Legal marijuana proposal

[ENT]

Legalising cannabis: £1.25bn tax benefit - without necessarily damaging public health

Research says decriminalising cannabis could cut the cost of policing, prosecuting and treating drug users, while regulation could help control potency and chemical composition MONDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2013

Legalising and taxing cannabis could help the Government reduce the deficit by as much as £1.25bn – without necessarily causing significant damage to public health, a study has claimed.

Research by the Institute for Social and Economic Research said decriminalising cannabis could cut the cost of policing, prosecuting and treating drug users by up to £300m a year.

Meanwhile, tax revenue from licensing the drug could raise between £400m and £900m for the exchequer.

Academics at the University of Essex who compiled the report said public debate on cannabis policy had been much too limited in scope and lacked hard evidence in favour of continued criminalisation. It said psychopharmacological research suggested that harm from cannabis use was related to the chemical composition of the drug, so that legalising and regulating its sale could control its potency.

At the same time the report disputed the “greatly exaggerated” assertion put forward by anti-drugs campaigners that cannabis use could lead on to harder drugs.

Rather, it claimed, making cannabis illegal drew users into drug-dealing, with associated economic costs.

“Licensing would remove many people from illicit cannabis supply and thus reduce harm,” they conclude. “We estimate modest external net benefits from reform through the avoidance of scarring effects of criminal records in the labour market of roughly the same magnitude as the external cost to society of the impact on mental health.”

The report suggested there were considerable financial gains to be had for the wider economy from regulating and taxing the sale and production of the drug. “Overall, the contribution of cannabis licensing in England and Wales to reduction of the government deficit is expected to lie in the range £0.5-1.25bn,” they said.

Stephen Pudney, professor of economics at the University of Essex and the lead author of the study, said the report was not a definitive attempt to put a price on the cannabis market, but looked to outline factors to consider, if such a policy were to be introduced.

“Two important areas of uncertainty where progress may be possible are drug-related crime and drug demand behaviour, but it would require greater sustained investments in data and research effort,” he said.

Amanda Feilding, director of the Beckley Foundation, which campaigns for scientifically based reform of drugs policy and which commissioned the report, said: “In these times of economic crisis, it is essential to examine the possibilities of more cost-effective drug policy.

“Our present policies based on prohibition have proved to be a failure at every level. Users are not protected, it puts one of the biggest industries in the world in the hands of criminal cartels, it criminalises millions of users, casting a shadow over their future, and it creates violence and instability, particularly in producer and transit countries.”
Legalising cannabis: £1.25bn tax benefit - without necessarily damaging public health - UK Politics - UK - The Independent

[Loy Toy]

Pretty much common sense in my books.

Any positive decision in favour of legalizing and controlling the processing and distribution of this drug will adversely affect my future business but I am all for it.

I really hope common sense one day prevails.

[ENT]

Theresa May orders study into drug decriminalisation in Portugal and US to assess impact on use and addiction
Home Office minister will visit Portugal where criminal penalties for drug possession were scrapped in 2001
THURSDAY 07 MARCH 2013

A detailed study of Portugal’s decision to decriminalise drug possession – as well as moves to legalise marijuana use in two US states – has been ordered by Theresa May.

But the Home Secretary rebuffed calls by MPs to set up a Royal Commission to review Britain’s 41-year-old drugs laws and recommend changes.

The Home Office minister, Jeremy Browne, is to visit Portugal to examine the impact of the policy on levels of drug use and addiction.

Criminal penalties for personal drug use were scrapped in 2001, although tough sanctions remain in place for dealing.

He will also study evidence from the US, where Colorado and Washington state have voted to legalise marijuana. The drug has been decriminalised in another 14 states.

Ms May was responding to a report by the Commons home affairs select committee which praised the Portuguese policy of replacing criminal penalties with an emphasis on offering treatment and counselling for users. The MPs said the initiative had reduced public concern about drug abuse and had been supported by the police and all political leaders.

They also urged the establishment of a Royal Commission to examine drugs laws – a proposal that has divided the Coalition partners after it was supported by Nick Clegg and rejected by David Cameron. Opponents saw the proposed move as a possible first step towards relaxing drug legislation.

In her response to the committee, Ms May said: “The government does not believe there is a case for fundamentally re-thinking the UK’s approach to drugs – a royal commission is simply not necessary.

“Nonetheless we must continue to listen and learn from emerging trends, new evidence and international comparators.”

She argued there were “promising signs” that the Government’s anti-drugs strategy was working, pointing to figures suggesting use of illegal substances is at its lowest since measurement began in 1996. The number of registered heroin and crack cocaine users in England has fallen below 300,000 for the first time.

Ms May also said drug-related deaths had fallen over the last three years and record numbers of people were managing to kick the habit through treatment.

She said Mr Browne, a Liberal Democrat, would “look at a number of countries that cover a spectrum of approaches to drug policy and assess their effectiveness in cutting drug use and reducing harm”.
Theresa May orders study into drug decriminalisation in Portugal and US to assess impact on use and addiction - UK Politics - UK - The Independent

[Zooheekock]

One bark from the tabloids is all it talks for politicians to run away from this. Not that they'd be near it in the first place, anyway.

[withnallstoke]

I attended a legalise pot demonstration in London.
(Hundreds of) Thousands of us wandering around Westminster stoned.
We really thought we were on the brink of legalisation.

That was in 1977.

One bark from the tabloids is all it talks for politicians to run away from this. Not that they'd be near it in the first place, anyway.

Indeed.

[wasabi]

^ Yes it is the tough on drugs headline,failing politicians use to try and boost rateings. G.Brown upgraded pot. even though he was popping perscription pills for his mental illness.

[blue]

I hate the stuff , that sickly sweet and nauseous stink travels for hundreds of yards... miles maybe , even in the fresh air outside.
I always look around for the culprit - an interesting looking person ?
a flower power hippy ?
No chance - always some totally filthy emaciated scabby looking chav, usually wearing faded grubby grey clothes .
The last thing those people need is a drug that further anesthetizes them.
Get near and the skunk fumes cling to them and they reek real nasty .

Keep it illegal and get sniffer dogs on the streets to chase down offenders.

Legalising cannabis: £1.25bn tax benefit

Says it all , thats all they think about - money.
Even then it's not true,because is it leads to harder drugs like tobacco, with smokers clogging up hospitals .

[ENT]

Blue, ya make me laugh!

[poorfalang]

It's about time,
I don't like weed.
when i smoke it, it makes me feel funny, weird, yet kind of controlled,
makes my orgasm feels greater than it actually is, and when i look at the old fellas in issan i want to laugh, which of course would be rude, also it makes my tom yum krung taste better, but problem is my kids will cry and scream that i am a selfish bastard and wont let them taste it, same goes to my muffins and cookies,
The missus she don't even know shes eaten it, ( quad hua, im going to sleep)
which leaves me and my weed all by our selves in the cool issan nights,
it's a sad thing actually, but never mind there's always the skyscrapers in pattaya to fix it

[Norton]

That was in 1977.

1977 far to early to legalize. Now it seems it is the number one cash crop in the world. Legalize to get big "sin" tax benefits. Like it or not, it's coming. Our mismanaged governments need the money.

[stickmansucks]

Pretty much common sense in my books.

Any positive decision in favour of legalizing and controlling the processing and distribution of this drug will adversely affect my future business but I am all for it.

I really hope common sense one day prevails.

I agree, but for ANY drug because specialists explain that the war is lost anyway, no need to try more, they will never stop drug business.

But I agree that those with kids can be worried if they are not smart enough to teach the right things to their kids.

[ENT]

Wot drugs U lot onabout?

Da tea, coffeee, sugar, choklit stuff?

U onabout me mudah's sleepin pills?

Me daddy's heart kickers?

Ma sistah's NODOZE lollies when she cain't stay awake at da nurse's station at night?

Ya bro, U on abaht dem drugstuff tings, ya?

Warabout dem happy pills dey gib to Georgie boy,da cat dat shot dat no-good niga trayvohnnn?

Shooda gibbben da mexicala cooon banga a downa, eh bro?

[pattayardm]

Its hardly surprising they are thinking of doing this.

So many people are smoking marijuana in the UK.

Growers and dealers rake in a huge tax free profits which the government wants to get it hands on now.