The war on drugs continues for both social and economic reasons. Socially, it is simply a matter of tradition and human nature is usually resistant to change. Economically, it really has little to nothing to do with taxation or competition — its easy to slap a tax on anything and the above-ground market is already competing with the underground one. Rather it is a matter of stability.

Imagine the economic impact of the bottom falling out of just the marijuana market. If it is legalized, pot will suddenly go from hundreds of dollars per ounce, to only a few dollars per ounce. Now multiply that by the size of the market, which is estimated to be anywhere from 15 to 50 million consumers, served by around 50 to 200 thousand growers, importers, distributors, and retailers.