<story><title>Adult-use cannabis delivers $15B in tax revenues</title><url>https://www.greenmarketreport.com/adult-use-cannabis-has-delivered-15-billion-in-tax-revenues/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>simonswords82</author><text>Meanwhile the UK has got it&amp;#x27;s thumb up its ass and is happily maintaining a status quo of the worst of all worlds&lt;p&gt;1) The police are still supposed to arrest people who are caught with cannabis (It&amp;#x27;s a class B drug - in the same group as codeine, ketamine, and ‘spice’ - whatever the hell that is).&lt;p&gt;In reality they typically let people off with a warning but it&amp;#x27;s still a drain on our already hamstrung police force&lt;p&gt;2) Drug dealers who sell weed tend not to declare and pay tax on their earnings.  Depriving UK Gov of some seriously needed income per this article&amp;#x27;s headline.&lt;p&gt;3) Drug dealers tend to sell other drugs, usually harder drugs. Thus exposing people who want to get stoned to a plethora of other drugs that they might otherwise not have come in to contact with.&lt;p&gt;4) Those people who are hooked on weed (or any other non-prescribed drug) are criminals...and cannot seek help from anybody including their doctor. This keeps them trapped, and over a long enough period of time will do mental and potentially physical damage to them that our NHS will incur costs to fix. And when I say NHS, I mean the tax payers, and when I say tax payers - I mean me.&lt;p&gt;All of that is to say - fuck UK drug policy. I remain hopeful that it will change though...</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mtlmtlmtlmtl</author><text>Spice is slang for synthetic cannabinoids sprayed on some herb. The fact that it&amp;#x27;s classed in a group with codeine and cannabis is bizarre. These drugs are fucking dangerous. Possible effects include stroke, acute kidney failure, acute psychosis, psychological trauma. They gave me a transient ischaemic attack at the age of 21. Seriously. No permanent damage though, I was extremely lucky. My kidney function was in the gutter too but they bounced back. A friend of mine permanently lost his mind from it. Now he sits in his room all day muttering strange phrases and drooling from the clozapine they have him on.&lt;p&gt;Why did I do this? I was forced to do drug tests for cannabis more or less against my will(under duress). And I was a stupid kid who wanted to get high, and these horrible drugs were easily available, advertised as not showing up on tests, etc.&lt;p&gt;I have the chief responsibility for my own actions of course, but it&amp;#x27;s hard to ignore the fact that none of it would&amp;#x27;ve happened if not for an extremely draconian and outmoded approach to drugs.</text></comment>
<story><title>Adult-use cannabis delivers $15B in tax revenues</title><url>https://www.greenmarketreport.com/adult-use-cannabis-has-delivered-15-billion-in-tax-revenues/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>simonswords82</author><text>Meanwhile the UK has got it&amp;#x27;s thumb up its ass and is happily maintaining a status quo of the worst of all worlds&lt;p&gt;1) The police are still supposed to arrest people who are caught with cannabis (It&amp;#x27;s a class B drug - in the same group as codeine, ketamine, and ‘spice’ - whatever the hell that is).&lt;p&gt;In reality they typically let people off with a warning but it&amp;#x27;s still a drain on our already hamstrung police force&lt;p&gt;2) Drug dealers who sell weed tend not to declare and pay tax on their earnings.  Depriving UK Gov of some seriously needed income per this article&amp;#x27;s headline.&lt;p&gt;3) Drug dealers tend to sell other drugs, usually harder drugs. Thus exposing people who want to get stoned to a plethora of other drugs that they might otherwise not have come in to contact with.&lt;p&gt;4) Those people who are hooked on weed (or any other non-prescribed drug) are criminals...and cannot seek help from anybody including their doctor. This keeps them trapped, and over a long enough period of time will do mental and potentially physical damage to them that our NHS will incur costs to fix. And when I say NHS, I mean the tax payers, and when I say tax payers - I mean me.&lt;p&gt;All of that is to say - fuck UK drug policy. I remain hopeful that it will change though...</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>column</author><text>if you think that&amp;#x27;s the WORST of all worlds.. In Switzerland police might request a blood test to know if your weed is actually CBD (which is legal), and you have to cover the bill for the blood test REGARDLESS OF THE TEST RESULT.</text></comment>