Legalizing the world's oldest profession

In 2012, state voters decided to go where no other state ever had — they legalized adult-use marijuana, reversing 70 years of policy that by most measures was a waste of time and money.

The prohibition against marijuana consumption had virtually no effect on its price, availability or use. And yet, in that same time period, we taxpayers had to foot the bill for enforcement and incarceration.

For many — like me — the vote to legalize marijuana was not a vote to endorse its use. It was a vote to act in a pragmatic manner. Simply put, a lot of the “yes” votes came from people tired of appeasing m...