That would still leave massive profit opportunites for the criminal world.
Well, to use your tobacco example.
Tobacco is legal and relatively inexpensive.
However,there is still a massive profit opportunity for the criminal world from black market sales of tobacoo.
Legalizing/decriminalizing MJ while it might reduce many crimes related to the illegal sale of MJ it will not solve the crime epidemic.
Even if the government taxed MJ criminals would still sell it across state lines simular to tobacco.
Legalizing It will only create another opening to expoit another vice.
Legalizing alcohol did not completely stop its abuse or the death relating to its abuse.
The criminals that sold illegal hooch moved on to the next profitable vice.
Through it all I doubt they ever stopped selling tobacco across state lines.
That will still leave massive profit opportunities for the criminal world.
Tobacco is legal and relatively inexpensive. However,there is still a massive profit opportunity for the criminal world from black market sales of tobacoo.
Not "massive" - every estimate I've seen makes black-market tobacco profits a fraction of a percent of illegal drug profits.
Legalizing/decriminalizing MJ while it might reduce many crimes related to the illegal sale of MJ it will not solve the crime epidemic.
Keeping the growing and sale of marijuana illegal has fueled the crime epidemic. Utopia cannot be had - legalization is the least bad option.
Even if the government taxed MJ criminals would still sell it across state lines simular to tobacco.
The profits would be slashed - see above.
Legalizing It will only create another opening to expoit another vice.
It's being exploited now - and completely outside any regulatory moderation.
Legalizing alcohol did not completely stop its abuse or the death relating to its abuse.
Nor did criminalizing alcohol. Again, utopia cannot be had.
The criminals that sold illegal hooch moved on to the next profitable vice.
If that vice was as profitable as drugs, criminals would already have been there. It's basic economics that every vice we legalize, thereby ceasing to hyperinflate its profits and restrict them to criminal hands, is a blow to criminal profits.