We learned last week that the federal task force on the legalization of marijuana had completed their report and that it would be made public in the coming weeks. With the government indicating that it is moving full steam ahead with this initiative, is it not worth asking one more time, why are we legalizing marijuana?The usual answer I receive is that alcohol is legal.I often think about that analogy every time I visit the liquor store, especially on a Friday afternoon. Surprisingly, I am not filled with national pride as I watch the stressed-out office workers anxiously clutching their bottles; the students bragging how “wrecked” they are going to get that weekend; or the down-and-out person counting out change for a single can of beer. How many of us are imbibing as a form of self-medication in order to deal with stress and anxiety? Have we learned nothing from our growing awareness around mental illness and the temptation to use intoxicants to try to cope with an increasingly overwhelming world?No, I am not arguing for prohibition. I am simply asking the reason why we are adding another drug to the list of socially acceptable ways of getting impaired? As a nation, we seem to have lost sight of what problem we are trying to solve.I am not a marijuana user and have trouble seeing it as a positive force in our society. As Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief turned MP in charge of the initiative, put it: “(marijuana) is a substance that poses certain significant, both social and health, risks to Canadians.”Although the scientific debates continue, many of the findings around recreational marijuana use are troubling. As the discussion paper that guided the federal task force concluded: “Daily or near daily use of marijuana can have serious long term effects on a user's health, including risk of addiction, earlier onset or worsening of some mental illnesses in vulnerable individuals, and difficulty thinking, learning, remembering, and making decisions” — not exactly a healthy choice. This is especially true when coupled with the dangers associated with getting behind the wheel of a car while stoned.The research is more disturbing when it comes to adolescents. A recent report by the Canadian Paediatric Society included a long list of dangers for youth who use marijuana including “impaired neurological development and cognitive decline; and diminished school performance and lifetime achievement.”I guess the federal Liberals share my concern because both their election platform and discussion paper list the number one reason behind legalizing marijuana is to keep it out of the hands of young people. They also add that it would save the justice system money.So let me get this straight. In order to keep the drug out of the hands of children we are going to first legalize it and make it fully socially acceptable. Then we are going to offer it for sale at provincial liquor outlets or corner stores and make it part of our social fabric. I imagine many are already making space in their homes for a “joint cabinet.” Then we are going to tell kids that they can't have access to it. I forgot to add that the government is also going to tax the marijuana, making it more expensive than growing it yourself.Although a near-perfect plan, I have to admit to one or two nagging doubts. What if the increased normalization of marijuana, ready supply and relatively high cost combined with the ban on its sale to minors actually creates a black market aimed primarily at kids? I know it is unlikely, but then again Chief Wiggum on the Simpsons was surprised to discover that kids were fascinated with his “forbidden closet of mystery.”Don't worry, the feds have an answer. According to both their platform and discussion paper, the government plans to introduce tough new laws, aimed particularly at those who provide pot to minors. I guess we can always use all the savings we gain from the justice system through marijuana legalization to pay for the enforcement of these new laws.I can hear the advocates response already – “alcohol is worse.” And they are right. But isn't that like your teenager justifying the low grade they got on their math test by reassuring you that many of their classmates got a lower score.I get it. The current laws aren't working. People are ending up with criminal records for minor infractions involving marijuana. So fix the law to have the punishment better suit the crime. But what is the urgency to go all in? Laws prescribe conduct but they also educate us about our collective values. Is legalizing marijuana going to make our country a better place? More importantly, is it really going to protect our kids?John Milloy is a former MPP and Ontario Liberal cabinet minister currently serving as the co-director of the Centre for Public Ethics and assistant professor of public ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, and the inaugural practitioner in residence in Wilfrid Laurier University's Political Science department. He is also a lecturer in the University of Waterloo's Master of Public Service Program.  John can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @John_Milloy.