Yeesh, it was just a exploratory question to see if I had any backup, in case I felt like jumping into the middle of this circle-jerk.
When I look at legalization, I only see problems and setbacks.
Prohibitions just don't work in the US. We are too individualistic to allow the government to take away any of our already allowed vices, at least altogether. I hate cigarettes and agree with public smoking bans, but I could never see them being outlawed entirely, even though they 100% are guaranteed to kill you. People are just stupid like that. I'm glad they've outlawed trans fats, as it's not necessary, does nothing but harm people, and doesn't really change anyone's lifestyle by removing it. So yeah, we're stuck with the vices we have already and probably will never be able to do away with them.
Why then, would we want to make the problem worse? Legalizing marijuana would only add another way to deteriorate America and lower the collective health and IQ of the country. Marijuana is behaviorally addictive, a gateway drug, and makes many (not all) people pretty ineffective at reaching their full potential socially and academically. What would legalizing it do for us on a world-standing level? Many historians and political scientists already predict us losing our status in the next 20-30 years. Would marijuana slow or exacerbate this process?
This idea of legalization helping individuals is completely ridiculous. How would the home-grown farmer be able to compete with the research and marketing advantages of big business? Do quality tobacco and micro brews really compete with corporate entities? Plus, home-grown has no quality control. Who's to say Rufus didn't accidentally leave pesticides on his batch or throw in a bit of fake shit to pad his earnings? Sure, market forces would weed (hur hur) out bad apples, but it's the same situation we have now with good dealers and bad dealers, and pot smokers still get screwed occasionally.
What about smuggled in goods from Central and South America? Would these all disappear after legalization, or increase? Did the War on Drugs create the problems with drug cartels and violence? Will the violence disappear when marijuana is legal, or increase? To keep the market from being flooded with cheap goods, I assume we'd have to impose tariffs or an embargo on marijuana to allow North American companies time to compete. If not, wouldn't corporate entities just buy up existing foreign producers and sell to the US, thereby defeating any major benefit domestic production would provide? If we did impose tariffs, we would have to secure our borders or they would be meaningless.