Originally Posted by BBQMan

Prohibition has not worked as far back as we can trace its use – even in the Garden of Eden. Our ban on marijuana is causing this country immense amount of money, creating violence on a level never seen before in this country, ruining innocent lives and destroying our neighbor to the south, Mexico.

Perhaps we should learn from the Dutch and allow legal sale of marijuana to adults and legal cultivation of it in this country. We do much better with alcohol than we do with marijuana.

The potential positive effects of this are:
1 Lower usage of marijuana especially among young people.
2 Imprisonment of fewer people.
3 Reduced strain on law enforcement and the prison system.
4 Less exposure of people to other drugs.
5 Reduced income to street gangs and consequent lower ability to recruit new members and lower crime levels.
6 Drastic reduction of Mexican drug cartel income and influence.