New view in war on drugs

Hooray for free speech!

I dont like having a black market that feeds cartels, yet the pot sympathizers have not created a plan that ensures that we dont legitimize the scumbag cartels.

Its seems like they are incapable of thinking beyond their own narcicistic world where they hope to be able to smoke pot in the privacy of their own home.

How about showing us some real solutions? real plans?

Huh? There have been hundreds of proposals that would eliminate or greatly reduce the black market.



Hope to? We already do smoke in privacy of our homes. All we're asking is to not be criminalized for doing so. There's nothing narcicistic in that.



What orifice did you pull that from? There are hundreds of sensible alternatives to criminalization. You just haven't been paying attention, I guess.

Do you consider breweries alcohol cartels? Pot production would work the same way, except that it's much easier for micro growers to get into the pot producing business than the booze business. The main problem with legalizing pot, regulating it the same way as alcohol is regulated now, is that it's so easy for people to grow their own it might reduce profits for the big growers. Still most dopeheads probably don't have the patience to grow their own so will go to the liquor store to buy the commercial stuff.


So no cartels that are any more scumbag than the big liquor producers. No point in gang involvement, except maybe to the degree that the natives etc smuggle non-tax cigarettes. Mark Emery would be taxed on is seeds, not just his profits, but seed producers could still make a good living.

We already have a plan in place for alcohol.

Legalize, regulate, and tax.

The tax revenue plus the savings from ending the war on drugs can go toward fighting real crime.

Weed should at least be legalized, its a no brainer. Does way less damage than booze does. As it stands now kids have an easier time getting weed than booze. Weed dealers don't card people for id.

Too much of anything in life is no good for you. The biggest danger from smoking too much weed is apathy.

Supposedly pot is already BC's largest industry in terms of money. (2 billion a year, I think). Think of what that would do for the govt if some of that flowed to the govt as taxes.

It's probably going to get bigger too. As of January 1, possession of under 1 ounce of pot will be decriminalized in California, but growing it will still be illegal. That's not good for Mexico, and it's not good for B.C.

We've had this conversation before on this forum I think..

Good post Bodah. I totally agree.

The problem with such simplistic thinking is that marijuana isn't trafficked by criminals simply because its illegal. Because pot is illegal, criminals don't have any competition save from other criminals.

Were marijuana to be legalized, it wouldn't end trafficking anymore than legalizing alcohol and cigarettes have ended smuggling. Movies are perfectly legal to go to and have never been illegal, but criminals still pirate movies left, right and centre.

Why don't we just legalize movie-going and tax it too? Oh wait, we do.

Marijuana will still be another commodity that crooks will trade in because there's demand. Criminals simply can get it to market cheaper than anybody else; that's the point of breaking the law.

If there's any point to legalizing marijuana, it's to declog the courts that deal with possession. Also, hopefully, it would end home grow-ops that could be right next door to you. Plus, there's the common sense aspect. Booze is a way bigger burden on society, yet it's legal. Yet we deal with it. We'll just have to learn to accommodate marijuana in society like booze.

Yes, I too dream of tax revenues from the MCBO right next to the LCBO in a shopping plaza near you.

Also, Phish iTunes downloads will go through the roof, so there's that too.

The problem with such simplistic thinking is that marijuana isn't trafficked by criminals simply because its illegal. Because pot is illegal, criminals don't have any competition save from other criminals.

Were marijuana to be legalized, it wouldn't end trafficking anymore than legalizing alcohol and cigarettes have ended smuggling. Movies are perfectly legal to go to and have never been illegal, but criminals still pirate movies left, right and centre.

Why don't we just legalize movie-going and tax it too? Oh wait, we do.

We don't have alcohol smugglers shooting each other in the street.

Tobacco, we have real statistics to show that education, regulation, and taxation can work to reduce usage.

The violence from the black market movie industry is negligible too I think.



Crooks won't trade it, because legitimate businesses will. Crooks do it now because the price is inflated, and they have a monopoly on the market. The way criminals operate now, they sort out their problems outside of the law. They protect their interests that way as well. When Molson wants to increase sales, they don't do a drive by at Labatt's.