A tremendous amount of blood and treasure has been spent to keep that war going, and the more obvious answers to the worst of it are ignored (Secure the border, for starters).
If nearly half of Colorado's demand for pot is supplied by illegal sources,there is a lot of money flowing into criminal hands yet. That money won't be spent on education, or for that matter, anything else beneficial to the state.
As for drugs, we have enough problems with the recreational use of alcohol, a drug that has been wildly popular for thousands of years. Do we really need to assimilate another intoxicant into the culture? --especially one which is difficult to quantify levels of intoxication? which lingers in the body long after consumption, making the effects difficult to assess?
At least we understand the physiology of alcohol, elimination rates, long term effects, etc.
While the law may not be enough to stop the abuse of drugs, nor eliminate demand, it is a starting point. The "war" part needs to be toned down, though.
Much less than before legalization - which is a win in my book.
As for drugs, we have enough problems with the recreational use of alcohol, a drug that has been wildly popular for thousands of years. Do we really need to assimilate another intoxicant into the culture?
By that logic, do we not need to remove the intoxicant alcohol from the culture? Have you heard how our last attempt to do so turned out?
--especially one which is difficult to quantify levels of intoxication? which lingers in the body long after consumption, making the effects difficult to assess?
What lingers in the body is inactive metabolic byproducts, and THC stored in fat cells (so not affecting brain or nerves) that leaches back into the bloodstream so slowly as to have no measurable or detectable effect.