I can't imagine why this would be so:

Marijuana is the top cash crop in the US, a report released on Monday says.

It says that despite intensive eradication plans, $35bn (£18bn) worth of the illegal drug is produced a year - more than corn and wheat combined.

The study was prepared by Jon Gettman, a public policy analyst who advocates reform of US marijuana laws.

Using government reports, Mr Gettman estimates that 10,000 metric tons of marijuana are produced annually in the country.

So, why can't the Republicans let "the magic of the marketplace" do its work, and stop throwing all these hard-working entrepreneurs in jail?

Oh, I forgot. To a Republican, the magic of the marketplace is in the rigging of the marketplace to benefit their contributors (California energy crisis, for example).

In this case, Republican market-rigging is for the benefit of the prison-industrial complex.

Then again, the prisons have so many other potential uses....