According to vaunted Right Wing THINKER David Frum.
An Australian study of identical twins found that a twin who started using cannabis before age 17 was 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than the twin who did not.People in Colorado had good reason to worry about teen drug use. Colorado voters had approved a limited experiment with medical marijuana in 2000.
What none of these scary studies do is account for PTSD which is in my estimation the main reason for “recreational” pot smoking.
And our friend Frum does not delve into history. How did the country survive before cannabis was made illegal in 1937? That is about 77 years – give or take. And before that? If we count from 1700 (pick a year) that would be 237+ years of legality – in North America. And cannabis extracts were in the pharmacopeia until the drug was outlawed.
Well David thinks he is on a roll. He goes on:
It is false to claim that marijuana legalization will break drug cartels. Those cartels will continue to traffic in harder and more lucrative drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Criminal cartels may well stay in the marijuana business, too, marketing directly to underage users. Public policy is about trade-offs, and marijuana users need to face up to the trade-off they are urging on American society. Legal marijuana use means more marijuana use, and more marijuana use means above all more teen marijuana use.
You break the cartels by eliminating the black markets. But yeah. Them drugs is scary. Heroin was once over the counter and meth (or similar) was given to American soldiers in WW2. Bad stuff. For sure.
Well if police can solve what is basically a medical problem why not put them to work on a cure for cancer? Except the cure for cancer has been found. Cannabis and cannabis extracts. The police – like all RIGHT thinking people – oppose it. Wouldn’t you gladly die of cancer to oppose the Drug Menace? Well actually no. Not me. But maybe, if we are lucky, David Frum will be given the option and we can see what he would choose.
Comments
2 responses to “Ending Pot Prohibition Is A Failure”
Frum is correct in that there are trade-offs. But unfortunately for Frum, a majority of Americans have come to the realization that the trade-offs that will be made under legalization are preferable to the trade-offs that are being made under prohibition.
The black market for cannabis will all but disappear once legalization occurs. The one thing that might sustain a viable black market would be ridiculously high sales taxes imposed on legal sales. I’m afraid that this will be the case as those who oppose legalization will likely demand high taxes for cannabis sales, which will perpetuate black market sales. Then the prohibs will use this state of affairs to declare cannabis legalization a failure.
It is illegal to sell alcohol to people below a certain age but underage people still acquire alcohol. That’s been true as long as I’ve been alive yet no one talks about a black market in alcohol that sells to teenagers. Why is that? It’s because there is no black market (in any meaningful sense of the term) that sells to underage alcohol drinkers. Underage drinkers get their beverages from either their parent’s inventory or they buy it from a third party that bought it legally, usually an older relative or friend. There typically isn’t anyone out there trying to make a living or a few extra bucks selling alcoholic beverages to underage drinkers. I believe this model of underage alcohol acquisition will apply to underage acquisition of cannabis.
The good news is that this model is preferable to prohibition. Under legalization of cannabis, it will still be unlawful to re-sell or distribute cannabis to those underage. That will deter most legal buyers from doing so. For those that don’t abide by the law, many of them will still act as gatekeepers as they see the need to exercise some discretion in order to minimize the risks of being found out by authorities. This is typically done by sharing or re-selling to those who are nearing the legal age to purchase cannabis who will likely be more responsible and prepared for usage as compared to those still several years away from being able to purchase cannabis legally. For example, a 21 y.o. pot smoker might feel comfortable selling or sharing pot with their 18-20 y.o. friends or relatives. They would be less likely to do the same with those 17 or younger.
IMO opinion, this trade-off is preferable the current status quo where the black market seller has no particular disincentive to sell to anyone of any age, as all sales are illegal. With legalization, underage usage might even drop as retailers and their customers both have incentives to keep cannabis out of the hands of younger teens. Will teens still get their hands on cannabis? Yes they will, but perhaps fewer teens will be able to do so and those that do will likely be getting cannabis in smaller quantities and less frequently than they currently can under total prohibition.
Sorry prohibs, you lose again.
I’m sorry, but David Frum is no more a conservative than is
Paul Krugman. Not to say his arguments are any more valid, just don’t call him a conservative. He isn’t. Except to the left wingers.