US cannabis policy has failed

The cannabis black market is costing the US billions in law enforcement and justice costs alone. The AP via Cannabis News brings this story from Indiana:

“The public recognizes that our marijuana laws have done more harm than good,” Daniel Abrahamson of the Drug Policy Alliance told the Indiana Legislature’s Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee. “The federal government cannot require states to make marijuana illegal,” he said. In no instance, he said, has a state changed its mind and “re-criminalized” marijuana after decriminalizing personal use. Abrahamson estimated Indiana could raise $44 million a year in sales taxes alone if it regulated and taxed marijuana. Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has said he would like to wait and see what the panel finds before taking a position.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services has the unilateral authority to not only remove cannabis from Schedule 1 but legalize it. The world would be a very different place had Tom Daschle stayed for Senate confirmation but there's that.