Let's grow up and legalise dope

Most people can use marijuana responsibly and still live productive lives, writes  Peter Lyons.

Come on New Zealand, grow up!

I am in San Francisco. It quickly became apparent that dope is legal here. Even the pimps and prostitutes on 6th Avenue where I was staying were more mellow. It is a non-issue. People aren't lolling around the streets. Well, no more than usual. Reefer madness hasn't eventuated. The acrid distinct smell of weed is very evident. But the sky hasn't fallen in.

It's business as usual except some customers are more mellow than usual. Or at least more mellow than those high on booze.

The outside spaces in bars permeate a blue smoke rather than the odious reek of tobacco.

I am not a stoner. Whisky is my vice of choice. A single malt Islay is my joint of preference. But those who choose the weed are just a variant in their choice of mild intoxicant. They are not on the highway to rack and ruin. No more than the average tippler.

New Zealand has a sad convoluted history of weed weirdness. Likely a product of the powerful vested interests of the breweries and pharmaceutical companies. A puritanical self-flagellation that would be amusing if the consequences weren't so fatal.

We had a short period of legalised synthetics. This encouraged many dope smokers to use chemical alternatives that have proved horrendous in their effects, including numerous deaths. What a sad ignorant indictment where harmful synthetic substitutes were legalised while the natural product invited prosecution.

This is legislative stupidity in the extreme. So now there is a significant element in our population who are addicted to synthetics. They are at the mercy of chemically ignorant scum who care little about the toxicity of their products. So the death toll keeps mounting. Not to mention the psychotic episodes and presentations.

I teach at a traditional Catholic boys' school. I am not a pothead. Several years ago I attended a student-led forum. The topic was the legalisation of marijuana. I found myself on the minority side.

The majority's main point was that marijuana is a gateway drug. It leads to heavier drug use such as meth or heroin. It is certainly likely that many of those hooked on hard drugs sampled dope along the way. They also likely sampled booze as well. An addict is an addict is an addict. The gateway is irrelevant.

We need to grow up and legalise marijuana. This would eliminate huge costs in our legal system and society. The decriminalisation of prostitution was going to cause the sky to fall in. I am still staring at the stars albeit after a few single malts. Though likely less appreciatively than those at the next table who have partaken the evil weed. All of them appear to be well-dressed professionals about to head home after a productive day at the office.

Taxing dope sales would turn a taxpayer net cost into a net gain. The default position in any society regarding laws should be 'why?', rather than 'why not?'. If dope was legal, what would be the justification for making it illegal? And would those arguments not also be more applicable to alcohol? So the argument for decriminalisation should be 'why not?' rather than 'why?'.

I have taught in a variety of schools over the decades. Teachers are notoriously conservative. But All of the staff I have worked with have contained an element of dope smokers. Not always the art teachers, sometimes in the humanities department, always in science, seldom in commerce. The serious business of business invites whisky consumption.

Many of these law-breaking teachers are otherwise decent law-abiding people. They just prefer a puff to the national obsession with getting s...-faced on booze. When I awake some mornings after a session on the whiskies I can almost appreciate their preference. Yet, the smoky malty taste of a well distilled Islay whisky remains my drug of choice.

Let's grow up and realise most people can use dope responsibly and still live productive lives.

Peter Lyons teaches at St Peters College, in Epsom, and has written several economics textbooks.