Should weed be legal?

In our previous article we discussed the budding new enterprise of  legal marijuana cultivation happening across the Caribbean. Weed is moving from the block to the boardroom.

But as we also discussed, new laws on marijuana decriminalization are a bit hazy. Decriminalization is not the same as legalization⚖️. While there are many good arguments to be had from making weed legal or decriminalizing it, there are some equally compelling reasons for waiting to inhale.

Too High for Comfort

Firstly, while it’s true that weed is less dangerous than alcohol🍷 or tobacco, it’s still very much an addictive  drug. Meaning, it affects your brain. The long term effects of marijuana use are not fully understood. Some heavy weed smokers are perfectly healthy. Others open herbal remedy stores and spend their time doing wacky videos online.

Just like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana needs to be used responsibly. And just like everything that needs to be used responsibly, it’s a safe bet that loads of people will do the exact opposite.

A society with increased weed use may mean more car accidents, injuries at work 🚑 or writers missing their deadline for this article because  they just need to chill out for a bit, dude, jeez. So increased weed use will have a cost for society. How heavy that cost💰 is yet unknown.

A Twisted Setta Smoke 🚬

Secondly, crafty get-rich-quick innovators might easily buck the (legal) system; Take organized crime, for example. Those fellas might manipulate more liberalized weed laws to their advantage.

Case in point: in their rush to get rich via steep weed taxes, the US state of Colorado now faces a new problem – black market weed being pushed by drug cartels.  That’s something for every government who thinks legal weed is their lotto ticket to quick tax revenue.

Legal weed does have upsides. But crafting effective policy requires being grounded in the reality of the potential downsides. If you think legal weed is nothing but high times, those thoughts might quickly come crashing down.