Most Liberal Drug Laws in Europe--And it Works!

[3113]

If marijuana becomes legal, heavy taxes will inevitably follow.

Yes, people have sold cigarettes illegally in attempts to evade the taxes. But I see far less people shooting and killing over the sale of cigarettes in an attempt to evade the taxes than I do trying to sell illegal drugs.

And once again, no one here is saying that making marijuana legal is going to magically erase all crime related to it or anything else. Crime can be related to anything that makes one money or causes some impairment of judgement (meaning your judgement gets impaired and you crash a car--from liquor, sniffing glue, taking too much cough syrup, texting....).

This point is absurd, RR, and you know it. All your points are. Are you really saying that crime will go up if we legalize marijuana as compared to what you've actually seen happen with it being illegal?

 

[lance gt]

Is it fair that tens of thousands of good, hard working citizens are in jail because they were smoking some pot? That's it. Just smoking a joint and minding their own business. Now they face 5 and 10 year sentences and a criminal record.

The money in arrest, trying, incarcerating and re-habilitation is in the hundreds of billions of dollars just to process these people through the system.

All this for normally law abiding people. Seems a bit much to anyone with half a brain to see the futilty in trying to stop it, based on the amount people want it, as opposed to those who don't.

And people wonder where the money for their health care could come from.
America is the leading proponent in keeping it a dangerous drug on the world stage, but is losing ground as more and more countries like Canada, Portugal and the Netherlands proceed towards decriminalizing and eventual legalization.

 

[rgraham666]

Yes, people have sold cigarettes illegally in attempts to evade the taxes. But I see far less people shooting and killing over the sale of cigarettes in an attempt to evade the taxes than I do trying to sell illegal drugs.

But that's normal, damnit!

 

[Lauren Hynde]

An update. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) published today its yearly report, filled with data for those interested, and amongst many other things, it says about the Portuguese case in particular the following:

"Portugal has addressed this problem somewhat differently. The use of drugs is no longer subject to criminal sanctions, and those found in possession of drugs are directly referred for needs assessment to a special tribunal, known as a ‘commission for dissuasion of drug abuse’. The tribunal can issue fines, but sanctioning is not its main objective. This scheme has now been operating for 8 years. Initial fears that this approach would lead to an increase in drug tourism or increased levels of use do not appear to be supported by the data available."