People, it's time to legalize the good stuff. Oh, I'm serious here and I'm not talking about bacon.
Rio de Janeiro just got into a war with drug traffickers, Willie Nelson was arrested, and even Mommy bloggers are talking about how they used the stuff to combat morning sickness. It's time to stop the madness!
So what is a girl to do? Legalize Marijuana! For goodness sake, cigarettes are legal and smoking those is like sucking on an exhaust pipe full of rat poop. Oh, people can kill themselves slowly but they can't get happy while they do it? I don't see the contradiction in that at all.
The thing is, weed would be one hell of a cash crop. Just think about it, Rio de Janeiro just arrested all those drug traffickers. Let's put their knowledge to good use. Bust out some fields, make them work it as community service while serving time, roll 'em up, box 'em, and then tax the crap out of them. Do governments not realize how many people would be stoners if it were socially acceptable? We're talking an end to National Debt.
And on a side note, cut out the middle man. If our kids want to get some of Puff the Magic Dragon's treats, let them get it from a safe place. Nothing safer than a gas station. It's my bunker of choice. And cut out the connection to harder drugs. Once your kid has a dealer, it's only a matter of time until other drugs come up in the conversation. Ok, that's really apples and oranges, peaches and tires, but maybe there's some logic in there somewhere.
I'm just saying, Legalize Marijuana as a Method to Reduce Crime rate and make a little cash while the Government is at it.
What are your thoughts on the legalization of Marijuana?
There is a valid connection between harder drug use and marijuana and it is due to the dealer for the most part. Since Amsterdam stopped enforcing its laws on weed and put it in coffee shops they have seen a pretty signifigant drop off in the use of harder drugs and they got tax revenue to boot. Oh did I mention the amount of tourism that Amsterdam brings in due to their coffee shops as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't condone drug use, especially by pregnant women but the war on drugs should be ended and the money saved should be redirected into treatment for abuse.
Ditto!
ReplyDeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteI was just discussing with Gil that they either need to get serious and legalized the stuff for the simple fact that they would give a fatal blow to most organized crime as we know it today.
Watching Rio's Police crackdown on crime we realized that most of the drugs apprehended are Pot. I always thought it would be heavier stuff, but, no, their bread and butter is POT!
I say legalize the dam thing right now, make it available next to your Marlboro Lights and the corner Padaria, end of story.
If people want to use it, it will be there problem as much as it there problem to eat like crazy and be fat, to ride a skate without a helmet, to smoke cigarettes and get cancer and so forth...
Ray
This is another case of where the peop-le are way ahead of the politicians. Legalize!
ReplyDeleteI do worry that if pot was taken from the trafficers they would switch to crystal meth... Then we would REALLY have a problem!
But it is not an either or. Legalize drugs.
Yes I totally agree.
ReplyDeleteI actually have also felt for a while that a lot of death and addiction could be avoided, by making harder drugs ie. heroin and cocaine only available from gov't controlled medical clinics. Where the criteria would be pure drugs, given under controlled circumstances, with enforced counselling to get to the root of the addiction. After certain boxes had been ticked, these people could be slowly integrated back into society.
One thing that really gets me is that the biggest cocaine users are the well to do in places like Europe and North America. To feed another habit of the top of the food chain, poor people from around the world have their homes and families destroyed in search of a piece of this cash wheel.
I think marijuana definitely falls under a different heading, and should be separated from the harder drugs.
Take drugs out of the hands of dealers. It is a public health issue, not a criminal one.
A few years ago i was chatting (offline, omg!) with a few friends about this issue. I think my opinion about drug legalization matured on that event.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the people that lives under a given government are mutually responsible and responsibility. Thus, the two kinds of government: Nanny and Mediator.
In an informed, educated society, there's no need for prohibitions; State is Mediator. My father never prohibited me from experimenting drugs, but i remember moments where he took a great deal of time to explain consequences. As a result, i never touched anything - the same way i don't touch alcohol nor tobacco. I prefer my senses the way they normally work, tyvm. =)
But then there comes the people who doesn't know when to stop (include alcohol and tobacco here). That's a case for a Nanny State, who treats their citizens like misbehaving children incapable of taking decisions.
IMHO, i'm all for full Mediatorship even for Darwinistic purposes.
'But the people needs Panis et Circensis!' - so alcohol and tobacco are 'legalized' drugs. Then the 'So why not Cannabis?' question are the logical next thing. But half measures have dire consequences, as Churchill would say.
Are we prepared to deal with the consequences of it?
Plus MaryJane causes a lot less harm than alcohol (health wise and socially speaking) and alcohol is legal, so WTF, what is the world waiting for?!
ReplyDeleteagree.... it's like prohibition...the noble experiment... in the 20's. The Temperance movement blamed alcohol for many of society's ills, especially crime and murder. Groups decided if they could outlaw alcohol they could keep men home, sober and productive, and all would be right with the world. However you could still consume alcohol for medical purposes so doctors wrote prescriptions for legal use... headache, upset stomach, sore throat cough... little whiskey with honey will cure it all. If you couldn't find a doctor who would write you one, or you hadn't had the foresight or money to stockpile your favorite whiskey before the law was passed you had to look for an illegal source (my grandfather did it to support his family when he couldn't find a job as a brick layer). Prohibition also spawned a new breed of gangster who saw profit in the demand. Murder, bribery of government officials, theft were on an upswing as the gangsters provided alcohol to people who wanted it and couldn't get it any other way. The Stock Market Crash in 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression started changing people's opinions. People needed jobs. The government needed money. Making alcohol legal again would open up many new jobs for citizens and additional sales taxes for the government. Do you see a correlation here.... and the Vineyards and micr-breweries have flourished.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see the example of Holland I tend to agree with the anonymous of the first comment.
ReplyDeleteBUT (there is always a "but" with me) nothing is so black/white, legalize or not. The marijuana available on the market today is said to be much, much more potent than the variety available for the hippies during the 60' and 70's. Holland has indeed a strict control on coffee shops, they can have a certain ammount to be sold per person per day - more than that and the stablishment must closed down the doors immediately. BTW: Hard drugs are NOT legalized in Holland. I had lots of colleagues of all ages and nationalities who were smoking pot for years and years and were just punctual productive people. On the other side there is a link between pot and being open for harder chemical drugs.
Gil and Ray, I disagree with you guys that most of the aprehended drug was pot. There was a lot of cocaine as well. Whooa ! Cocaine is a devastating drug.
To finish, I thing the Dutch model works well for Holland but I am not sure it could be successfully exported to the rest of the world.
Anyway, I am happy about this Dutch approach to drugs: I have predisposition to glaucoma. Maybe it is a good idea when I turn 55 to start smoking some pot in order to lower my (eye) blood pressure - without being considered a criminal person, hahaha!
I agree totally that cocaine is a devastating drug. The problem is that despite the best efforts of governments worldwide its use and trade still goes on. From what I have seen the majority of it is still used by the upper middle classes. In London for example the biggest users are in the financial sector, investment bankers and other such types. Another big problem with hard drugs being in the hands of an illegal trade is that there is no way to monitor the quality. The biggest causes of death from Heroin use is bad heroin. I know stories of well to do heroin users using pure heroin and smoking it all of their lives, whilst holding down regular jobs etc.
ReplyDeleteI've seen statistics showing that since the War on Drugs was declared in the 70's the use and the cost have gone up and up.
Before heroin was declared illegal in the UK in the early 70's there were 300 registered users. Now there are over 10,000.
Cocaine is a devastating drug, but so is alcohol when in the hands of the wrong people.
I just think that if all the governments of the world could come up with one policy, to deal with all drugs as a Public Health issue, it would take the trade away from the criminally minded.
I can't help but feeling that there is some ulterior motive for not doing so. Does everyone remember the Iran-Contra affair? The CIA was purported to be involved in a complex network of drugs for arms for cash type of laundering.
I would really like to see a re-think on the whole drug policy worldwide.
It is a complex issue, but one that I believe could be improved with a completely different approach.
Most cocaine users that I've met are always looking for the purest form. Imagine if this was available from a local government run outlet, but with strict criteria. You had to agree to regular counselling, you could only use it in controlled environments, and whilst a registered user you would be subject to home visits etc.
This cocaine would be processed and transported by mutual consent of the countries involved. All profits would be directed towards the public health plans. Then it could be the unauthorized trade of cocaine which would be made illegal, it would have dwindling support from users, and there could be a first time caught 10 years in prison type of stance taken.
I know there would be a lot more issues to take on board, but however we look at it, the way it is now? is not working.
The current stance on drugs means the poorest and most desperate members of society suffer the worst consequences just trying to get the drugs to the well to do users.
The drug lords have the money to bribe, run and hide, and the gains to them far outweigh the risk. The biggest losers are the mules, the small-time dealers, and the end user who is taking a substance which is more dangerous because of the cut in quality.
Maybe, if we took it out of the drug lords hands and put into organized distribution, the money earned could go into health and social programs, and at least there could start to be a healthier balance to the whole nasty affair.
Can you imagine legalized mary jane in Brazil? You would have to wait in endless lines, to recieve some sort of document they would create.
ReplyDeleteJust imagine the price! look at going out to eat in Brazil. There would be tons of bs with the brazilian government culture being money hungry and document hungary.
I am waiting 6 months for my document card-- what would be the wait for a mj document card?
I've always wondered why alcohol is legal and pot is not? One other thing is if it were legalized, I would imagine there would be some quality control put in place. From what I've heard, the pot here is quite weak, god knows what else they mix into the drugs. My brother in California has a chronic migrane problem, it's really dibilitating for him at times and he gets pharmaceutical grade marijuana legally, to deal with the pain. He says it's insane the difference, like night and day from the stuff on the street. It's pure, and legal (for him at least!). Amsterdam is an interesting model for sure. And while it's not a complete success story, I think the city is better off by allowing it to be bought at coffee shops. I don't think the world's cities are going to embrace this idea anytime soon though.
ReplyDeleteIt was recently legalized in Michigan - but only for medicinal purposes, and you have to have a prescription to get it... apparently there was also a moratorium on it, but I think I just read that is being canceled in the near future... I don't have cancer or any other serious medical issues, (plus Hubs is a cop) so I won't be partaking of any, but still. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is completely true.. evrything in the econimic world would be soooo much better if obama would get off his lazy black ass and do something i know that nigga gets high everyday.. My principle gets high.. i got called into the office the other day to see him baked out of his mind... i asked him what my punishment was and he answered very delayed..
ReplyDeleteso i think that the legalization would be a good thing.....
Pig Benis