Why France should legalise cannabis

In a recent article on Guardian Weekly, economist Pierre Kopp of Paris University stated that France could be far better off legalising cannabis. Kopp compared the costs of enforcing strict cannabis laws in France to the possible cost when made legal.

According to the economist, the most important factor is duty levied by the state. As with tobacco the price needs to be high enough (no pun intended) to discourage buyers, yet not too high as to encourage dealing on the street.

The cost of the fight against currently illegal substances such as cannabis is hard to estimate consider the many factors involved, but Kopp thinks the state could save as much as € 300 million on policing cannabis-related 'crimes'. In addition the state would receive an enormous amount of duty, estimated at € 1 billion.

Kopp: “It seems obvious to me that we need to end criminal prosecution. But as an economist I would rather see controlled legalisation, with the state supervising production and distribution. It would thus be possible to control prices and combat possible misuse of cannabis more effectively.”

| |

Comments

Joe - 2011-08-26 13:23:28

if it ever get's decriminalised in England i'll grow my own before i buy from the government. a government that, when they do get round to making it legal again, probably wont even admit it was wrong for so long.

although... i bet the government could grow some killer weed...

Ewan - 2011-08-27 12:42:52

au moins ça couperait court au traffic, on pourrait développer une réelle culture du chanvre et cesser de supporter tous ces cons qui se croient malin avec leur biz, leur résine pourrie et leur herbe coupée (tout autant que les alter égo en képi marine qui se croient moraux; cqfd il y aurait des molécules morales et immorales attention les yeux)

Customer Support

Order information

Why France should legalise cannabis

Comments

Joe - 2011-08-26 13:23:28

Ewan - 2011-08-27 12:42:52

Add comment