Look at Prohibition. It was a total and utter failure. It spawned a smuggling trade, gang violence, and corrupt government officials. Alcohol was illegal and widely available.
It’s the same with marijuana. Half the people in prison are there for non-violent drug offenses. It costs about $30,000 a year to keep them in prison. It costs less than half as much for drug treatment.
Not only that, asset forfeiture would go away as well as hundreds of intrusive laws meant to be used to catch drug dealers.
So then the question becomes, should there be any regulations regarding marijuana, or should we just be completely libertarian? And who decides? And is it a federal issue at all, or something that should just be completely up to the states? There seems to be multiple issues involved here.
The Nanny Staters must be very sad these days. That’s a real shame.