We are given the article "Virtually Legal", published November 12th in 2009, from The Economist print edition.
Drugs - cannabis, crack, heroin - all which have been illegal for centuries, are suddenly being decriminalized in certain countries, and the laws as a whole are being more lenient towards drug using. The article starts with telling us about The Green Relief "natural health clinic", which is a health clinic in San Francisco that is able to give you a doctor's prescription which allows you to buy some sorts of drugs legally. This is truly a revolution on the war against drugs, since people are more likely to abuse their right to obtain drugs legally. Some are against these new laws, and some are supporting them.
Since people have been able to obtain drugs for medical reasons, the penalty of those in possession of drugs has been more lenient, and people - even the government - are bending the laws all the time. People who are arrested due to possession of drugs are much more likely to get a fine than to go to jail. This is motivating more and more people into using drugs, since the risk has been reduced. One of the main arguments on why drugs should be legalized is, that tobacco is legal, although it is much more harmful than cannabis, which is illegal. People all over the world, mostly the youth, have protested against the illegalization of drugs, and this has surely had an impact on the decision on whether or not to legalize drugs. As a result, about 14 states in America have decriminalized the possession of marijuana for personal use. Another argument on why drugs should be legalized is given by Tom Amiano, who points out that the legalization of cannabis is financial. He says, that if cannabis was taxed it could raise about $1.3 billion each year for the state. Another benefit is that police time and prison space will be freed up, which will result in a lot of savings, since almost 170.000 inmates are inside for drug-related crimes.
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