Not to mention the money they WOULDN'T be spending trying to keep it out of the country, (although, most of it is already grown right here in the states.) nor would they have to keep all those folks in jail/prison for marijuana related offenses, nor would they have to prosecute them. The cops could concentrate on more important things.... etc. etc. etc.

But, since it makes too much sense to do so....... no chance in hell our government will do it.

 

U.S. Government = FAIL

 

That really isn't such a big surprise though....... of late, I am actually surprised when they do something that DOES make sense...... such a rare occasion... Sad, really.

 

I've been saying this for YEARS! And when you add in the amount of money that we spend on both federal and state/local levels to investigate, arrest, try and incarcerate these "criminals" whose only crime was marijuana...how the heck does this make sense? Yes, you would still have people that abuse the system and commit crimes involving marijuana just as people do with alcohol now but the "criminal" aspect would be far less. Simple fact is the effects of alcohol are far worse than marijuana yet alcohol is legal and pot isn't. Maybe eventually the powers that be will get their collective heads out of their asses...but I'm not holding my breath.
Getting off the soapbox now....

 

What I find most amusing is: A significant majority of american citizens can see this, however, our government cannot.

 

EXACTLY HeyYou. I guess thats ONE of the reasons I have to laugh when I hear the phrase "of the people, by the people, for the people"....

 

That may have been true at some point in the past, but, for the last couple decades...... it's a farce.

 

Ah, yes, American tradition: The value of a culture is what we can steal from them.

Rather than prattle on, I'll just suggest anyone interested to know how the US government sits on both sides of the so-called War on Drugs read Gary Webb's "The Dark Alliance", James Mills' "The Underground Empire: Where Crime And Governments Embrace", and Carol Marshall's "The Last Circle". The last sounds somewhat fantastic, but I've seen it with my own eyes because my family's been in those hills for more than 70 years and not all of 'em are keen on visible means of support. From what I've seen, the War on Drugs is all about the federal government maintaining its control of the black market.

If we're going to judge a country's right to self-rule on the level of corruption of its government, we might as well start getting used to the idea of living without the stars and stripes.

 

Interesting reading UU. And really I don't think a lot of it is all that far fetched. I think to the average American citizen it is wholly apparent that our govt is rife with corruption and duplicity. My own personal experience has led me to believe this for years. I have pretty much lost all respect for our govt and the law enforcment aspect particularly. I realize a LOT of good men and women are in law enforcement so dont get me wrong, but I have seen WAY too many examples of corruption for me to have any faith in the system anymore. Perfect example was a few years ago (approx 5), when I first moved to the area where I live now, the police chief and several deputies were arrested for running a meth distribution ring. They were busting all the competition and making/distributing a whole crapload of the stuff. When the investigation went down it ended up implicating quite a few other cops in the area from other offices.

 

Crooked police are the most powerful gangs out there.....Until they're busted...