1.
"But it is already being abused regardless of being legal or not."
So this means we should legalize it, because it is all ready being abused? Will that stop the abuse?
Fair enough. But than the assumption that we should keep it illegal is also void, because it does not stop the abuse...
2.
"And now is costs the police apparatus an enormous amount of time and money too."
No the police apparatus costs tax payers a lot of money. So the implication is that if we get rid of laws we will pay less for police? By that reasoning, if we eliminate all laws the crime rate will go to zero and likewise the expense for police.:smile:
This feels like splitting hairs... Somebody is paying for the cops and by legalizing it, you cut down on expenditures. And you left out the factor "time" needed to prosecute and process the paper work. This is time that can be spend on other things.
3.
"And the assumption that more people will become addicted is hard to believe."
Why is it hard to believe? If it is legalized more people will use it and simple math says that if the percentage of abusers stays the same, there will be more addicts.
100,000 X 5%(0.05) = 5,000
More user same percent:
1,000.000 X 5%(0.05) = 50,000
Good point, I didn't look at it that way! :smile:
4. Another reason given for legalization was tax revenue, would help pay down the California deficit. California is looking at a $25 Billion deficit. Even the most optimistic tax amount was $500 million in revenue. But most of that was supposed to go to local government, not state.:roll:
In my opinion again spitting hairs. There is money to be made from legalizing weed.
Not sure how they were going to collect taxes as the law was making it legal for people over 21 to have a 25 X 25 foot area to grow their own pot. When was the last time the garden police came and taxed your garden?:smile:
Well... In Holland not everybody has a garden, but we do have central points which are easily controllable; i.e. coffee-shops. And most like it will become easier to find the places where they grow weed, which are hidden now. And so, these you could tax too. I doubt that everybody will start to grow weed themselves. And if they want quality seeds, they will go to a shop and can be taxed too.
"I don't think that our friend Rob will buy a joint when it becomes legal...."
I don't know what Rob would do, since his comments have been more anti tobacco smoking than anything to do with Marijuana. But more people will try it if it is legalized.
Probably... well most likely true. But that doesn't make them abusers.
Maybe it would be better to follow Ted's country (Netherlands) example. Instead of making Pot legal, just have the police ignore it.
By ignoring it you can't tax it. But the quality standard has risen by this method, since selling it doesn't happen out of a trunk.
Here is a link to a New York Times article that gives a fair assessment of the pro and cons of Legalizing Marijuana.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/if-marijuana-is-legal-will-addiction-rise/
It does sound like a fair assessment and also pretty inconclusive.
But I do like this quote of one of the professors:
What would happen if the drug were legalized? The Dutch de facto legalization of sale through coffee shops is the closest available experience. The most striking observation is that marijuana use in that country is lower than in many other European countries and a lot lower than in the United States; 6 percent of 15- to 64-year-olds in Holland had used marijuana in the past year, compared to 11 percent in the U.S.
One thing I do see that is a problem with the pro side is that they contend that by legalizing Marijuana it could be regulated, both in strength and use by taxing(meaning they tax it high, so price is high and people won't use as much). Both points fall flat, at least in California because........you guessed it! Marijuana grows
like a weed here.:lol: Why pay for something you can grow for free?
Because the quality and the trip are of a lesser standard. I prefer my weed to be good and wholesome, and mother nature grows a lesser quality than a botanist.
How strong Pot has gotten since the 70s is wild, main reasoning I quit using.