs. Some die, some don't, same as with anything. But forcing young people to 'experiment' with expensive pharma chemicals and become criminals, all while not learning anything nor even benefiting from the natural effects that are present in plant based substances, is not good.