Marijuana, anyone?

I didn't really know where to start when I heard we had to make one post a week on our blogs. I thought I should just check out a news sight and see if inspiration strikes. On the home page of msn.com I immediately saw an article that caught my attention. It was about a pot garden located in the depths of a Nevada national park. This article in itself does not pose a very debatable subject. However, it made me think of the ongoing dispute concerning the legalization of marijuana. After last falls stock market fiasco many articles pertaining to the positive effects of legalizing marijuana in California were published and accepted with less hostility than ever before. Specialists predict that taxes on marijuana could produce over 1.2 billion dollars for the state of California, and in a time of economic devastation, 1.2 billion sounds pretty good (http://www.examiner.com/x-11447-LA-Science-and-Tech-News-Examiner~y2009m7d27-Legalization-of-Marijuana-could-add-Billions-to-Californias-empty-coffers--let-the-debate-begin). However, the idea of a currently illegal drug becoming the states number one cash crop overnight is troubling to many and therefore the battle for legalization rages on. I find it interesting that marijuana, a drug that has been illegal in the United States for decades, is being put under review for legalization. People have viewed this drug so negatively for so long, but is there reason behind this anxiety? Is this fear meaningless? Could legalization actually significantly aid our economy? If legalization occurs will we regret it? What do YOU think.