<story><title>Ireland to &apos;decriminalise&apos; small amounts of drugs for personal use</title><url>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ireland-to-decriminalise-small-amounts-of-drugs-including-heroin-cocaine-and-cannabis-for-personal-a6719136.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>iamcurious</author><text>It is a step in the right direction, but it still half-baked. Without decriminalizing production as well, they are maintaining a monopoly for those that works outside of the law. Which means a very profitable tax free market that has to recreate all of the state features like physical safety and insurance policies from scratch. Every nation that forbids something that is in demand, is gestating its own competition. The laws of capitalism are brutal and can not be escaped. I wonder how far we can go by following the principle that it should be easier for demand to be satisfied legally than illegally.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>icanhackit</author><text>&lt;i&gt;It is a step in the right direction, but it still half-baked.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;We all want the revolution overnight but it takes careful and calculated steps to make progress. Consider Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) when accosted by a Republican Rep who claimed the States&amp;#x27; Rights to Medical Marijuana Act was a sly step towards the process of legalizing marijuana outright. Barney&amp;#x27;s (paraphrased) answer: &lt;i&gt;Yep, you got me. That is our goal.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;And of course once you&amp;#x27;ve legalized the selling of marijuana, you&amp;#x27;re potentially opening the doors for other substances. But they come with their own set of problems and taboos so it will take time.&lt;p&gt;Initiatives have to start somewhere and demonstrate their utility with minimal fuss. Baby steps, but in the right direction.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ireland to &apos;decriminalise&apos; small amounts of drugs for personal use</title><url>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ireland-to-decriminalise-small-amounts-of-drugs-including-heroin-cocaine-and-cannabis-for-personal-a6719136.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>iamcurious</author><text>It is a step in the right direction, but it still half-baked. Without decriminalizing production as well, they are maintaining a monopoly for those that works outside of the law. Which means a very profitable tax free market that has to recreate all of the state features like physical safety and insurance policies from scratch. Every nation that forbids something that is in demand, is gestating its own competition. The laws of capitalism are brutal and can not be escaped. I wonder how far we can go by following the principle that it should be easier for demand to be satisfied legally than illegally.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>anigbrowl</author><text>I agree with you but remember that Ireland and the UK are islands, which immediately puts them in a better position to deal with smuggling compared to countries that share long land borders. I think this is why island nations are generally a bit more conservative - it&amp;#x27;s much more practical to control imports.</text></comment>