Friday 28 November 2008

Reader's letter of the day

From The Metro:

Joint venture

So the government is going to reclassify cannabis yet again (Metro, Thu)? Doesn't this prove that it has completely lost the plot in its battle against drugs? Why not legalise, regulate and tax it? With the thousands of tonnes cunsumed in Britain every year, surely a cannabis tax would be a viable way out of the credit crunch?

Terry Goldsmith, London.

5 comments:

M said...

There are too many interests with too much to lose if canabis (and many other drugs) was leagalised and regulated. It's not simply the dealers who have an interest in drugs. There are drug enforcement bodies, groups who lobby for drug enforcement, and there are also political groups on a moral crusade to prorect people from themselves.

Mark Wadsworth said...

True, but there would be more winners than losers. Four million cannabis smokers and thirty million taxpayers, for a start.

John B said...

Aye, but it's your textbook case of special interests politics. There are 4 million people who'd benefit a bit, and 30 million people who'd benefit an even smaller bit, if cannabis were decriminalised - but there are maybe 100,000 people in the groups MJW identifies who'd lose out massively, and they're the ones who make the effort to lobby and shape the debate.

Anonymous said...

Credit Crunch, eh? In my day, we called it the munchies.

James Higham said...

There are also the kick on drugs associated with it. It was always the starter drug in my day.