There was an underlying racist element to drug prohibition from the get go.  Chinese and opium; Blacks and cocaine; Mexicans and marijuana...  that's perhaps a simplification, but the fact is that marijuana likely wouldn't be considered for legalization today if, 50 years ago, white society hadn't begun to adopt its use in large numbers. 

Bottom line is that everyone, regardless of race, has been hurt by prohibition - whether through arrests, incarceration, police abuse, stereotyping,  criminal records, etc, in addition to the financial burden on every member in society for such an expensive, hurtful, and flawed experiment.  

Drug prohibition hurt us, and continues to hurt us all.

It's absolutely time to legalize marijuana.  Canada should also lift prohibitions from other recreational drugs, especially drugs that are low on the harms index like LSD, Psilocybin,  and Ecstasy - and start treating drug use as the health and social issue it is and not a criminal justice issue.