Quote:It's also irrelevant because that wasn't the case in the early 20th century when they started criminalizing possession.

It's hardly irrelevant. Big Prison looooves the "War on Drugs." Like others have pointed out, it's their biggest money maker. I will add that cops and everyone else used to be much more tolerant and lenient about this sort of thing up until about the 80s or 90s when Big Prison, et al, successfully lobbied for zero tolerance and three strikes you are out type enforcement--along with police quota systems.

---