i know the convention of a pub discussion militates against information being introduced...but this seems a good moment to break that rule.
there is a ton of money being made as a function of these draconian laws, including the absurd marijuana laws--but i don't believe that folk are looking in the right place to see where it's happening, who benefits from it. money is not made so much from the prohibitions--that is from what is prohibited---money, and a shitload of it, is made from the *fact* of prohibitions. it's made by those lovely people in what we call the prison-industrial complex, in political shorthand.
this gives a nice compact overview, tho it is 4 pages long:
The Phoenix > News Features > Freedom watch: Jailhouse bloc
the debate's been barking up the wrong tree.