I’m taking the not so laughable position that drug dealers are usually funding their own habit and that it would be far cheaper to legalize the substance in question than fill jails and provide profitability for the cartels. I also favor getting the people who are sitting in jails and consuming resources out of jail when they pose minimal risk.
Unfortunately, a lot of so called conservatives are of the persuasion that mama government needs to step in to protect people from their own folly.
You cannot legalize without subsidizing.
Drug addicts are unemployable and spend all their money on their habits.
Legalizers assume that there are zero consequences to society telling addicts that their life decisions are valid and should be guaranteed by law.
Legalization means more unemployable addicts who will survive by either directly robbing and assaulting productive human beings, or by giving votes to politicians who will indirectly rob productive human beings through taxes and through insane employment laws.
And all addicts are inherently violent - for every "nonviolent" drug addict there is usually at least one friend or family member who has been menaced or assaulted, and who is too embarrassed to file charges.
Anyone who tries to stand between an addict and his fix will soon learn how "nonviolent" he is.