Legalise cannabis and pick up £1bn a year in taxes

In the opinion of Liberal Democrats, in case the sale of cannabis is legalized in the UK it could help to raise £1bn a year in taxes and also reduce the health risks to those who use it. The party has described the existing drug laws as "outdated and harmful" because they generate billions of pounds for organized crime but wastes police time, and harms the employment prospects of those who are convicted for possessing personal amounts of cannabis.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 8 March 2016.

An independent panel of scientists, academics and police chiefs had been asked by the Lib Dems to develop a framework for regulating the market. They have concluded that Britons should be able to grow small quantities of cannabis, or buy licensed products from approved retailers and adds that use of marijuana in public places should continue to be strictly controlled and restricted to those aged 18 or over.
As a member of Lib Dem has indicated - the UK is spending billions in its fight of a losing battle on drug use in which financial and human cost is vast and this desperately needs to change. The report has drawn references to the policies currently enforced in the US states of Colorado, Washington DC and Alaska, where laws surrounding cannabis use have been relaxed.
The recommendation is that retail cannabis should be sold in plain packaging with health warning labels, and the cost should initially be set "at or near" the current prices on the black market.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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