4 ms·

This will be very interesting to watch. So far the marijuana debate seems to be stifled by the lack of hard evidence of what would happen were the drug legalise

This will be very interesting to watch. So far the marijuana debate seems to be stifled by the lack of hard evidence of what would happen were the drug legalised in a developed Western nation. Uruguay is different enough from the US etc. to be discountable, but Canada is not. Many advocates for legalisation will show how it is expected to reduce the overall harm from the drug. It will be interesting to see if this plays out in practice. I for one am hopeful.

stock_toaster 8y ago
> lack of hard evidence of what would happen were the drug legalised in a developed Western nation Does the Netherlands not count?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- trulyrandom 8y ago
  No, cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  It's not legal there though is it, it's some form of legal accommodation short of legality that doesn't really give evidence for making recreational cannabis use legal.
- AndrewDucker 8y ago
  It's not technically legal in the Netherlands. Just deeply tolerated in some places.
- IkmoIkmo 8y ago
  No, it is illegal. Consumption and carrying small amounts is tolerated, police will not take any action and public attorneys never prosecute these cases. But production is illegal and besides two small plants in your home, completely not tolerated. If you get caught with say 10 plants they're destroyed with few other consequences. If you get caught with a more considerable production however, you get prosecuted. A lot of softdrug related crime isn't connected to consumption but rather production. The Netherlands isn't a good case study for studying effects on that kind of crime etc. Same with many other drugs like xtc. Consumption is rarely criminally targetted. Production is. Virtually ever farmer in the south of the country gets approached by drug producers, there's a whole undergeound web of crime, black money, corruption etc.
  - arandr0x 8y ago
    Production is also largely illegal in Canada, with the exception in some of the province of very limited growing for personal use. Legalization is, of course, legalizing consumption, there will be a government monopoly on the parts of the chains that actually generate money. You'll have to wait a while for the case study -- maybe until the US itself legalizes.
    - bregma 8y ago
      Production is legal and regulated in Canada. It's big business, and a major employer in my region. The value of my shares in cannabis-industry ETFs have tripled in the last few months.
      - arandr0x 8y ago
        It's so regulated as to be effectively impossible for individuals to get into unless they have serious connections. I've seen the stocks on the TSX too. I was going by the meaning of the previous posters, which seemed to be saying that all the previously illegal players in the food chain could now step into the limelight and/or that new players could easily get in the industry -- it couldn't be farther from the truth. It's true that those businesses who benefitted from the regulation stand to be making serious money, and I suppose that is different from the situation in the Netherlands in a major way.
    - Harvey-Specter 8y ago
      > Production is also largely illegal in Canada Production is only illegal in the same way that tobacco production is illegal - you have to be licences to produce and sell cannabis products.
maxerickson 8y ago
It's been legal enough in California for years and recreational use is now explicitly legal in Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington (with legal changes pending in other states). US national laws are certainly a different case, but the debate is hardly "stifled".
- mrguyorama 8y ago
  Recreational pot use here in Maine is "legal", but easy access to stores that sell pot explicitly for recreational use has been aggressively stalled and stymied by our republican state government. Only recently did our legislature finally overturn the last (hopefully) hurdle that the governor set up.
vvillena 8y ago
Nothing special will happen. Smoked weed is and will be a niche drug, since not many people like to smoke, and we all know how terrible it is for the mouth, the throat, and the lungs. Creative cannabis usage (oils, edibles...) will find a place, I'm sure. Still, the overarching issue will be the stigma weed has as a drug used by lazy people and hippies. It will take decades for that to change. Once that happens, we can revisit how weed affects people, and act on it if need be.

stock_toaster 8y ago

> lack of hard evidence of what would happen were the drug legalised in a developed Western nation Does the Netherlands not count?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
trulyrandom 8y ago
No, cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands.
pbhjpbhj 8y ago
It's not legal there though is it, it's some form of legal accommodation short of legality that doesn't really give evidence for making recreational cannabis use legal.
AndrewDucker 8y ago
It's not technically legal in the Netherlands. Just deeply tolerated in some places.
IkmoIkmo 8y ago
No, it is illegal. Consumption and carrying small amounts is tolerated, police will not take any action and public attorneys never prosecute these cases. But production is illegal and besides two small plants in your home, completely not tolerated. If you get caught with say 10 plants they're destroyed with few other consequences. If you get caught with a more considerable production however, you get prosecuted. A lot of softdrug related crime isn't connected to consumption but rather production. The Netherlands isn't a good case study for studying effects on that kind of crime etc. Same with many other drugs like xtc. Consumption is rarely criminally targetted. Production is. Virtually ever farmer in the south of the country gets approached by drug producers, there's a whole undergeound web of crime, black money, corruption etc.
- arandr0x 8y ago
  Production is also largely illegal in Canada, with the exception in some of the province of very limited growing for personal use. Legalization is, of course, legalizing consumption, there will be a government monopoly on the parts of the chains that actually generate money. You'll have to wait a while for the case study -- maybe until the US itself legalizes.
  - bregma 8y ago
    Production is legal and regulated in Canada. It's big business, and a major employer in my region. The value of my shares in cannabis-industry ETFs have tripled in the last few months.
    - arandr0x 8y ago
      It's so regulated as to be effectively impossible for individuals to get into unless they have serious connections. I've seen the stocks on the TSX too. I was going by the meaning of the previous posters, which seemed to be saying that all the previously illegal players in the food chain could now step into the limelight and/or that new players could easily get in the industry -- it couldn't be farther from the truth. It's true that those businesses who benefitted from the regulation stand to be making serious money, and I suppose that is different from the situation in the Netherlands in a major way.
  - Harvey-Specter 8y ago
    > Production is also largely illegal in Canada Production is only illegal in the same way that tobacco production is illegal - you have to be licences to produce and sell cannabis products.

maxerickson 8y ago

It's been legal enough in California for years and recreational use is now explicitly legal in Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington (with legal changes pending in other states). US national laws are certainly a different case, but the debate is hardly "stifled".

mrguyorama 8y ago
Recreational pot use here in Maine is "legal", but easy access to stores that sell pot explicitly for recreational use has been aggressively stalled and stymied by our republican state government. Only recently did our legislature finally overturn the last (hopefully) hurdle that the governor set up.

vvillena 8y ago

Nothing special will happen. Smoked weed is and will be a niche drug, since not many people like to smoke, and we all know how terrible it is for the mouth, the throat, and the lungs. Creative cannabis usage (oils, edibles...) will find a place, I'm sure. Still, the overarching issue will be the stigma weed has as a drug used by lazy people and hippies. It will take decades for that to change. Once that happens, we can revisit how weed affects people, and act on it if need be.