I'm for legalising softdrugs. We allow alcohol and nicotine (and they are SERIOUSLY addictive and proven sources of many illnesses), so why make all this fuss about a bit of pot!? By legalising cannabis it can be taxed by governments and is pulled out of the criminal circuit. You don't have to go to some flaky dealer who lives in a 'bad part of town' where you could be tempted to try some of the heavier stuff (i.e. heroine, cocaine, XTC, crack you name it). It will also save the law enforcers a lot of time since they don't have to track down al these minor criminals. Large criminals will lose a lot of their interest in the stuff.
In the Netherlands there is a peculair policy regarding softdrugs. Contrary to popular believe weed is NOT legalised here. It's 'tolerated'. That means you can purchase a couple of grams for personal use and it can only be sold by registered 'coffeeshops' that get a permit from the municipality. There are many regulations (about amount of stock). This whole set of rules could -by legalising the stuff- be greatly simplified.
I think people should be free to experiment with all drugs they like, be it nicotine, alcohol, weed, mushrooms etc. but public health is at stake, so the government should be carefull!
I'm not the one to decide wether a person is an addict or just a joyful user. I myself am quite fond of alcohol but would not consider myself an addict. There are certain tests that state I am based on my drinking behaviour. It's rather tricky, because some drugs have nastier side-effects then others. If you're an alcohol addict, you can probably function quite a long time in society... cannabis tends to make you lethargic and lazy, so these things would be noticed sooner... So people would more often associate a negative emotion to the weed-addict...
fff. i'll stop rambling now :whistle:
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