Prohibition of marijuana has failed as miserably as prohibition of alcohol did back in the 1920s. It’s time to recognize the obvious: The longer we fight the war against marijuana, the greater grows the defeat.Initiative 502 on the Nov. 6 ballot would legalize recreational use of marijuana, which would be highly taxed and heavily regulated by the state. Licensed farmers would grow marijuana to be sold in private marijuana-only stores.

The Columbian endorses Initiative 502 for many reasons, not the least of which is financial. I-502 offers Washingtonians the chance to radically change how we react to marijuana, from wasting $211 million over the past decade enforcing marijuana laws, to creating a revenue stream of more than $500 million annually via a 25 percent excise tax (plus other taxes) on legal marijuana sales.

Drastic as legalizing marijuana use might sound — especially compared to Washingtonians’ beliefs not too many years ago — it is what most people want. Several polls show support for I-502, in some surveys by double-digit percentage points. And, interestingly, there has been scant organized opposition. In fact, the strongest resistance has come from the medical marijuana community. Here’s some additional information about the anti-I-502 op-ed that is published today on the facing page: Its author, Steve Sarich, was described in a 2010 Seattle Times story as a “medical marijuana activist” and a “licensed medical marijuana grower.”

Turning the financial squandering of the war against marijuana into a revenue source for our state would have significant impact on Clark County. According to a study by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington (which provided the $211 million figure above), various entities in Clark County spent about $10 million enforcing marijuana laws from 2000-2010. Included were $2.8 million in defense costs and $2.7 million in prosecution costs.

By contrast, the projected half-billion dollars in annual state tax revenue would go mostly to health care ($244 million), the general fund ($182 million) and youth drug prevention programs ($68 million).