1) Prohibition of Marijuana has failed MISERABLY. There are millions of regular pot smokers in the United States despite increasingly harsh laws, and it's estimated that as many as 50 million may have tried pot - and those numbers are probably low since people tend to be less eager to admit to a practice that is so harshly punished.

Even the government admits use by over 25 million annually. Pot is the largest cash crop in the United States, yet none of that money gets taxed and most of it goes out of the country because of drug laws. Marijuana has been used for centuries - short of finding a way to brainwash and control the entire world, its use will never be wiped out. Prohibition of alcohol created the mafia: harsh drug laws have helped to create drug cartels. Getting rid of the anti marijuana laws will get rid of the worst problems.

2) Arrests for Marijuana possession are disproportionate to minorities. One study shows that police are more likely to "let it slide" if the person in possession is a white college student. Pure statistics show that the arrests for drug use are disproportionate by race - and don't give me the "minorities use drugs more" bull crap. Disproportionate means disproportionate.

African-Americans make up only 13% of the population, and only about 15% of annual marijuana users. But they're 26% of all marijuana arrests for use. Hispanics make up an even higher amount of arrests, despite being 15% of the population. So 28% of the pot smoking population makes up over half the arrests, while approximately 70% of pot smokers (white) account for less than half of arrests. The punishments are also disproportionately light on white offenders, and heavier on minorities.

3) Regulated legal markets for marijuana would reduce teenage exposure. Yes, there are teens who pay adults to buy beer for them, and pot would probably work the same way, but there are millions of teens who smoke pot now when it's illegal. It's big money for other teenagers who can hook up with dealers to sell it. If marijuana was legal and regulated, it would be a lot less valuable, making it far less profitable for the lazy teenage entrepreneur. Legalized marijuana would not only likely cut down on the number of teenage dealers, but that would also keep them further away from exposure to more serious drugs that should remain outlawed.

4) Legalized Marijuana keeps money in the U.S. and out of foreign cartels. One argument I hate is "Marijuana funds terrorism." Really? Marijuana is not grown in Afghanistan. Or Saudi Arabia. Or Iran. Or Sudan. Or Libya. (( UPDATE : As this hub is five or six years old, this has changed as Afghanistan now is one of the world's largest producers of marijuana, which was not the case at the time of publication)) Yes, money from the U.S. ends up with cartels, while the U.S. spends billions of dollars more prosecuting marijuana offenses when PCP, cocaine, LSD, and meth are far more dangerous drugs that should be getting more attention. If marijuana was legal, it would be cheapest grown, processed, and produced in the United States, putting marijuana based cartels out of business and allowing government agencies to focus on far more important matters while a giant source of new income could be used to fund education, help to balance soaring deficits, and even be used to stamp out meth.

5) Like it or not, Hemp has enormous potential and use. Hemp can make great natural rope. It can be used for clothes, and some of the most efficient and cleanest bio fuels in the world could be produced from hemp. This would allow incredibly efficient ethanol and butanol for vehicles to run on, while keeping crop prices affordable AND allowing the few surviving family farms to grow this cash crop instead of corporations. So legalized marijuana could save the environment and the family farm in one move.

These are just a few of reasons to consider reversing the current policy of outlawed marijuana. Consider these, and maybe if you were previously opposed to the legalization of marijuana, maybe the outlawing of this plant begin to seem foolish when compared to the potential benefits of regulated legalization.