Is pot legalization coming soon?

This is somewhat correct, but fails to account for the drugs themselves.
Let's consider what impact these drugs have on the user's perception of society.

Recreationally legal or being legalized
Makes the user feel happy, euphoric even. Content with the status quo, and that everything will work out on it's own.

Numbs both emotional and some physical pain. Creates a sense of conformity, that the user should keep their head down and go with the flow.

Very little effect aside from a short lived "buzz" for some inexperienced users. Once again, this drug numbs emotional pain, and encourages the user to look no further than the short term.

Legal with a prescription
Hyper focus, encouraging the user to be a slave to whatever task they are given.

Intense euphoria, pleasure beyond description. These drugs are often short lived highs, and leave the user desperate for their next chance to indulge, often resulting in behavior that they otherwise would not partake in, in order to get their next dose.

Highly Illegal (instant felony in most American states)
Causes an intense feeling of euphoria, and feeling of interconnectedness with other humans and nature. Can often cause questioning of social norms, and rarely a complete deconstruction of the user's ego, causing them to re-evaluate themselves from an outside perspective.

Similar to mushrooms, it also causes questioning of social norms, and a complete re-evaluation of the user. It is frequently reported that users are able to look at problems that they face at work or in life from an entirely new angle.

Complete near death experience. Similarly to LSD and Mushrooms, causes questioning of social norms.

I have a rather ovbious bias towards psychedelics, but I'd be happy to answer any questions about any of these drugs. I think that this boards opinion on drugs comes from red scare era propaganda.

Seriously though, idealism aside, why is LSD so illegal? What are the stated reasons? A lot of stoner friends have said that it is harmless.

...

What about NO2?

OP here. No one answered my question.

In New York State, the Department of Financial Services issued a brief encouraging banks based in the state to lend to marijuana companies a few months ago.

yes

Also even to the most die hard conservatives it's apparent that the war on drugs has completely, utterly, totally failed and is never going to work unless they go full fash. However going full fash requires a shitton of money that comes from their income so not having prohibition is the obvious choice. Even as things stand, the costs of jailing people means they're giving prisoners free healthcare, food and shelter for nothing. The war on drugs itself will move towards opiates where it'll also fail and be abandoned in a decade or so.

The same applies to guns, eventually prohibitionists will get the message that it's impossible to control them especially as 3d printing becomes more mainstream. As cheap plastic zip guns become more durable and take over as criminals' weapon of choice (consider that corn plastic guns can be entirely destroyed in boiling water and reformed into something else) it'll become obvious that nobody is benefiting from gun control except private prisons who give brown people found with guns free healthcare. Meanwhile the government will have succeeded in locking down all schools across the entire country with armed checkpoints so media events like school shootings won't happen.

(though this assumes anyone in the government has a clue and won't try forcing a dead issue any longer, I could be wrong on that)

Yeah, I would say that its pretty likely. To what extent, i.e states legalize it or the fed. gov't legalizes it, is the real question here.

Your friends are correct, it is in fact scientifically one of the safest drugs, only second to magic mushrooms.
Well, I have two theories as to why it is illegal.
I think the first one is that Nixon used the war on drugs as a tool against his political opponents. At that time, his opponents tended to be anti-war hippies, and low income voters. As a result, they examined their lifestyle, and for the hippies it became clear that LSD, Marijuana, and Mushrooms were incredibly prevelant in these communities. By criminalising them, you could effectively outlaw opposition to Nixon.
My second theory is that after preforming the MKULTRA experiments, (which if you haven't read about, I'd strongly encourage you to) they saw that LSD was an incredibly powerful drug, and could transform entire societies. Since it is rather hard to produce, it would be theoretically possible to completely ban (Didn't work out like that as you can tell). From there, the only one who could produce it would be the government, which could do so with no consequence. It could then be used for anything they desired.

OP here. Thanks. got a link on that so I can research more?

Nicotine is actually a very effective stimulant, nearly as effective as adderal. Makes workers a lot more productive and focused.

So explain why the CIA was dosing everyone with LSD in the 50s through the 70s.

I thought that was all part of some sort of experimental plan that they abandoned?

To be honest, I haven't tried NO2 outside of a couple of low doses (to the point where I couldn't really feel the effects) in a medical setting, so I can't speak directly to the effects, however it is my understanding that it intensifies the effect of most other drugs when combined, specifically psychedelics. This, in my opinion, means that it can be used as a non-conformity drug, and has some of those properties. In addition it is not neurotoxic, assuming the user takes appropriate breaks for air, and doesn't cause any real bodily harm if used responsibly.

This user gets it.

MKULTRA was the experiment, and it was the US government trying to get ahead of the Soviet Union by any means necessary. This included attempting to see into the future via a psychic at one point, the LSD portion was to see if they could control a population on a chemical scale.

To add to this
Source: history.com/mkultra-operation-midnight-climax-cia-lsd-experiments

It wasn't just "experimental," it worked. The CIA used LSD to promote individualism and mysticism. The whole hippie rock music scene was run by government assets. They also used LSD for extensive brainwashing and torture.

Why did they stop with the LSD then? Replace it with crack or cocaine?

Do you have a source for this?

In my experience, LSD has quite the opposite effect. Even my capitalist friends who have taken it have gone incredibly left after taking it, due to the increased empathy and outside perspective which the drug gives you.

This part is true, but it is partly the nature of the drug, and partly the artificial culture around it. It's not like a cold beer or a joint where you can crack one open or light one up several times a week. You have to be responsible and moderate about it, and understand that some of the things you come to believe while under the influence of the drug, same as any drug, are just the drugged out delusions of an ape.

You are full of shit. They did a shitty job. LSD turned me into a collectivist.