Think about this for a second...

Faced with the economic problems we now are, broke as we now are, perhaps it's finally time to end the senseless other prohibition we've been living with for decades now, forged of ignorance, perpetuated by political opportunism, kept alive by fear.

According to the Guardian, decriminalization of marijuana in California has been introduced as legislation:

The bill by San Francisco representative Tom Ammiano, would legalise the cultivation, possession and sale of marijuana by people 21 and older. It would charge growers and wholesalers a $5,000 (£3,400) initial franchise fee and a $2,500 annual renewal fee, and would levy a $50 per ounce fee on retailers.

The law, which would make California the first state to legalise marijuana, would inject an estimated $13bn a year in revenue into California's empty coffers.

13 billion a year. A year. And that's just California. What about Kentucky, where marijuana is the biggest cash crop? What about Texas, Oregon, Idaho? And what of the money we'll save and the prison space we won't need if these petty pot criminals are no longer criminals?

This is big agricultural business. It is happening, whether we want it to be or not. It will continue to happen. And we are not benefiting from it. It's a huge industry that operates completely off the books. Why not bring it into the light of day and get the huge tax revenues of this ready-made industry quickly?

There is no way that this doesn't make sense. I think it's time we wake up. Whatever your personal opinion of marijuana, the use of it for personal or medical reasons, I don't see how we can deny the good sense of this. At the very least, it's time to get beyond the reefer madness and have an adult discussion about it.