Ah-hah! You have hit on an important matter there, McGrath. Indeed, in the USA it is sacrilege not to allow people to make good money off something that is legal! (Even if it's totally disgusting, vile, pointless, and destructive to society...and I am not referring to marijuana, but to many other popular things that sell bigtime.)

One does not offend the ruling deity (money) with impunity within the borders of the 50 states of the USA...or anywhere else these days either, practically.

And that's why marijuana will most probably not be de-criminalized...unless it is simultaneously turned into a burgeoning legal drug industry, complete with stylish TV commercials to get more people to buy it and be "cool".

You see, de-criminalizing it would be a heavy financial and organizational blow to both cops and drug dealers. That would be sacrilege in a true profit-oriented system. The cops might even have to downsize some, and that could put people out of work!