The DEA would have to downsize, and they don't want to do that. The prison system would end up with unused buildings and unemployed guards, and they don't want that. And the puritanical conservatives, who now rule the country, don't want anything to do with drugs, sex, homosexuality, stem cells, abortion, and so on. While you or I might say that smoking a joint in your own home is a victimless crime, the puritans would say that's not true, and that you are the victim, and must be protected from yourself. Whether you like it or not.

It's sort of funny to see the conservative base deal with this issue, because normally conservatives want less/smaller government, but when it comes to these issues they want more government, lots more government. Which is hypocrisy, of course, and I love calling them on it.