I am patiently waiting for the floodgates of marijuana prohibition to burst open so that the fallacies of the entire endeavor can be laid to rest. How many resources, how many lives, how many people flooding our criminal justice system will it take to make it clear that prohibition is a failed policy? Undoubtedly, alcohol and tobacco are bigger detriments to the American society, yet our government realizes the logic of taxation and regulation for those two vices. Do the same thing with marijuana, and I guarantee Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and cities all across the United States will experience a renaissance unseen since the industrial revolution.

The fact is America uses and abuses substances more than any other nation, and the cost benefit of the failed campaign in the war on drugs just isn’t paying out. Allotting that money toward more frugal programs like education and mentoring just might make the endemic of drug abuse all but obsolete.