I'm sorry, no, censorship is censorship regardless if you're doing it to yourself amidst a "free society" because of "social norms" dictate that one should not speak of certain topics, or if some totalitarian regime is doing it for you forcibly. It's wrong and it needs to end. Period.
And no, there's no such thing as a truly free society. Such a society is a self-contradiction - for it would mean that one person would have to be free to slay anyone they choose, yet that would infringe upon the freedom of his or her victims to live. Not to mention the laws of physics themselves also limit freedom in other, more interesting ways.
It was recently published legalization and taxation of marijuana would save 13.7 billion dollars off of the national budget annually. Source.
Yes, I understand it's 0.1% of the total deficit. But it's about common sense (just do some research on what alcohol prohibition did for crime rates and society) and fiscal responsibility. The latter doesn't mean you have to go all gung-ho austerity, but at least find some lunatic fiscal policy and put and end to it!
Oh, consider how much you would save on the budgets of state, county, and local budgets as well. California has a $13 billion dollar deficit for 2012. The national savings in one year alone could put California back into the black with a few hundred million of breathing room on top of it to boot.
