Why Half A Job Is Worse Than Nothing

Bob Marley once sang “I’M GONNA smoke’a de ganja until I go blind. You know I smoke’a de ganja all a de time” ......

 

Smoke The Ganja Till I Go Blind .....

 

 .... a sentiment that far too many of our citizens concur with.

 

As discussed is earlier posts, drug decriminalisation is underway, as many countries are finding that the economic and social costs of trying to fight the 'war against drugs' too prohibitive a price to pay.

One of the latest to join this growing band (several countries in Europe and Latin America have already taken this step), is Jamaica, where the government said it intended to decriminalise possession of small amounts of the drug. The 'Kofi Annan Foundation' has suggested that minor drug offences should also be decriminalised in West Africa, to reduce violence and corruption.

The reasons for these moves are simple, the 'war' has been lost. Fifty years of banning, billions of dollars, and hundreds of thousands of lives lost, have resulted only in the overthrow of many democratic states as narco-corruption or even narco-arms have simply overwhelmed them. Mexico is the high profile state at risk of succumbing, but already many smaller Central/South American states have been seriously compromised. All African states already have huge governance and corruption issues as it is, and drug money bribes, find many willing hands.

Prohibiting narcotics has failed to prevent an increase in their use, mainly in the rich world, but increasingly in emerging markets (Brazil is now the world’s biggest customer of crack cocaine), while simply enriching the criminal Mafia's who run the trade ... so while Western Governments still publicly argue for zero tolerance, privately no one seriously argues that reform is not needed .... however is simply decriminalising minor drug usage the answer?
 

Half A Job Can Be Worse Than No Job

While lenient penalties may save many young people from gaining a criminal record (whether they inhale or not), and spare taxpayers the expense of arresting, trying, and jailing them, it looks to me to be a dangerous half job .... because, while supplying drugs remains an illegal activity, it will remain a criminal monopoly. So the drug cartels will continue to corrupt the police and politicians across the globe, so, while allowing the ganja users of Jamaica or cocaine users of London to avoid penalties, their Pounds, Dollars or Euros, still end up paying the animals who saw off peoples heads in Latin America.

So we are in danger of having another set of ill thought out and un-joined up drug polices, that will actually produce the 'worst of all worlds'. 'Decriminalisation' only makes real sense when combined with steps towards legalisation. The examples of what is required are being led by the ever brave Uruguay, but also in the US states of Colorado and Washington state, which have all managed to put criminals out of one aspect the drug business. They have done this by legalising the cannabis trade from cultivation to retail, and and given it to law-abiding entrepreneurs.

These entrepreneurs pay tax, and obey the laws on where, when, and to whom, they can sell their products. This not only gives a new income stream to those state governments, but the money saved on policing marijuana usage, is now being spent on tackling real criminals, or on treatment for serious drug addicts.

Any steps away from prohibition of some less harmful are possibly in the right direction, but half a job is actually worse than not doing anything at all.