Should cannabis be made legal?

[Heald]

Politicians refuse to acknowledge that as long as something that is perceived as 'fun' or 'cool' is made illegal, the illegality factor enhances its 'cool factor' amongst people who might considering trying it considerably.

All drugs prohibition and criminalization has failed, not a single country that hasn't resorted to incredibly extreme measures, such as torture or the death penalty for possessing drugs, has even begun to scratch the surface of the drug problem. Look at all the crime that is financed purely by the drug trade; it's so strong that mass murder has become a normal fact of life in countries that have really lost grip on the drug trade. And who is financing these people at the end of the day? The end user, people like you and me, who just want to enjoy something in their own private life without the government interfering, and it forces regular people to not only mix with unsavoury people, but to also finance them. Cut the link between regular person and criminal by legalising it, controlling it, educating about it (like the warning labels and adverts about alcohol and tobacco already have) and taxing it to pay for these measures. Take away the income from the criminal gangs and they'll cannibalise each other.

Look at tobacco and alcohol; easily accessible by people 24/7 yet you don't see everyone rolling around drunk with a cigarette in their hand. Most people make informed choices, and cannabis isn't exactly hard to get. Most people come across it purely because a friend has got some, and anyone who really wanted some would only have to spend a few hours on the streets to find someone who knew a dealer. Most people who want to do cannabis do it anyway, legal or not; I have never met a single person who wanted to try cannabis but couldn't find any.