Well, what exactly do you mean? Because it isn't banned where I live, at all. And I've already talked about the crime, trashing of the environment, fires, etc. The standards here are so loose with respect to getting a card or even just a note from your doctor (remember that the cards are voluntary) and the amount of dope you can have that I view the system here as a front for the sale of pot. This article is a great example of what I am talking about.
On the other hand, I view those effects as a side effect of the kinda-sorta prohibition still around, the continued threat of Federal involvement even if they don't have to worry about the state, insane regulations still in place, etc...
Consider the whole 8 ounce rule. Sure, it's a lot for an individual. But it's
nothing for a commercial organization, and the commercial organization still has to be worried about being burned by federal law, state officials who disagree with state policy(remember, there's still a lot of potential illegalities when considering a commercial grow op), etc...
Look at Alchohol and Tobacco. Both are products that
could be produced at home, but the vast majority of people don't, for the same reason they don't have vegetable gardens in their lawn.
When considering any legalization scheme, my goal is to supress organized crime. That means legalizing the back end, the supply system. That means legalizing an outright pot farm with acres of pot.
Once you have farms with acres of it, you have the ability to put them under the same agriculture rules as other crops. Because it's legal, they don't have to throw away their equipment. In order to enjoy the benefits of being legal, they can't litter or pollute any more than other farms. They have to operate
cleanly. With legality, they also have to operate efficiently - dumping supplies makes no sense in that regard.
Consider meth production. Basement production uses cheap, essentially disposable equipment. A legal professional production that doesn't have to worry about the cops confiscating their equipment will invest in equipment that costs 1000x as much that will produce the drug 100x purer for 1/10th the cost.
"It is a joke. It's a legal way for me to get what I used to get on the street," he said.
For those of us who lean libertarian, I'd have to ask: What's
wrong with him not getting his drugs from street dealers? I'd much rather have him NOT be supporting the drug gangs, the pushers, the people growing the stuff illegally on federal park land and elsewhere.
The current pot places don't have the cleanest methods for obtaining their stuff either; but that's an artifact of the continued illegality of various parts of the business even if individual possession is effectively 'legal'.
Where would you rather get your pot from: a MI-13 gang or some farmer in North Dakota?
I agree with Balog. I'm all for legalization and
regulation because I believe that, after examination of various aspects of it, that legalization would result in less harm than keeping it illegal. It's as simple as that. It's along the lines of 'the more tightly you clench your fist, the more slips through'. The current prohibitions actually means the government has
less control over recreational drugs than they would if it was legal and regulated. Kids in High School here rate weed as easier to get than alcohol or tobacco.
