PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:
Thanos Thanos:
As opposed to the Derb/Larry Flynt 2012 ticket? LOL at you, fratboy. You liberal dicksnots are always the same: keep pushing the failed theories no matter how much damage and death they end up causing.
You: legalize everything, and magic will happen!
Me: really? explain how?
You: questioning me? what are you, some kind of a fascist?
Me: typical lefty reaction. shove it, d-bag.
And da beat goes on......
Oh c'mon Thanos, you can't be that fucking thick. Portugal is a prime example of empirical evidence when it's done right. The money the gov't ISN'T spending on policing, courts, and incarcerations are allowing them to fund rehab centres and clinics.
And guess what, they are actully
saving money over the draconian method of dealing with drugs. When Portugal decrimmed everything, pot use increased a wee bit in adults, and actually dropped a bit in teens. But here's the amazing thing, alcohol use amoung both groups decreased and hard drug use decreased substantially since 2001. And with the decrease, the population is that much healthier for it, causing less stress on their medical system.
And if someone is growing 5-6 plants on their property, the cops don't even bother with it.
But when a big bust is made here, all that happens is some turf war starts up, big or small, to fill the void, driving up the price of the "product", making the gangs even wealthier and the tax coffers shorter.
I don't have estimates for Canada yet, but the "official" low-ball estimate for pot sales alone in the US tunes in around $10 BILLION/yr. The "official" low-ball estimate in cost to the justice system from policing to courts to prisons just to deal with pot is estimated to be around $3-4 Billion per year.
What I see a lot of when it comes to the anti-legalization side is the fucked-up notion that legalization will lead to a whole-sale increase in usage, like the mere fact the stuff is illegal is preventing 99% of the non-users from using them.
Well I, amoung MANY other pot smokers, wouldn't bother with the other crap even if it was legalized. There's a damn good reason most people don't do that shit and it really has little to do with "the law".
I can honestly also say that most of the junkies I've ended up knowing didn't want to be junkies. They were so because they either didn't know where to go for help because there wasnt' any nearby, couldn't afford to get the help or were seriously paranoid and were afraid of getting arrested if they went to a clinic to get help.
Seems to me if Portugal is any example, it's an easy way to solve any one of those excuses/reasons.
Nice post.
All you have to do now is convince me that Portugal isn't really at the buttfuck
end of the Continent, where they have no neighbors to piss off (except the Spanish,
and really, who gives a fuck about them
)
Then just convince me they don't really live in Europe, where attitudes towards
sex/drugs/alcohol are more liberal than North America.
Then show me you have the technology to detect grass when driving, just like alcohol. Cuz it does change yer head and driving while high is a bad idea.
Last, show me Portugal doesn't live in the same 'hood as the US, where any decision
in this area is going to be examined, criticised, and perhaps penalized by
their 80% trading partner.
Other than that, it's a perfect alignment.
CKA Uber 
![[B-o]](./images/smilies/drinkup.gif "Drink up")
Thanks for posting this bit of info. I googled it and read some articles and studies on this. This the first time I've seen someone back up their argument like this with facts. Well done sir, you may actually have persuaded me to reconsider my stance on legalization. Good job on keeping current. personally, I don't think I'd use it, even if it was fully legal, unless it was put into food...can't stand the smell of it burning....and it screws up your butter knives. 
CKA Uber 
