So another country has joined Uruguay in making Pot, Cannabis, Mary Jane, Marijuana, Weed, legal.
Like most people, I have my concerns and would hope that Canada makes it a state monopoly, to not only keep the price competitive, but to reap at least as much tax as cigarettes generate. It couldn't possibly fair for it to undercut legal cigarettes at price and tax.
There are of course concerns of druggies driving, flying planes or operating machinery while high as a kite but I have to assume that over the next couple of years Canada will work through them. But its a fact that many people do all these things under the influence of drugs even when they are illegal.
Other countries such as the federal USA, European countries, and of course the UK will be watching closely and I suspect the key deciders will be:
Which of those three things you count as most important, depends on the country and the politics in your locale. In the UK, one can see either the Liberals or Corbyns Labour Party, seeing it as a vote winner with the younger and middle-aged voter. Whilst for the Conservatives, it may well be the revenue streams that are the tick box.
In any event I suspect that unless its an unmitigated disaster in Canada, within a decade the rest of the Western world will follow suite.
Lets be honest, as we have discussed before, we are losing the 'War on Drugs' and that in some instances more battlefronts are opening all the time. In the USA, the decades long over-prescribing of opioid pain killers has led to a national addiction epidemic in large swathes of the country. E.g. West Virginia has whole towns where people who weren't habitual street drug users, now have major issues with what are prescription drugs.
In the UK its the crystal-meth related drugs such as spice that have now erupted onto our street and into our prison system. If we can inflict even a tiny dent in to the drug cultures that are so strong in the West, and cut the profits to the drug barons would be good, but I suspect that on its own, it will still be too small a step.
Still, a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, or so they say.
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| Canada - The New Flag Bearer Of Drug Reforms |
Like most people, I have my concerns and would hope that Canada makes it a state monopoly, to not only keep the price competitive, but to reap at least as much tax as cigarettes generate. It couldn't possibly fair for it to undercut legal cigarettes at price and tax.
There are of course concerns of druggies driving, flying planes or operating machinery while high as a kite but I have to assume that over the next couple of years Canada will work through them. But its a fact that many people do all these things under the influence of drugs even when they are illegal.
Other countries such as the federal USA, European countries, and of course the UK will be watching closely and I suspect the key deciders will be:
- Is it a vote winner for Mr Trudeau.
- Does it make lots of new revenue for the Canadian state (predictions are that it will raise $400m a year in additional tax revenues), and,
- Does it cut drug related crimes and usage.
Which of those three things you count as most important, depends on the country and the politics in your locale. In the UK, one can see either the Liberals or Corbyns Labour Party, seeing it as a vote winner with the younger and middle-aged voter. Whilst for the Conservatives, it may well be the revenue streams that are the tick box.
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| Drugs - Hard Moral Choices Lie Ahead |
In any event I suspect that unless its an unmitigated disaster in Canada, within a decade the rest of the Western world will follow suite.
Lets be honest, as we have discussed before, we are losing the 'War on Drugs' and that in some instances more battlefronts are opening all the time. In the USA, the decades long over-prescribing of opioid pain killers has led to a national addiction epidemic in large swathes of the country. E.g. West Virginia has whole towns where people who weren't habitual street drug users, now have major issues with what are prescription drugs.
In the UK its the crystal-meth related drugs such as spice that have now erupted onto our street and into our prison system. If we can inflict even a tiny dent in to the drug cultures that are so strong in the West, and cut the profits to the drug barons would be good, but I suspect that on its own, it will still be too small a step.
Still, a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, or so they say.
It's reported that Canada ran out of legal pot the day after it went on sale. Brings new meaning to the phrase 'Canada Dry'
ReplyDeleteHmm .... there's a surprise. Private enterprise usually better at meeting supply an demand than the public sector. Thanks for the comment.
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