Ezra Klein interviewed Charles Fain Lehman on a podcast titled, “The Hidden Politics of Disorder”. Charles brought up this exact point about the US struggling to find middle ground in regulation. I had t considered it before but it’s a really interesting point and I intend to agree with it from recent experience.

Where has US drug law changed from draconic to laissez faire? The only laws I'm aware that have changed are at the state level with the Marijuana legalization and every one of those states adopted a regulated approach.

Capitalism + ever more powerful cannabinoid drugs => problems. Many states (including the one I live in) are struggling to limit advertising, in particular.

> Capitalism + ever more powerful cannabinoid drugs => problems.

This is even more true of the black market. Legalization will reduce these problems, even with no regulations (which is not the case).