Marijuana and the future of legalization

The war on drugs, like Prohibition in the 1930’s, is a dismal failure. The costs of fighting this war are in the hundreds of billions of dollars, and we are no closer to eradicating illicit drugs from our culture and communities as we were when we started. And like Prohibition, people who want the banned substances will get them on the black market despite the bans. Those selling the illegal products protect their markets with horrific violence that spills over into innocent lives. So much of the bloodshed and forced displacement from Mexico and Central America resulting in illegal immigration and requests for asylum are due to the violence.

There is a lot of good research out there, and I encourage those interested in this topic to review it.

Here is a summary from the National Conference of State Legislatures: https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx

Here is an interesting article published in the Arizona Mirror April 20, 2022: https://www.azmirror.com/2022/04/20/federal-attempts-to-legalize-marijuana-flail-even-as-public-support-grows/

Why do we spend blood and treasure fighting this seemingly unwinnable war? Drugs purchased on the street can be laced or cut with all sorts of toxic chemicals and unreliable dosages leading to drug overdoses. I think we need to take a hard look at other options, including legalization of recreational marijuana. Tax revenues should be dedicated to Chemical Dependency treatment for those who abuse the projects. Like cigarettes and alcohol, the products do have negative consequences. And like cigarettes and alcohol, should be taxed and regulated with consumer labelling.