Evan marijuana : Conservatives concerned by spending ignore cost of failed war on drugs . $ 2.5 trillion spent on war on drugs ; crime , violence , drug use are the result , he says . Interestingly , comparisons between the U.S. and the Netherlands , where cannabis is de facto legalized , indicate that despite the U.S. 's record rates of anti-drug enforcement expenditures , 42 percent of U.S. adults report that they have used cannabis , which is more than twice as high as that observed in the Netherlands , where only 20 percent report a history of cannabis use . Taxation on Wood could generate $ 2.5 trillion a year in tax revenue , writes Wood . Conservatives more likely to report marijuana use than people in the United States , he says , where it 's legal .
Evan marijuana : Conservatives concerned by spending ignore cost of failed war on drugs . $ 2.5 trillion spent on war on drugs ; crime , violence , drug use are the result , he says . Taxation on Wood could generate $ 2.5 trillion a year in tax revenue , writes Wood . Conservatives more likely to report marijuana use than people in the United States , he says , where it 's legal .