Cannabis is a drug that in no way degrades a person's character
Incorrect, sir. A drug is a drug. It alters your mind or body in some way, as youve stated. Thus, like any drug, the reaction YOU have will be different from everyone else.
If by chance, you could say that cannibis affects all people the same way, you would have a valid argument. But because of the very nature of the drug, youre invalid. I know at least two people personally who, once started, it began to alter who they were. Maybe they let it become an addiction, maybe the way it chemically interacted with their body changed them. I cannot know for sure.
I can say, a drug, even as simple as aspirin changes the body. How my body and yours reacts will be completely different. Some people can become quite addicted to the drug mentally - which is just as dangerous as chemically. Others develop some sort of pseudo-chemical addiction as well. I think the reason it remains illegal is not because of how it affects a few but how it affects the masses.