I used to be deadset against any form of legalization, but I’ve changed. In view of gangs and criminals surrounding this substance, legalizing some aspects of use may be the only way to reduce the value of black markets for it.
Even the new president of Mexico is now considering legalizing some areas of use. Otherwise, more and more cops are killed by drug lords who possess superior weaponry and have no rules of engagement to worry about.
Yes. I think the people who really, really want it to remain illegal are the criminals in the US and in Mexico. They make money off it. When it gets legalized, the financial situation changes and does not benefit them as much.
I applaud your willingness to learn from accumulated facts - a quintessentially conservative trait, IMO. But legalizing use, although the liberty-respecting thing to do, will do nothing to reduce the value of black markets. Only legalizing sale (and keeping sales taxes non-extreme) will have that effect, as consumers turn away from the criminal market to the legal market.