Is it time to legalize drugs?

This linear, defeatist thinking is so emblematic of ...well, drug users.

First, you have to reject the premise that the biggest danger is on the street corner. That's a narrow, myopic view of the true peril, which exists at the management level.
Second, if there was a genuine concern for the user (the unfairness of their incarceration), then where is the consideration for the deleterious effects drug use has on their lives.
Third, we're not talking about legalization here, we're talking about decriminalization. In practical terms, the best that is possible is that you'll raise the bar by which a drug-based transaction is illegal. The "free market" has rules, regulations, and laws that manage it. What compelling reason does "upper management" have for entering a market in which they've operated with impunity for so long? Where's the effort toward "stakeholder buy-in"? Do we, as a nation, simply say "if you play by our rules, it might eat into your profits, but we'll stop hunting you?" Does that pass the sanity check? I suppose it might if you were high...
Fourth, legalization/decriminalization is not a new option; it's practiced in a number of other countries. How many of those countries, however, are attributed with 25% of the global GDP? How many are considered super-powers? How many have the economic backbone to collapse and restore itself every other decade? Before seriously considering this option, ask yourself what global complexion are you willing to let this country take on.
Look, I understand that the drug war that Nixon started hasn't been executed with the surgical precision that more recent conflicts have, but have we really run out of ideas toward either solving this problem or accepting a manageable level? Why is ceding the only remaining option? Because we're lazy? Unimaginative? Unintelligent? Or simply distracted by the all-consuming munchies...?