Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg thinks that cannabis should be legalized across the United Kingdom. He contends that legalization will bring in $1 billion in annual tax revenue while depriving criminal gangs of a major revenue source. He also believes a standard, regulated product would prevent purchases of high THC skunk strains that are dominating the black market.
Prohibition of cannabis sativa around the world has resulted in mass incarceration, widespread paranoia between people and law enforcement, loss of privacy and property, unnecessary violence and death. Yet more people smoke the plant than ever before. The latest data estimates that two million people in England and Wales smoked cannabis in 2016. Prohibition of this plant has only helped finance criminal drug gangs while wasting valuable court system time and jail cells. Why are non-violent people being locked up over this? In the U.K., anyone caught in possession of cannabis could face up to five years in prison. Dealers can face 14 years in prison. All this racketeering could be put to an end with legalization. Isn’t it time to accept this plant as part of who we are and end all the human separation?