the new deal did help, but the major fix for the great depression was WWII and the subsequent perpetuation of a massive military industrial complex.
the reason the new deal alone didn't pull the country back in to balance was because it was a trivial amount relative to our GDP at the time. monstrous pervasive economic problems require massive and pervasive stimulus packages.
speaking to the topic of your original post though, gene, i think the legalization and taxation of marijuana would actually help out quite a bit in several ways.
there would be direct revenue from the taxes, more jobs and money being created due to the sudden need or large scale commercial farming operations, but also there is the added benefit of the hundreds of millions of dollars law enforcement currently wastes perusing and prosecuting marijuana users and dealers. that's a substantial amount of funding that could either be cut or redirected to other more productive areas.
would it be a magic bullet that would immediately fix all of our current economic woes due to the revenue it generates? absolutely not, but it could be a great weapon to add to the arsenal. with the point this country, and in fact the world economic system as a whole is at currently, every possible avenue of stimulus should be pursued.
not to mention, come the fuck on. it's just weed.
