I say yes. It is no more a gateway drug than alcohol is. The only reasons it is illegal is the gov't cannot effectively tax production and consumption and the U.S. puts pressure on the CDN gov't to keep it illiegal.
Any thoughts?
2007-03-10 03:27:38 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Yes, marijuana should at least be decriminalized. The previous Liberal government had a bill intended to (partly) do that, and probably will float it again when given the chance.
The best list of reasons for legalizing weed came from our government, the Senate special committee's "Cannabis: Summary Report" (see link below). Our Senate clearly said, "As far as cannabis is concerned, only behaviour causing demonstrable harm to others should be prohibited."
2007-03-10 04:30:35 · answer #1 · answered by will_o_the_west 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, and here is why.
If we legalize marijuana in Canada, the production will be limited to large commercial farms. The production will be regulated, inspected, taxed and strict controls put on the product that would make it more costly then it is today. In the face of that, home grow ops will continue to try to avoid the taxes and people will still try to sell it on the street, so what we will end up with is the same number of busts for dealing and grow ops, but this time it will be to protect the legal industry and the government tax money.
Next the US pressure.....it is very substantial. If the US labels us as soft on drugs, then it can legally apply tariffs against our exports to punish us. If Canadians thought soft-wood lumber and the Mad-Cow problems were tough, just imagine the US with free reign to impose tariffs on anything they want.
And...the Netherlands issue. Most people when talking about legalization look to the Netherlands (where it is in fact ILLEGAL, just not enforced). This policy has lead to many other issues in the Netherlands to the point that starting to enforce the laws is becoming more popular among the general public.
Finally, until there is a quick method to determine drug use for driving under the influence, we will need to change laws to make sure the public is protected from those whoe toke and drive.
No matter what happens, this issue will probably never go away.
2007-03-12 12:49:53 · answer #2 · answered by Nice Guy 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes it should be for the taxation opportunity and to free up some space in prisons so we can prosecute the hell out of violent offenders.
2007-03-12 11:09:00 · answer #3 · answered by smedrik 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋