The first large study done to investigate the effects of decriminalization in the Netherlands on cannabis use found the same level of use there as in San Francisco.
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“In the United States, marijuana policy is based on the assertion that strict penalties are the best way to inhibit use,” said Reinarman.
The study’s findings cast doubt on that scenario, he said. Despite widespread lawful availability of cannabis in Amsterdam, there were no differences between the two cities in age at onset of use, age at first regular use, or age at the start of maximum use.
The study found no evidence that lawfully regulated cannabis provides a “gateway” to other illicit drug use. In fact, marijuana users in San Francisco were far more likely to have used other illicit drugs--cocaine, crack, amphetamines, ecstasy, and opiates--than users in Amsterdam, said Reinarman.
“The results of this study shift the burden of proof now to those who would arrest hundreds of thousands of Americans each year on the grounds that it deters use,” said Reinarman.
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We have been spending tens of billions of dollars every year since the 1980s on the Drug War. It has had no effect on the availability of drugs. Availability and quality of cannabis in particular is better than in the 1980s, by far, despite the massive amount of money spent waging war on the millions of citizens in the US who partake.
What exactly is the point of this war? It continues because the jobs of the bureaucrats, law officers, prison keepers and builders, and elected officials depend on it.
It is a destructive waste of money that fuels the black market and criminalizes a large portion of our population. It needs to be stopped.