In Washington, DC, it is legal to carry up to 2 oz. of pot, to smoke it in a private home, and to grow up to 3 mature plants and 3 young plants. Since DC is under the ultimate control of Congress, Republicans in Congress are preventing the city from developing any other laws regarding control, taxing, and sale of marijuana except what is already approved for medical marijuana. Because of the Congressional blockage, only the language in the referendum approved by 70% of the voters is being followed. Result I suspect is that people currently growing pot have some new friends, and get invited to more private parties. Ah, the joys of “free” enterprise, and gardening.
Regarding drugs in general, I have known crack users who said they would have preferred to use MJ but it was harder to get. They are dead now. There is a major heroin epidemic that is killing a number of people, almost nobody every dies of MJ use. People talk of MJ as a gateway drug, but I have never known a single pot smoker who didn’t start with more addictive tobacco, and I have lived for many years. Legal alcohol is also more addictive than pot. So would you rather pay to lock up a lot of pot smokers, or would you rather pay less for some addiction counseling for those who misuse MJ to the detriment of their health and employability.
Well, one issue that folks really aren’t thinking about is the ease of production. Production of some of the more sinister drugs such as crystal meth is fairly involved, involves chemical knowledge, etc. Beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks, on the other side of the spectrum, are incredibly easy to make. And the ingredients have other uses as well. Same goes for pot: you need some gardening skills. Hemp grows wild in much of the midwest.
You’re never going to be able to prohibit production of a substance that people can easily and covertly produce absent implementing draconian measures that are worse than the social costs of the substance itself.