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pkster8235

Or they could stop blaming McDonalds and let the public take some responsibility for their own actions and choices.

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MMJNoob

My mom used to say(and still has to remind me), you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. An emotionally charged attack is going to close the ears of those you are trying to convince. You'll end up doing more harm than good. You will create a bias against your view and others who share it. Focus on the merits of your position rather than why you think your opponent is wrong.

I can hear it now, "those pot-head pro-legalization druggies are nuts. They think feeding a kid a happy meal is like giving it meth. I don't want to legalize anything that makes people that delusional." They'd be right in that the statement is nuts. And now they have a reason to believe the whole movement is.

When you construct an argument, try to leave emotion out of it. To be effective, persuasion needs to be rational.
Avoid exaggeration to make a point. Find actual facts and figures(from reliable sources) that demonstrate your points. Make logical conclusions based on these. Your opponent may disagree with your conclusions but won't be able to discount the facts you've provided. And they might just give it some consideration.

If you just want to bicker, the original approach will work fine. If you're looking to truly change any minds, you're going to have to change your approach.

FWIW, I get where you're coming from with McDonalds (sans exaggeration). Though; as far as the legalization/decriminalization issue goes, I think alcohol and tobacco remain the best analogies.