“The War on Drugs” is the brainchild of president Nixon; this declaration from June 1971 created an influx of misinformation, suppressed research and has prevented the evolution of the most versatile drug for medicinal use known to mankind.
Denial
Nixon’s ideologies were sculpted from the symbolic nature that drugs, including Marijuana, had during the 60’s. They were a symbol of rebellion, social upheaval and intolerance to the government that lead to the discontinuation of research for these drugs medicinal use. This prologue fueled the drug control agencies under Nixon’s control and cast a tyrant of punishment through mandatory sentencing for possession and no-knock search warrants that resulted in years of social demonization, stigma and hatred towards users.
Users of weed included within this wave of terror that had been recommended by his own commission, led by Republican Pennsylvania Governor Raymond Shafer, that unanimously agreed to decriminalize anyone who possesses or sells it. Nixon’s denial of his selected commission's decision was to be another backward step of the many that created this marathon of blatant denial of marijuana’s medicinal properties.
FPH
The Faculty of Public Health has recently declared that criminalization of illegal drugs is a hindrance as opposed to a benefit. Shirley Cramer, the chief executive of the RSPH stated:
“The time has come for a new approach, where we recognize that drug use is a health issue, not a criminal justice issue”
The UK government continues to fund anti-drug enforcement against users of marijuana that has an approximate £6.8 billion industry in the UK alone.
Hypothetically
Let’s say we tax a single pound for every ounce of marijuana sold with a VAT rate of %20. If we assume the demand for the drug remains the same we would see an annual profit of £2.4 billion. This figure is, however, the lowest possible value when you think about the number of potential users whom would replace the risky intoxication of alcohol and delve into the safe-netted world of mass produced, safe, government grown marijuana, a drug that to this day has lead to zero deaths as a direct result of use.
The alcohol industry on the other hand is responsible for 8,697 deaths in 2014 alone. Legalization of marijuana would provide a safe alternative, could fund the starting salaries of 110,071 teachers and save the NHS £206 million per annum and save the emotional turmoil of the soon to be dead family members.
Legalization
Marijuana needs to be legalized ASAP and stricter health warnings on alcohol need to be implemented.
Glorifying alcohol needs to become a thing of the past and we need to remove the wool of falsified statistics and health risks of marijuana that veils our eyes and we need to spread the word of this matter. No longer should weed be a status symbol of useless, lazy degenerates. It is high time it is recognized for its versatility within this countries economy and health sector.
