Everyone says legal weed is good because it gets rid of the black market.

submitted by Bridgeheadprod from self.whatever

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[–]Alienhunter 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

I'm very much on board with decriminalization of most aspects of it as there is little reason to arrest random people who want to grow it smoke it or sell small amounts of it.

I think legalization is a different matter however. It's still a drug and I don't think it's good to make it kosher for commercialization. Similar to alcohol and tobacco commercial regulation is needed otherwise you'd get shit like the tobacco companies marketing towards children.

I'm also very much of the mind that while pot is probably safer than alcohol overall in a lot of ways, that still doesn't mean that it's safe and I think that widespread social issues can form if it's normalized. It's very much brave new world like with any drug, take a soma holiday and don't come to terms with the unpleasant and inhuman realities of the modern world.

[–]IMissPorn 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I've honestly always been a little confused by this "decriminalize but not legalize" idea. Does that mean you want it to be an infraction like speeding?

[–]Alienhunter 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

In a matter of speaking yes. I think it makes little sense to toss drug addicts in jail and saddle them with lifelong stigma and a criminal record to say nothing of what the financial burdens are. I think it exasperates the problem.

I think that we still need to have policy that greatly discourages addiction, including forced interventions into treatment for the addictions at some point for the most extreme cases. For something like, growing a few pot plants in your house, selling a bit of pot to your friend, getting caught with a bag of weed, the penalty should simply be confiscations with no further liabilities or legal action taken. Don't want to stick people with legal records and stigma for the drugs but also don't want to let them keep the drugs.

Granted if the drug addicts are violent and other crimes are committed besides simply having or trading for the drug itself then there needs to be prosecution for that. But nobody having a bad trip should fear arrest for going to the police and asking for help or medical intervention.

[–]IMissPorn 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Well, thanks for explaining. I understand what you're saying now, although I don't agree with regard to weed; I think that one's safe enough to be completely legal. For harder drugs this might be a good option though.