Professor Alexander Gillespie’s strongest argument in favour of a
referendum on legalising cannabis (Referendum better than political pot
luck, October 24) – and, one suspects, in favour of legalisation – is to
hit the gangs who profit by drug-peddling.
But if I may lob the brick of reality through Gillespie’s ivory tower
window, since legalising cannabis in 2012 Colorado, to quote a federal law
enforcement official, has become “the black market for the rest of the country”. In the words of a representative of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office,
legalisation of pot has “inadvertently helped fuel the activity of the Mexican
drug cartels”.
Organised crime filings have skyrocketed in Colorado.Colorado now leads the country in youth use of marijuana, with Washington
which has also made its use legal, not far behind. More minors are using drugs, with more arrested, there are more deaths caused by driving ‘high’ and more pot-related
poisonings and hospitalisation.
All of which seems a ‘high’ price to pay for giving users permission to
feel good and to continue to see the world through green-tinted
spectacles.
No comments:
Post a Comment