Quote Originally Posted by Idaho View Post
Well that's a challenge that's fairly easy to meet.

Situation #1

UK - maximum sentence for possession of cannabis = 5 years
Netherlands - Cannabis available from 'licenced' cafe round the corner
Spain - small amounts legal to possess, next to the worlds largest producer of cannabis resin

Q. Which has the highest use per capita of cannabis?

Situation #2

America 1900 - 1920 (Legal Alcohol)
America 1920 - 1935 (Illegal Alcohol)
America 1935 - 1945 (Legal Alcohol)

Q. Which of these periods saw the highest levels of alcohol consumption?


Situation #3 was going to be about the relative levels of heroin use, and increases in usage in Britain under a heroin prescription regime in the 1960s, and now. And also about the same approach in reverse in Switzerland (they now prescribe, when previously they didn't). I know the data well enough to quote off the top of my head. From memory the evidence all pointed to prohibition increasing use.
Actual statistics would be more impressive than rhetorical questions. Though, in nswer to #1 I would note that the Netherlands has, I believe, quite a lot of Hash tourism which causes it's own problems. Hasn't there been a recent re-evalution of a lot of Duth Liberalism in view of increasing problems their relaxed stance has caused?

In any case, the UK has endemic social problems, including large rural and urban underclasses living in poverty, falling job prospects, an economy which offers few opertunities to the unacademic and an unravelling social structure.... that makes it a poor comparison to countries like Switzerland in particular where the polity is relatively healthy.