The governments in UK and few other countries like India has always said that it will review the usage of medical cannabis while recreational usage will be considered as illegal no matter what! Cannabis or marijuana is one of those illegitimate drugs which is most commonly used in the world and there are just 130 million people in countries like India that consume marijuana in some form every year. Cannabis is deemed to be a drug which evokes ‘ecstasy’ and gives the user a ‘high’ feeling.
Though the countries have celebrated the illegal use of cannabis, weed or charas since centuries, yet its recreational usage is still banned since the strict narcotic laws in 1986 made its consumption, sale and production totally illegal in countries like India. Regardless of whether you reside in India or UK, here are few reasons why marijuana should be legalized.
Reason #1: Government has no such right to apply marijuana laws
There are certain reasons behind why laws are there. While there are some who speak for status quo who think that marijuana laws are there to bar people from harming themselves and from harming the entire generation. Nevertheless, it is also a fact that the country’s laws against self-harm are not too stringent. They are kept on the idea that the government has a better idea of what is good for people and what is not. Governments have to understand that no good can happen by becoming the guardians of this generation.
Reason #2: Enforcing these laws can get costly
Few years back, Milton Friedman and his group of economists spoke for legalization of marijuana or cannabis as directly prohibiting it costs more than $7.8 billion in a single year. Why would a government bear such a hefty cost when it can be legalized?
Reason #3: Enforcing laws against cannabis discriminates racially
If marijuana laws were applied in a manner that is racially neutral, there would be huge enough burden of proof for the prohibition activists. But with the long and rich history of racial profiling of the nation, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone in the country.
Reason #4: Legalization will stop the illegal trades
Cannabis legalization can also do one more good for developing countries like India – it can replace the entire black market industry which produces and distributes with an overboard industry. There can still be laws and rules that bind the trade but the trade will be operated by merchants, farmers, clerks and retailers rather than being dominated by drug dealers and criminals.
Reason #5: Setting a tax on marijuana will boost the government’s revenue
Once the government legalizes and levies a tax on marijuana, there will be higher chances for the government to earn rather big revenue amounts. If the government didn’t collect these revenues, they would automatically be sent off to Israeli and Italian drug cartels. Due to this, Milton Friedman and his 500 economists sent a letter to President George Bush where he wrote about cannabis being legalized and taxed and regulated in a way that’s similar to other things.
Is there a law change in the horizon?
More than 30,000 people recently signed a petition calling on the UK government to make cannabis legal for both medicinal and recreational purposes. It was found out that despite putting a ban on the drug, its use was never reduced and hence it was hypocritical for the government to permit the sale of tobacco and alcohol but not cannabis. Moreover selling the drug in shops that were licensed would restrain the access of young generation to cannabis. Cannabis’ impact on reducing pain is seen to be better than painkillers. It was also claimed that licensing and selling this could increase 3.5 billion pounds for the UK government.
What about legalization in other countries?
There are other countries like Germany, US, Italy and Netherlands which have already legalized medical cannabis. The House of Commons in Canada also voted to legalise use of cannabis for recreational purposes. Uruguay legalized cannabis for recreational reasons in 2013 and people were given the permission of growing 6 plants at home for personal reasons. Even in Spain, it is legal to use marijuana in private areas and harvest plants for personal use. In Netherlands, you can possess up to 5g of cannabis for personal use as this has been decriminalised. However, if police arrives, they can definitely confiscate the drug. Other countries like Brazil, Australia, Jamaica, Colombia and Luxembourg are also following suit.
Therefore, if you’re someone who is wondering about using cannabis for medical purposes, just make sure whether or not the substance is legal in your country. If it is not, take steps to evoke interest among the federal authorities to legalize it for the above-listed reasons.
