The economic reality is also influencing the view of politicians on what to do in the United States with marijuana.
In states like California or Colorado, the herb industry is thriving and could soon become a business like any other.
The industry has developed to the point that local newspapers are filled with advertisements featuring the "best marijuana lawyers," the "best postal service for cannabis," or "the most reliable insurance company for your dispensary Santa Barbara."
See: Marijuana is sold here
One in eight Americans lives in California. It is a country unto itself, and its economy is the eighth in the world, but recently Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed what he called "draconian" measures to cut nearly $ 20 billion in budget deficits.
Is Growing Marijuana The Solution To California's Fiscal Deficit?
In Mendocino County, California alone, marijuana plantations are valued at $ 11 billion. In the entire state it is the highest value crop, above corn, wheat or cotton.
The value of the industry is twice that of soybeans and three times that of vegetables.
But this multibillion dollar industry promises even higher profits if it is legalized, because by way of tax collection the California government would acquire, according to some estimates, up to US $ 1.4 billion.
Experts on the subject, such as Allen Pierre, from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML, for its acronym in English) insist that in addition, between US $ 200 million to US $ 1.9 billion that are currently invested would be saved in its prohibition, whether in prisons, police agents and judicial processes
Another report from the organization further suggests that a regulated marijuana trade would create 60,000 to 110,000 jobs.
Read: How can it be that it is legal in a state and not in the country?
But not everything is prosperity in this industry.
Marijuana growers are divided between those who legally grow small organic amounts for medical use, and those who illegally hide massive crops in greenhouses artificially lit with large electricity generators that pollute the environment.
According to Michelle Gregory, a spokeswoman for the California Anti-Narcotics Bureau, the presence of organized crime adds an element of concern.