Cannabis and the lessons of alcohol prohibition
Lessons from the epic failure of alcohol prohibition
In retrospect, prohibition must always be considered a loss. Alcohol, cannabis and prostitution, for example, were and still are banned in various countries around the world. Where the habit is banned, the black market always takes care of the people and is celebrated for it. However, the black market breeds crime, causes ill health for individuals and society as a whole, increases arrests, brings with it the need for more prisons and also a great deal of money for individuals, instead of enriching society as a whole through the taxes paid.
Where restrictions are handled sensibly, there is less crime, better health for individuals and society as a whole, fewer arrests, lower prison populations, and more taxable income. Just look at the multi-billion dollar legal cannabis industry in Colorado. Plus, average everyday people are not becoming criminals. There are lessons to be learned from the failure of alcohol prohibition. We have a unique opportunity to fix bad laws, to legalise cannabis and allow the cannabis industry to operate smoothly. Globally, legal cannabis will create an industry worth tens of trillions of crowns. Yes, you read that right - tens of trillions. This source of revenue can bring many benefits instead of continuing to make huge amounts of money for the bosses of criminal organisations.
First, a little digression
It is very difficult to describe all that those interested in cannabis law reform can learn from alcohol prohibition. Prohibition in general is a topic that itself requires intense debate, no matter what it involves. To talk about prohibition is to talk about the right of everyone to make independent decisions about their own bodies and minds. About what you have been told by third parties that you can and cannot do with your own person.
Moreover, police and criminal groups work hand in hand. How sick does a society have to be to unilaterally decide what a particular part of that society can and cannot do and to create special bodies to enforce everything? The comparison between alcohol and cannabis was also made out of compulsion in the past. It is quite certain that the original intention was to emphasise that the laws governing these substances should be similar. However, the hysterical media has led the public to believe that intoxication with these substances is also similar, which every cannabis user knows is a lie.
Alcohol vs. cannabis
Who first equated cannabis with alcohol? It would require inventing a time machine, going back to his time and explaining that cannabis needs to be compared to something much more appropriate and harmless, say coffee or tea, certainly not alcohol. Surely that would save us all a lot of work today in refuting an argument that is, in fact, completely false. I know for a fact that in the near future, cannabis prohibition will be regarded as a historical absurdity. By the way - look up information on the name Harry Anslinger. He was one of the assholes (sorry for the word, but I can't think of a more accurate description) behind the whole mess.
Okay, okay, okay, okay. Let's move on.
The view on cannabis is managed
Steps are underway in several states and countries around the world that will gradually lead to the global legalisation of cannabis. Statistics from these places show that legalisation will not bring about the end of the world, but will generate huge legal revenues through taxes and licensing, while organised crime takes a beating. Court time is saved because they do not have to deal with cannabis offences and otherwise law-abiding citizens are no longer at risk of getting caught up in the law.
From pharmacy to farming
Evidence from states where the cannabis industry is well-managed confirms that there is a reduction in addiction and overdose of painkillers ,opioids (opioids) by up to 25%. Doctors report that when they are allowed by law to prescribe cannabis, they prescribe significantly less painkillers to their patients. Where it is legal to grow your own cannabis plants, a self-medication revolution is underway. The healthy and beneficial effects of gardening in grow rooms or outdoors making your own medicine are helping people break the expensive chain of addiction to painkillers. In addition, there is a positive effect on the psyche associated with growing your own plants.
Billions and billions and billions...
It's not a joke. Cannabis is a huge business opportunity. Farms can churn out the stuff by the ton. Indoor automated cultivation facilities with artificial lighting can do the same. Then there are countless home growers. High-tech extractors produce hundreds of litres of oil or kilos of shatter and wax a day. All of this makes it possible to fill the vacuum created in the market by the huge demand for cannabis.
Hemp money
The burgeoning cannabis industry competes for customers' money with international drug cartels and puts it into government coffers as a tax to be used for public projects. The rest is profit and, as with any other business, goes into the bank accounts of local entrepreneurs, growers, shop owners or sellers who spend the money again. For the Mexican drug cartels, for example, the money from marijuana accounts for 30% of all income! Given that this is a fast-growing industry worth tens of billions, legalising cannabis makes economic sense.
Prohibition is very expensive
Legal cannabis creates jobs. Legal cannabis opens up a revenue stream of tens of billions that, when it is illegal, flows into the black market. Legal cannabis generates income on several levels. Prohibition, on the other hand, carries a considerable cost. Among other things, billions of crowns are needed to fund and manage the personnel dedicated to prosecuting people who, apart from using or growing cannabis, are otherwise perfectly law-abiding citizens. Prohibition has often led to an increase in the use of harder drugs that are relatively easy to produce. "Dry" states and cities are experiencing an epidemic that can wipe out an entire generation.
The need to prove anything beneficial about cannabis in detail speaks volumes about the power of social engineering. It is the proponents of prohibition who should have to prove the justification for its existence. Every time the usefulness of cannabis is discussed, evidence must be produced. This is time-consuming and prolongs the decriminalisation process. Cannabis is incredibly useful, which, paradoxically, works against legalisation, even though thousands of tests of medicinal efficacy are being carried out, processing of fibres and seeds is being investigated and various models of taxation are being tested. Cannabis, a tried and trusted friend of mankind for thousands of years, has long been in decline.
Hemp is no doubt useful, like wheat or sugar cane. Prohibitionists emerged in the 1940s and to this day have not been able to prove a single harmful and dangerous property of the herb without going round in circles making repetitive claims about how dangerous cannabis is, for which they have not a single credible piece of evidence. That is all they can do. The list of benefits of cannabis law reforms is almost endless. Cannabis has always been present in human history, unlike prohibition. So don't be afraid to voice your views, keep fighting and help those on the front lines fighting the bureaucratic moloch so we can use cannabis freely.
PHOTO: Shutterstock
"All information contained on this website, as well as information provided through this website, is for educational purposes only. None of the information contained herein is intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis and such information is not to be considered medical advice or recommended treatment. This website does not promote, endorse or advocate the legal or illegal use of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or the commission of any other illegal activity. For more information, please see our Disclaimer."