If they would actually legalize it rather than simply regulate it through the state,all these gang related problems would go away.The problem is that the state is greedy and tries to maximize profits. The only way to take the crime out of it is to make it less valuable,to the extent that it's not worth the effort of big crime. Gangs don't deal in beer and whisky because it's too cheap and available. They did however when it wasn't,and there was the same kind of crime related to it when it was expensive and hard to get.
That's a well written perspective and I thank you for it.
With that side of it said, I'd still hate to see it used even more commonly than it already is. I don't think it has any societal value other than maybe pain management for sincerely needy patients.
I would completely agree with you as to it's value. It's exactly like alcohol though in that you aren't going to stop people from using it simply by making it illegal,expensive,or dangerous to obtain. All that does is make it more profitable on the black market.
If you could walk into a store and buy a quarter ounce of pot just like a pack of cigarettes, and at about the same price, every bit of the crime associated with it would suddenly go away. No one is stealing for money to buy cigarettes. Gangs aren't killing each other over the illegal cigarette trade either.
You would regulate it just like alcohol, and treat being high on pot,just like being high on alcohol.
Another thing that would happen,that most here can't see,is that if you take away the forbidden fruit aspect of it, it would quickly loose a lot of the cool factor. When it was as easy to get as a pack of cigarettes,a lot of kids just wouldn't be interested in it any longer.
