No matter how hard you struggle to explain the basics of the black market drug economy to supporters of the drug war, they stare blankly back at you. Yet, the instant you propose legalization, they will predict the creation of a massive criminal empire, as though it never existed before:

For starters, California will become a legitimate shipping and marketing point for the deadly weed. Such legalization will spur many entrepreneurs in California to invest in marijuana production and distribution because of the big money to be generated. An oversupply of marijuana will force some of these legalized pot cartels to set their sights on other states as their customers, even though it is illegal in those states, as in Alabama.

Secondly, the crimes associated with marijuana use and efforts to dominate the market will flood not only California, but the surrounding states. [Montgomery Advertiser]

If all of this sounds familiar, that's because it happened already. But it happened under prohibition, not legalization. It's as if our opponents have literally stolen all of our talking points and are now incoherently parading them around in a strange cynical attempt to confuse everyone. I guess that's not the worst strategy to deploy in a debate you've been losing for more than a decade.