Quote:
Originally Posted by SebC
It's not a reason in itself, just part of the argument. And it is relevent that criminalisation is not producing the desired outcome.
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That's the most important part. There is over thirty years of extensive research and information on the topic that shows the amount of money poured into drug and marijuana enforcement has been
wasted, utterly wasted, along with the lives of tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of otherwise law abiding, upstanding and contributing members of society.
There isn't a single compelling reason to continue with what is an extensive waste of tax payer dollars other than misguided and offensive appeals to either the status quo, or a more insulting attempt at legislating personal morality.
Drug laws have more in common with sexual orientation, racial and otherwise bigoted and forgotten legal frameworks for adjudicating the morality and belief system of others than they have in common with laws regarding health safety and property. It's puritanical bull#### and it needs to stop.
Government doesn't belong in my bedroom, in my pill bottle in my bar glass or in Saskflame96's pop-can pipe. It belongs in the inspection and regulation and taxation of the industries. I don't want to be told by the government that I can't eat shellfish on Tuesdays, or I can't drink an IPA on Fridays or a joint on Sundays after church because it offends the delicate sensibilities of some old codgers who are either dead already or on their way.
It is a law and policy of oppression, simple as that, regulating the personal morality of Canadians while providing nothing tangible in return but misery and budgetary shortfalls.
If you are for the status quo, remember it while you're on a wait list for an underfunded healthcare system or while you're waiting years for a resolution in our court system or while our soldiers die enforcing drug policy in a foreign country. Think about it while you consider whether it is safe to go to Mexico on vacation because of their own heinous drug war. Think about your stance when you hear the extent to which simple drug trade fuels the most violent and abhorrent parts of our society.
"I can't bring myself to vote for a guy with the last name as Trudeau," is not a valid reason to cut your nose off to spite your face. I would vote for satan if he took a pragmatic approach to drug policy and put more funding into treating mental illness instead of putting it in a cage.
Imagine how many cops would be on the street patrolling our neibourhoods if they weren't filing possession paperwork or sitting in court. Imagine the swiftness of justice if court cases declined 30-50%.