“Legalize, Regulate, Monitor and Tax” – Readers discuss the legalization of cannabis UK News

And… that’s what our readers had to say.

Steph Hodgkinson is not one of those who are “for the legalization” of cannabis by saying; “People may think it’s harmless but long-term use contributes to mental health issues,” naturally his comment received a number of responses, including from Ben Johnson, who said this; “The dangers of alcohol far outweigh the dangers of cannabis use, it actually has hundreds of health benefits and is used around the world to treat a variety of ailments. Alcohol, on the other hand, is a harsh and cold addicting killer. For the record, I don’t use cannabis and I drink alcohol.

James Hodson shared his concerns, saying this; “If it was legalized it should be taxable and I don’t think that’s possible. The government has no reason to legalize it. A point that was quickly disputed by a number of people, including John Hackett who said; “Canada legalized it and it makes millions from taxes,” which it did with 186 million Canadian dollars (CAD) in 2020 alone in tax revenue. Liam Marc highlighted his positive impact on his own personal mental health issues, saying that it is; “Better than all the pills they put me on, trust me, they took tons and the cannabis is 10,000% better, that’s just my opinion.”

Paul Milton is convinced that; “If it’s legal, then it will be regulated, therefore taxed. It helps put dealerships out of business. And the quality would be guaranteed. Some of the money generated by taxes could be used to help fund mental health organizations. And the NHS. And in case you’re wondering, no, I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs, and I don’t drink. This is something else Mike Walker agrees on, saying; “It could be taxed with the proceeds going to the NHS, which in turn would keep the weed profits out of the hands of criminals / gangs etc.” On top of that, if the police didn’t have to worry about it, then they would. free up time and money for more important things. Decriminalization in favor of taxation and regulation seems to be the view of many respondents, with Thom Marsh saying; “The amount of police resources we are wasting right now is amazing,” and Jason Smith noted the seemingly successful deployment elsewhere; “I think since Canada and several states in America legalized it, we’ve learned that all of the horror stories we have been told about its legalization were just lies. Not only would this generate income and take money away from organized crime, but it could be used to treat a multitude of diseases and we could also use hemp to replace much of the plastic we use as a renewable biodegradable alternative.

Aimee Cooper says we should; “Legalize, regulate, monitor and tax. Remove it from a door and allow safer use of a substance. “

Finally (at least for this article), Sarah Louise highlights the positive impacts that better regulation and better access could have on people’s health; “As a person living with multiple chronic pain, I would like them to do that. As it stands, cannabis oil is ridiculously expensive, making it inaccessible to the majority who would benefit from it. Not to mention the scammers who rip people off with bad products and fake lab reports ”- I can’t really dispute that.

What is clear from this discussion is that many people, even those who choose not to participate in its use, are in favor of the legalization, regulation and subsequent taxation of marijuana. If this will actually come to pass (if ever), we’ll see. But if you want to read the other comments on the topic, you can check out the discussion on Facebook here and on Twitter. here.