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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Norman Lamb: Why we should regulate Cannabis
Liberal Democrat Voice Tuesday 08 Mar 2016 From today’s Mirror: Lib Dem chief Tim Farron has becomes the first leader of a UK-wide political party to admit smoking cannabis. The MP’s candid confession comes as he calls for the complete legalisation of the drug in a bid to generate up to £900million for public coffers. Father-of-four Mr Farron, 46, told the Mirror: “I tried cannabis when I was younger, as did many other politicians. “But sadly, too many other politicians want to continue forcing our police to waste resources chasing cannabis users when they should be able to take violent crime instead. “It’s time that we had the courage to look at the evidence and make a decision that will help us to tackle the real criminals instead of the current failed approach.” On the party website, Norman Lamb has urged members to support the motion calling for the legalisation of Cannabis. He wrote: I fully accept that cannabis, like any drug, can pose harms to individuals who choose to use it. But if we accept that many people will use cannabis – whether for recreational or medicinal purposes – then we must be pragmatic in how we minimise those harms. That is why I will be making the case for introducing a fully legal, regulated market at our spring conference this Saturday. No drug is made less harmful when you buy it from criminals. Drug dealers have no interest in your welfare. They never ask for proof of age, they won’t refuse to serve you if you’ve taken too much and you may have no idea what strength of cannabis they are selling to you. Criminal dealers also have every motivation to encourage people who buy cannabis from them to move on to far more dangerous and addictive substances. But this is not the only devastating social cost of the current law. Thousands of people each year receive convictions for possession of drugs for personal use, which will blight their education and employment opportunities for the rest of their lives. While my primary motivation in arguing for a change in the law is the human cost of prohibition, it is also worth mentioning the economic case for reform. Currently, the illegal drug market is worth billions to criminal gangs, while the ‘war on drugs’ costs the UK tax-payer billions more. Conversely, a regulated market could generate savings (particularly in the crime and justice system) and the taxation of cannabis has the potential to raise significant revenue. Finally, there is the compelling law and order case. It is shocking when you think how many police hours are spent targeting people carrying small amounts of cannabis for personal use. Hours which could be better used tackling far more harmful crimes. The Liberal Democrats have a proud history of developing our policies based on evidence, liberal principles and informed debate. I think this report is an incredibly valuable contribution to this process. http://www.libdemvoice.org/liblink-norman-lamb-why-we-should-regulate-cannabis-49716.html
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