Is education, intervention, prevention and taxation a comprehensive solution to win the U.S Global War on drug?

Personally, I believe the so called "war on drugs" is nothing but a HUGE failure and really does NOTHING positive. I know some people will jump all over my a** for saying this, but it's true. If we ended the war on drugs (which is futile anyway) then we could also end a lot of the violence that goes along with it. We have gangs killing each other over drugs, we have cartells doing the same thing, so all the war on drugs really does is promote MORE violence. I don't believe that a government should be allowed to tell ANYONE what they can or can not put into their own bodies. It should be treated as an issue of public health, not as a crime. I mean, we outlaw PLANTS in this country which is completely absurd! Plants like marijuana, poppies and coca plants are completely natural, and yet we aren't allowed to have them around. If these drugs were LEGAL, think of all the money the government could make off taxing the sh*t out of it?? We could help to end our recession. Also, if drugs were legalized, the 'forbidden fruit' aspect of them would be taken away, thus making them less appealing to some people. If they were legalized, people under 21 shouldn't be allowed to buy it - they should have the same restrictions placed on them that alcohol has. I know that when I was in high school, it was WAY easier to get a hold of some weed than it was booze. Oh, and if drugs were legalized, that doesn't mean that EVERYONE would choose to do them. I mean, I'm 22 and I hardly ever drink ....I can think of plenty of people who wouldn't do drugs if they could buy them at a gas station. Our country needs to give up on trying to tell people how to live their lives, not to mention putting people in jail and prison for victimless crimes. I feel that we surrendered the war on drugs a long time ago, and for whatever reason keep up this front.