I'm not sure the dire consequences you imagine would occur. When prohibition ended, the gangster killings ended and many of them just went legit, or switched to other areas. But there would still be a lot of money to be made in the trade of legal highs, as has happened with the MJ business.Obvious Leo wrote:In the short term it would solve one problem by creating another because the crime business is one of the biggest drivers of the US economy and to shut off such a lucrative source of revenue overnight would drive many corporations into bankruptcy, as well as add a few million unemployed lawyers to the dole queue. They'll also have a host of unemployed police, judges, court staff, parole officers, etc etc etc. Hobbesy my man, you're talking about destroying the American way of life because crime and punishment are inextricably interwoven into this primitive culture. Don't forget that we're talking about a fucking theocracy tugging the forelock to the biblical god of VENGEANCE, so they see themselves as merely enacting god's will. I doubt that they'll abandon their divine mission without a fight.Hobbes' Choice wrote:You can just as easily say that the legislature has the free will to legalise drugs, and doing so would empty the prisons.
The forelock tugging right wing god botherers are increasingly in a minority, and the left is re-emerging. But I don't suppose there is going to be a wide or comprehensive end to prohibition, as the media have done their work and the 'war on drugs' still seems like a good idea to many.