The graduated system of adulthood in this country is very odd in many ways. The age of consent, when you’re old enough to start drawing a paycheck, when you’re allowed to start driving, when you’re allowed to start voting, and when you’re allowed to buy marajuana or alcohol are all different ages. And through all of this you’re expected to conduct yourself like an adult while your brain chemistry is going through radical changes.

I’m not so sure I completely agree. A better done graduated system could do a lot better than a single all or nothing system could. Specifically, drugs in general. It’s not just that drugs are bad or whatever. it’s that the ease with which a company can exploit a younger person, combined with the fact that under a general age the young adults are all having their brains still developed, that the cost to society for allowing drug use is a lot higher than the cost of allowing drug use for older folks.