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I don't know where I got the impression that they had a database system in Amsterdam. Talked to some good friends living there years ago, and they might have me
by Rod 18y ago
I don't know where I got the impression that they had a database system in Amsterdam. Talked to some good friends living there years ago, and they might have mentioned that there was a proposal to implement such a system... or that it could be interesting to implement it. I should have been more careful when presenting "facts" whose accuracy I can't guarantee.
I agree that the database would be expensive to implement. On the other hand, taxing marijuana and all the money that could be saved from not fighting marijuana dealing anymore could perhaps finance the database system. I am not a security professional, so I don't know how to implement a system that could authenticate users without identifying them, but that seems to present lots of interesting technical problems.
I agree that if there's no alcohol database, then there should be no database for weed either. On the other hand, alcohol is tolerated by society much more than weed. This makes no sense, but it's a reality. I would say that being pragmatic would be a good idea: introducing a database would tame the "fears" of those who claim that legalization would "corrupt" the teeanagers and our society's "values". Sometimes it's better to take little steps. Legalize but control consumption using a database. A few years later, people will have gotten used to the new paradigm that there might be no objections to abolishing the database. I say, legalize one step at a time because it increases the chances of success.
- ojbyrne 18y agoHaving a database and quotas will encourage illegality only a little bit less than it being illegal. Some people will sell their quote to others with larger intake, some will be encouraged to buy dope illegally just to avoid being in the database (how long would it be before the government used that db for employment screening, followed by the obvious next step - selling the db to private companies for the same reason?). As a total aside, this came up in an episode of Weeds - our hero Nancy Botwin managed to discourage her clients from purchasing medicinal marijuana just by suggesting that there was such a central db.
- Rod 18y agoIt would be cool if Synthetic Biology advanced to the point where one could start hacking bacteria to synthesize THC ;-) One would order a few bacteria over the internet and have a THC factory in one's room. No need for marijuana plantations that can be spotted with evil remote sensing satellites. No need for a database that could be used against the consumers. This is wild speculation, of course. I just wonder how the government will be able to enforce certain laws when citizens are able to synthesize chemicals on their own homes, for their own consumption.