Could Cannabis Law Reform in California be the Tipping Point for the World?

[poledriver]

Could Cannabis Law Reform in California be the Tipping Point for the World?

With the news that the Californian Attorney General Kamala Harris believes cannabis legalisation in her state to be "inevitable", another domino looks set to fall in the battle against cannabis prohibition. But cannabis law reform in California might mean more than just another American state repealing prohibition; it could signal the tipping point which makes worldwide reform also inevitable.

At time of writing this article there are now five states and territories who have legalised cannabis: Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington D.C. None of these places have the economic weight or cultural influence that California does, and so the measures taken in these places has not, so far, threatened to collapse the global prohibition of cannabis.

California, taken separately from the rest of America, has the eighth largest economy in the world. Unlike the smaller states who have so far legalised, California's economic power means that the cannabis market and the cost of wastage from prohibition are both much larger. If cannabis law reform in California really is inevitable - and there's little reason to think otherwise - then an immense amount of money might soon find its way into public coffers and out of the hands of gangs and other criminal entities.

The federal U.S. Government, with a hefty net debt and a deficit that is barely under control, is bound to take notice of the figures. The numbers from Colorado, Washington et al. are already raising eyebrows in the capital, but because of the small size of these states and territories they do not have the effect that those from California would have. Cannabis law reform in California would save an amount of money only measurable in the billions.

Also important is the soft power that California wields. The cultural influence that California has had on the world is colossal, and many social trends that cross worldwide borders have their origin in the Golden State. From film to music to frisbee and surfing, California has always been the cool older brother to the rest of the world, and if it does legalise cannabis this will change the perception of the drug across the globe.

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[Captain.Heroin]

It probably won't be

UN and China and other various totalitarian bodies of power will want to continue the war on drugs, with or without America

Especially the Far East and south east Asia.

 

[ro4eva]

The more states that legalize the recreational consumption of Cannabis Sativa for adults aged 18-21+, the greater the chances other nations will follow at a federal level.

Now, IIRC, just about every nation on the planet - with a few exceptions - ended up ratifying the US led UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs treaties, meaning that by choosing to legalize Cannabis Sativa for recreational purposes, they're technically in violation of the ratification of those three ridiculous, oppressive, irrational, hypocritical treaties (at least I think there are three in total - please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

That being said, the Russian political putz known as Yuri Fedotov - who still appears to be stuck in cold war mode - can mouth off all he wants ("Think of the children, comrades!") that they're violating said treaties, and so too can any pro-drug war American politician and/or bureaucrat.

Unfortunately for them, there's a huge and obvious problem: Four of the 50 United States - plus of course, the District of Columbia - have legalized it. The regulatory systems are a little different for each state, but regardless, weed is now legal. And two of these states have been selling it for approximately 1 year, correct? And, let's not forget: there wasn't pandemonium in the streets as predicted by the fear mongering prohibitionists.

In other words, Yuri Fedotov's crying wolf behavior doesn't mean shit anymore. And the same goes for pro-drug war American politicians and/or bureaucrats. They can all fuck off because the cat is out of the bag, and it's not gonna jump back in.

I'm so glad we got to this point. 5 years ago, I would have thought such a prediction was crazy. Still though, we have a long way to go, but things are definitely looking up. Thank goodness that more and more people around the world appear to be waking up to the fact that we've all been hoodwinked into believing a bunch of bloated propaganda, and, in many cases, outright lies and deceit by none other than the weeds of humanity: politicians, who can be trusted to lie so much, and break so many promises that even the most seasoned of successful defense attorneys would blush in their presence, but I digress.

Thank you to everyone who voted yes to further undermining what has been for the most part a war on a victimless crime. And please continue to stand up and speak out against this unjust, two-faced ideology.