When President Obama states that legalization is "an entirely legitimate topic for debate" he is denying reality. There can be no debate. Decades of evidence show that prohibition is a failure. Every dealer that is ever arrested is replaced immediately. Arresting dealers is completely pointless. It creates a minor, and easily overcome, problem for the drug business. We will run out of dealers when we run out of young men looking to make a buck. Interdictions of drugs cause temporary and minor changes to prices. Have you ever seen the headline :
Heroin Users Growing Anxious; 7 Days and Still No Supply. No you have not and you never will. All urban areas have all the drugs they want. Prohibition has accomplished nothing. And this not debatable.