...why can it not work elsewhere?
In 2001, out of money to fight the drug war, and with the drug lords becoming a serious political threat, Portugal took the brave step of decriminalizing drug possession and usage.
In the years that have followed, drug usage in Portugal has decreased. Why? Because money that was being squandered on an unwinnable war that did nothing but enrich drug cartels, was instead spent on drug awareness and rehab programs. Now that drugs were no longer criminal, people who wanted help could come forward and ask for it without fear of being thrown in prison.
It also put the drug lords out of business there. Why buy pot from questionable sources when you can just grow it yourself?
This is not a surprise to anyone who has actually studied the history of prohibition. The exact same thing happened in the US when prohibition was repealed.
Do you agree that the drug war is stupid and unwinnable, and should be abandoned, and that Portugal has proven that all the speculative scare hype against decriminalization is actually BS?
Of course it makes sense to decriminalize...if you look at murder rates in the USA, they were highest in our country's history during...you guessed it, prohibition.
And if you throw somebody in jail over possession, usage, etc...you take away tax dollars (as most people have a job) and then you create a tax liability...where they cost us all money.
It'd be FAR cheaper for society to pay 15-18K / year per person on drug treatments for that individual, given that we'd also get the tax revenue...simple math, really. Unless & until we make illegal cigarrettes & alcohol...well, the war on drugs is financial idiocy.
Not comparing the the actual plant, just the accessability to it. If many people are growing it, and there are no legal reprecussions for growing it...then it's accessability goes way up. People could actually report their garden raided...up till now, pot growers have to guard their own, and some would do it with deadly force...
So, no...a drug is not an onion, or a mater...but it may well be grown right next to them in the family garden, if pot is legalized...
Now that I think about it, tho...I wonder if growing your own would be the same as having your own still...isn't that illegal?
p
I believe that the war on drugs was worth a shot, but yes it hasn't done much. I am more of a libertarian on this issue however I think there should be some kind of permit to grow it. Personally I don't like the idea of my neighbor growing pot and having some dumb kid get shot in the night for trying to steal it.
***Personally I don't like the idea of my neighbor growing pot and having some dumb kid get shot in the night for trying to steal it.
When's the last time someone got shot for stealing a tomato? If it were legal to grow, anyone could grow it, just like any other vegetable.
"I wonder if growing your own would be the same as having your own still...isn't that illegal?"
Is it still illegal to have a still. I know people who make there own wine and beer. Why would that be any different? As long as you are not trying to sell it.
I think it's less likely that you'd get shot stealing legal pot, than illegal pot...Pot would join peas and beans in the art of garden raiding...:)
I see no reason to not legalize pot...
p
Our draconian drug laws are nothing but a waste of money. Of course they should be decriminalized. Drug abuse is a health issue, not a law enforcement one.
*** Are you comparing a drug to a tomato?
Yes in the context as stated.
*** Are you out of your mind?
No, are you?
Are you comparing a drug to a tomato? Are you out of your mind?
