The implications of Cannabis legalization

2009.07.04

There are several questions to approach when the topic is drug legalization. The legalization implies a complete change in society and in economy, especially the cannabis, or hemp, legalization. People that are in favor of legalization assume that the government cannot avoid people to do what they want of their lives, and so, everyone is free to use what they want. In general, people believe that cannabis is harmless then alcohol and tobacco.

The legalization and the decriminalization of cannabis proposes a total change on the society, in the means of health institutions, economic and environmental issues, because hemp can provide different uses, all of them have several very important applications to transform the society in more sustainable.

The prohibition is against the liberty of consummation. It is more trustful to risk the bad use of liberty than to wait the rares actions of the government. To avoid drug traffic it is necessary to regulate the consummation of drugs, considering that this is not going to end the consummation, but it will destroy the traffic, and all the violence that comes with it.

If the resources utilized for the war against the traffic were used in a sustainable agricultural crop, such as cannabis production, not only the environment would get better, but this resources could be applied to improve the uses of cannabis, demystifying it, giving attention to its real potentialities, that can be so useful to humanity. The traffic is an activity that has millions in profits, that if were legalized could be used in better education, health, at long last, in a better way for all the society. With this money they finance wars and violence, a money that should be financing our peace instead.

It is believed that ethanol is the successor to fossil fuels, and cannabis presents the most environmentally and economically viable feedstock for the ethanol productions. Considering that, the production of products from a range of plastics to building composites, that today depends on fossil fuels would be depending on cellulose, which means, that it can be replaced by cannabis for a more sustainable and social-economic production. We cannot also forget that cannabis is capable of soil recover, which is very important regarding the quantity of worn soils we have around the world, meaning an improvement on agricultural crops, as well as serving as food, fiber, oil, and all the derivatives.

However, legalization is not a process that will happen without a major change within society. It would not be possible to legalize all the drugs, and that would implies an international hemp law, for the international regulation of the uses of hemp towards humanity. The cannabis legalization is a first step of a huge change on the history of humanity, that would bring several benefits, and would be consumed not only the way it is nowadays, but more important, it can promote the real sustainability. Demystifying this plant that has brought several important uses to humanity signifies to change its association with the slaves, the Latin and Africans, and to unbind it of marginality.