WHY NOT SIMPLY DECRIMINALISE?

I may not have special knowledge on this issue but the little knowledge I have seems to suggest that cannabis is less dangerous and harmful than rum and tobacco and yet the latter items are legal while cannabis is not. We may ask why.

The simple reason is that those involved in the production and marketing of products related to rum and tobacco are economically and politically powerful and the state derives a lot of revenue from the sale and consumption of these products. If cannabis were decriminalised, successful and profitable businesses which generate social disasters, will be affected and that would mean less state control and benefits.

What are the consequences?

• Recreational cannabis consumers are jailed and are often put in cells together with hardened criminals who rape them and little by little, take control of their lives. When they leave prison, they join the drug underworld.
• Drug trafficking and related businesses thrive.
• There is a rise in the commercialisation and consumption of synthetic drug with disastrous consequences.

CRIPPLED BY IGNORANCE AND FEAR

Some people tend to put cannabis in the same category as all hard drugs. Others argue that it opens the door to hard drugs. In fact, cannabis is considered ‘soft’, same as alcohol and tobacco. Although there are a few cases of young consumers moving from soft to hard, in general this is not the case. This myth is meant to prevent clear thinking. Why is not alcohol or tobacco banned as a measure to close the gateway to the hard stuff?

Aren’t we all mini-Macbeths who are “cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in to saucy doubts and fears”?
Our political, social and cultural so-called leaders do not have the guts (I feel frustrated not to be able to use a different part of the anatomy) to challenge prejudices and hypocritical notions. With such people at the helm, we will never build an enlightened nation.

INDUSTRIAL AND MEDICAL CANNABIS

There are different species of the cannabis plant: those with a higher THC (psychoactive ingredient) content and those with a high CBD (medical oil) content known as industrial cannabis/hemp.

“Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of Cannabis sativa cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products.[1] Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants[2] on Earth. It was also one of the first plants to be spun into usable fiber 50,000 years ago.[3] It can be refined into a variety of commercial items, including paper, rope, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel, food, and animal feed.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp)

This plant can give a spectacular boost to our economy.

What are we waiting for?

04.11.22