Where to begin?

Not only have cannabis/hash and many other drugs been consumed by humans essentially since we became human, cannabis is now showing promise of being able to solve so many of the ecological/economical/medical problems of today, but only if it is regulated and people are allowed to test it!

This petition is a call for the U.K. to get with the times and start implementing drug reform bit by bit, it can be seen from countries at the forefront of this movement (Netherlands, The USA, Portugal etc.) that the general health of a country can be helped when the stigma and taboo is removed from the equation.

It isn't just a matter of potential health benefits or concerns as much as it is a matter of personal freedom over what you put into your own body. You are given this freedom in many other ways through food, currently legal drugs (mainly alcohol and tobacco), and many other potentially dangerous activities and pass times. So why when weed is not necessarily as bad for you as any of these things in moderation should we be denied the freedom to have it? Also adding to the benefits is the fact that valuable police time and funding could be better spent on greater more concerning issues, and maybe even help go into education on cannabis (and other drugs) use, as could the taxes gained from legalisation and regulation.

More than 9 million people in England drink more than the recommended daily limits and in 2012 there were 6,490 alcohol-related deaths, a 19% increase compared to 2001. Alcohol is 10% of the UK burden of disease and death, making alcohol one of the three biggest lifestyle risk factors for disease and death in the UK, after smoking and obesity *1. When compared to Cannabis usage (there aren't really any reliable death statistics as it hasn't shown to be lethal) here is a paragraph from the Gov.uk site, "cannabis was the most commonly used drug in the last year among young adults, with 15.1% of adults aged 16 to 24 using it last year. This was not statistically significantly different from the level in 2012 to 2013 (13.5%), which saw the lowest proportion since measurement began in 1996 (when it was 25.8%, although the peak was 28.2% in 1998)..." *2

With that all being said, there is also a massive problem within prohibition as it makes way for illegal markets and lumps all problems together in a sort of counterculture, this may be why people misconceive marijuana as a gateway drug however its not that the plant is making them do other things, its that the social situations those taking it are put in may result in exposure to harder drugs due to the illegal nature of them all. Looking at prohibition of alcohol in 1920's America, it is very clear to see that not only does trade not stop, but the product becomes more and more dangerous as a result of home brewing and law dodging. Thus has happened with marijuana whereby what you buy on the streets could be anything from kitchen herbs to homegrown skunk to imported chronic!

The last point is the tax, if you take Colorado as an example the state took in $53 million *3 in tax revenue as a result of legalisation in one year (January 2014-15) that's just one state! So that would be a bonus to go back into education, the NHS, or welfare as we all know they have seen and will see more cuts!

Please share and Sign thank you.

*1 - https://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/help-and-advice/statistics-on-alcohol/

*2 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-2013-to-2014-csew/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-201314-crime-survey-for-england-and-wales

*3 - http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/12/news/economy/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenue/