•  Legal History of Cannabis in the United States – Wikipedia
• The Forbidden Fruit And The Tree Of Knowledge: An Inquiry Into The Legal History Of American Marijuana Prohibition – Virginia Law Review
• NORML Report on Sixty Years of Marijuana Prohibition
• Unfortunate History of Marijuana Prohibition in the United States
• The History of Cannabis Prohibition 1937-1962
• Colorado Votes to Legalize Marijuana For Recreational Use 2012

Budgetary impact of marijuana prohibition on the United States

• Costs of Marijuana Prohibition: An Economic Analysis – Jeffrey A. Miron, 2005
• Steve Jobs and Drug Policy Salon Article 2011
• Decriminalization of Drugs in Portugal – A CATO Institute Study 2009

The marijuana prohibition may not be he stupidest law there is, but it ranks up there. That said, possession, growing and distribution of marijuana is illegal. Simple possession of small amounts is routinely charged as a crime in most of Wisconsin. Conviction can result in loss of student financial aid, driving privileges and freedom. Operating a motor vehicle with a detectible amount of THC in the blood is treated the same as drunk driving. Second offense possession is a felony. Selling (even giving away) or growing marijuana is a felony. People in larger communities take for granted the non-criminal treatment of possession. Then they travel on the Interstate highways or to Wisconsin Dells, and get a nasty surprise. Recently (2011) I had a client facing years in prison receive three years probation and a year in jail because he had smoked a marijuana blunt in another state and driven later in Wisconsin. He was sentenced for OWI even though the marijuana almost certainly had no effect on his driving (being tired, sick & cold did). Another young man had a woman cut in front of him on the highway and they collided. She died. He had smoked marijuana. He is charged with murder. Currently the consequences of a marijuana conviction are far more harmful to the marijuana user than the effects of the drug! I do not encourage anyone to use, possess, or grow marijuana under these circumstances – not even for personal or medical use.

See also: Medical Marijuana Gallery
Peer Reviewed Studies on Medical Marijuana – Summary
Marijuana Legalization – a book at Oxford University Press
Infographic comparing USA, Netherlands, and Portugal – Canadian analysis

My first major marijuana case was charged in 1980 in Dane County.
It was charged as:
Conspiracy to Possess Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.
The case lasted five years before it was dismissed and involved a challenge to the constitutionality of marijuana prohibition.
The challenge was never decided.