Professor David Nutt is in the news again, and once again he is talking very sensibly and rationally about potentially opening Amsterdam-style coffee shops in the UK; which would, he theorizes, reduce the consumption of alcohol by as much as 25%. Surely this can only be a good idea for all concerned:
- There will be a legal outlet for smokers of the herb to go and buy whatever variety of weed they want, smoke without fear of arrest, and socialise with their friends.
- The black market trade in selling cannabis would be a thing of the past if these coffee shops start up here.
- alcohol-related fights and unsociable behaviour would be dramatically reduced (how many stoners have you seen starting a fight?!).
- And of course as these coffee shops would be regulated the government would be able to have another steady tax revenue stream coming in.
This is not to mention the dramatic reduction in the cost of policing. In the article, which is reported on The Guardian website, Prof Nutt mentions that the cost of policing cannabis is only £500m per year, compared to a mind-boggling £6bn a year to police alcohol. The maths is very simple, however it would appear that yet again the goverment and Daily Mail readers refuse to even listen to this very sensible chap.
misterspliffy 