Former Deputy PM Calls Cannabis Criminalization 'Absurd'

Cannabis is no more dangerous than plenty of other “legal drugs” that are already out there on the market today, according to former UK deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg. He recently wrote in to the British Medical Journal and called for cannabis to be legalized. He says that for the medicinal value that the plant can provide, it should formally be recognized.

There are many places around the world that are embracing legalization but the UK has been stubborn to make a move in that direction. As it currently stands, individuals can receive up to 14 years in prison for any offenses involving cannabis. This means that people could be spending years behind bars for a victimless crime, and Clegg like many others has had enough of it.

Clegg, along with co-author Baroness Molly Meacher, points out that people have been using cannabis for medicinal purposes for thousands of years now. And more so in recent years we have really started to discover that there is a lot of potential as far as how much this plant can be used to help people around the world. There is growing literature to support the medicinal value that can be had, and it's time that those who have remained close-minded in regards to it, began to embrace the reality surrounding it and the benefits that many people are finding.

After all, don't we own our own bodies? Shouldn't be we the ultimate decider of what exactly we are going to consume and put into our bodies? What right does anyone else have to tell us how we should operate, in the sense of what we should consume? If we aren't hurting anyone else then what business is it of others what items we choose to consume?

Many who want cannabis to remain illegal, will often cite reasons like it could be highly addictive. But there are plenty of items on the market today (sugar, fast food, alcohol etc) which are also highly addictive and have been the culprit in fueling many social problems (alcohol?) and deaths, and yet they are still legal. In those places that have embraced legalization, they've seen that their communities didn't suddenly implode and they've actually seen some pretty positive results from it. It is time that the UK came around to doing the same and start allowing people to be free in choosing what they put into their own bodies.

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Sources:
http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/clegg-calls-for-end-to-absurd-ban-on-medicinal-cannabis-11364112957022
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3936630/Cannabis-legal-medicine-says-Clegg-Former-Deputy-PM-says-continuing-criminalise-drug-absurd.html