NorthofEngland
Well-Known Member
I have always argued for an end to the prohibition of cannabis.
The criminalisation of HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of people for choosing to indulge themselves in a way that victimizes no one is unjust on so many levels that it's hard to believe.
But, the more I see the consequences of legalisation in certain areas, the more I wonder if the ILLEGAL status didn't do as much to protect cannabis suppliers as it did to destroy them?
Maybe I was naïve to think that, after legal acceptance, the powerful business interests (that often seem to govern our democratically elected governments) would simply allow the same people who ran ILLEGAL CANNABIS operations to run LEGAL CANNABIS operations....???
When so much potential profit is at stake it won't be long before new strains are named by advertising consultancies and suit wearing lawyers and accountants decide where, when and how in the Cannabis World.
Already smokers are calling themselves 'Patients' and dealers are 'Caregivers'.
This is a baby step towards everyone being 'Consumers'.
I envisage a nightmare future of pre-packaged NESTLE Chronic or ready rolled KRAFT Kush.
The days of the independent 'Mom & Pop' store are over and Cannabis looks like it will jump from CRIME to CORPORATE ENTERPRISE with barely a stepping stone for the small time enthusiast to earn a moderate wage from an occupation that has been his lifelong passion.
These HORTICULTURAL ARTISANS will grow the best selections and be, by far, superior to the financial monolith, souls sold to Satan, heartless and cold major labels that are attracted to the cannabis market by nothing deeper than a balance sheet.
But one need only study the history of ETHICAL SMALLTIMER verses MAJOR ORGANISATION to predict the winner.
Just watch TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAMS to see how BIG BUSINESS reacts when feeling threatened by a INNOVATIVE LITTLE GUY.
Tucker may have been a car designer but the dynamic remains the same.
SO, WHY HAVE THE INDEPENDENTS SURVIVED, EVEN THRIVED, IN AMSTERDAM???
Put simply, the Dutch are far more worried about overall reputation (many are devout protestants) than about the potential profits from a few hundred coffee shops in a small country.
American business doesn't worry about REPUTATION. Especially when the NEW INVESTMENT is considered to be the foot in the door of a WORLDWIDE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY.
Narcotics are estimated to be worth more than OIL.
The business community has been licking their lips at the prospect of legal drug sales for decades.
And one need only look at the standards of morality and ethics that accompany the average oil deal to see how much LEGALISATION will do to ensure that a level of decency prevails amongst the honourable capitalist giants who join the 21st Century GOLDRUSH ....
It may have been CRIME
but at least it was HONEST.
The criminalisation of HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of people for choosing to indulge themselves in a way that victimizes no one is unjust on so many levels that it's hard to believe.
But, the more I see the consequences of legalisation in certain areas, the more I wonder if the ILLEGAL status didn't do as much to protect cannabis suppliers as it did to destroy them?
Maybe I was naïve to think that, after legal acceptance, the powerful business interests (that often seem to govern our democratically elected governments) would simply allow the same people who ran ILLEGAL CANNABIS operations to run LEGAL CANNABIS operations....???
When so much potential profit is at stake it won't be long before new strains are named by advertising consultancies and suit wearing lawyers and accountants decide where, when and how in the Cannabis World.
Already smokers are calling themselves 'Patients' and dealers are 'Caregivers'.
This is a baby step towards everyone being 'Consumers'.
I envisage a nightmare future of pre-packaged NESTLE Chronic or ready rolled KRAFT Kush.
The days of the independent 'Mom & Pop' store are over and Cannabis looks like it will jump from CRIME to CORPORATE ENTERPRISE with barely a stepping stone for the small time enthusiast to earn a moderate wage from an occupation that has been his lifelong passion.
These HORTICULTURAL ARTISANS will grow the best selections and be, by far, superior to the financial monolith, souls sold to Satan, heartless and cold major labels that are attracted to the cannabis market by nothing deeper than a balance sheet.
But one need only study the history of ETHICAL SMALLTIMER verses MAJOR ORGANISATION to predict the winner.
Just watch TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAMS to see how BIG BUSINESS reacts when feeling threatened by a INNOVATIVE LITTLE GUY.
Tucker may have been a car designer but the dynamic remains the same.
SO, WHY HAVE THE INDEPENDENTS SURVIVED, EVEN THRIVED, IN AMSTERDAM???
Put simply, the Dutch are far more worried about overall reputation (many are devout protestants) than about the potential profits from a few hundred coffee shops in a small country.
American business doesn't worry about REPUTATION. Especially when the NEW INVESTMENT is considered to be the foot in the door of a WORLDWIDE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY.
Narcotics are estimated to be worth more than OIL.
The business community has been licking their lips at the prospect of legal drug sales for decades.
And one need only look at the standards of morality and ethics that accompany the average oil deal to see how much LEGALISATION will do to ensure that a level of decency prevails amongst the honourable capitalist giants who join the 21st Century GOLDRUSH ....
It may have been CRIME
but at least it was HONEST.
