In case you haven't noticed, the new legalized pot laws still require enforcement, as there are myriad restrictions as to its use: prohibition to minors, locations use is allowed, amounts allowed, possession for use or sale, etc.
If you consider all of the management laws now required, outright prohibition was much, much simpler and easier for law enforcement to implement.
Additional paperwork is preferable to a war.
In case you haven't noticed, the new legalized pot laws still require enforcement, as there are myriad restrictions as to its use: prohibition to minors, locations use is allowed, amounts allowed, possession for use or sale, etc.
All those regulations on alcohol have not created a breeding ground for a significant black market in that drug.
If you consider all of the management laws now required, outright prohibition was much, much simpler and easier for law enforcement to implement.
Simpler? I suppose. Easier? Doubtful - monitoring transactions that can occur anywhere and all of whose parties want to hide them is much harder than monitoring sales in a fixed storefront.