|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: The Time's Come To Make Cannabis Legal
Evening Express, Aberdeen
Tuesday 13 Jan 2004 Picture this ... you go into a shop and buy some mince, onions, potatoes and an Oxo cube. But the bloke behind the counter gives you a stern warning not to turn it into mince and tatties. Never happen, eh? But then, what does one make of the shop in Rosemount where they will sell you cannabis seeds and hydroponic equipment, then tell you not to grow any cannabis plants, because it's illegal? Which just shows up how ridiculous the current laws on cannabis are. There's been too much tinkering and fussing over which class it is, whether you get nabbed for possession, how much can be deemed for personal use, and the like. How about we stop pussy-footing around and simply legalise it. After all, cannabis is the preferred drug of relaxation for an entire generation ... if not generations, by now. Those of us who prefer to unwind with our drug of choice coming in pints have no end of opportunity to indulge. There are more pubs, off- licences and clubs than you can shake a stick at. You can even collect your alcohol at the same time as the aforementioned ingredients for mince and tatties in every supermarket in the land. Cannabis users are simply branded criminals. Yet the social cost of alcohol is infinitely higher than that of cannabis. Just look at the drunken thugs roaming our streets, the alcoholics who end up jobless and homeless, the domestic misery it can cause. A policeman once told me he'd much rather deal with someone who's stoned, than someone who's off his face on umpteen pints. As a legalised product, cannabis would be subject to the same controls over quality and strength as alcohol, making it safer for the thousands who use it. It would also be subjected to taxation, putting money into the hands of the government. It would free up the police to concentrate on clamping down on those who deal in the drugs that truly cause misery, such as heroin and crack. And it would finally end this farce of us all pretending that dope isn't a major part of society's cultural life.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!