http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa2fJVWhiIA

LEGALIZE IT!

LEGALIZE IT!

LEGALIZE IT!

Having said that, it never ceases to puzzle me that for some quarters of the anti-prohibitionist movement in drug consuming countries, be it here in Europe or in the US, the focus tends to be exclusively on the demand/consumption side of the equation with total disregard for the supply side.

We may think that Prohibition is having seriously detrimental effects on consuming countries (and they are serious, indeed), but they pale into insignificance when compared to the extraordinary price drug producing countries like Mexico, Colombia, and many other countries around the world are paying.

It’s understandable that we concentrate on the consumption for that’s what concerns us right now. I do also understand the difference between tactics and strategy, and can see that for many the priority is to undermine the prohibitionist regime in this side of the fence, and in the process, help undermine the case for the war on the supply of drugs. However, in order to fight effectively against Prohibition and the War on Drugs and put an end to the disastrous effects their policies are having on millions upon millions of citizens around the world, for no rational, scientific or economic reasons, one has to look at the whole picture, and not just at consumption.

In my view, what makes legalisation and regulation such critical an issue is the irrationality and devastating effects of Prohibition and the so-called War on Drugs. Therefore, the call for legalisation and regulation should be independent of what type of drugs we deem more or less harmful. By all means, let’s legalise and regulate cannabis, but the same goes for other drugs, both soft and hard. Moreover, let’s legalise and regulate the consumption of all drugs, but the same goes for their production and distribution.

Gart Valenc
http://www.stopthewarondrugs.org