I have to warn you: the story I'm about to tell you has no documentable provenance. But, I have heard that the criminalization of marijuana was pushed by, of all things, the forest product industry! The hemp plant is not just good for pharmaceuticals. Hemp fiber is one of the best sources of cellulose. There is a good reason why hemp rope was highly prized.

The FP industry wanted to use trees for paper, not easily grown "weeds."

Hemp grows 15 feet in a season. The cellulose yield is many times that of a tree stand.

Male hemp seeds are highly nutricious and have no active ingredient.

"Reefer Madness" is paper industry propaganda, nothing more!

As far as the wider issue of "legislating morality" that's a touchy thing. Those who are pro say that one's actions affect the society, i. e. taxpayers, so they should be regulated. These are Federalists, whether they are Democratic or Republican.

Libertarians are basically descended from Jeffersonian Democrats, no relation to today's party. Two more opposite philosophies you couldn't find.

L. Neil Smith is a Libertarian science fiction writer. He envisions a society which would be considered anarchy by today's standards. It's almost tribal, but mercantilism, not federalism, is the glue that holds it together.

So much for my Sunday soap box!