This cannabis abolition is causing the same kinds of social costs that alcohol abolition caused. It funnels money into an organized black market, and there is so much money involved at the higher levels that it fuels violence and corruption. I agree totally that if the government were to legalize it and tax it, they would free up police who now waste their time pursuing cannibis users, growers and dealers. And the revenues would be enormous --- we'd probably balance the budget in the first year. I don't know that it would bring about a new utopia, but it would be a step in the right direction!