the reason gangs don't push pot is that it's not addictive.

if you want to go down this route, it would probably be more useful to spend the funds on treatment for alcohol addiction.

i've had these conversations with street dealers. they push speed, mostly. and meth. it's cheap enough to sell to poor people, and it gets them hooked so they can generate revenue streams. the street dealers are throwaway fronts for serious business people. it's big money. and, pot is basically useless if you're trying to ensure a steady revenue stream because people smoke it sporadically & socially.

when was the last time you saw somebody on the street begging for change for pot?

it doesn't happen.

the marijuana distribution network looks more along the lines of a collection of pacifist hippies that don't want to get a job. the ponytails. the beards. that's your average pot grower/dealer. there's also plenty of people that do it as a second job. and, they clearly don't understand economics well, because there's been no discernible inflation on pot in decades.

i'm not saying gangs don't sell pot at all. but, it's not the real core of how it gets distributed. again: in 20 years, i've never seen a thug or a gun or anything remotely shady. it's just hippies with beards and ponytails - or pizza delivery guys, or managers at mcdonalds.

the reality is that, compared to speed or meth, it's a poor business model. you just don't create slaves out of marijuana addiction. and there's so many people selling from so many sources, that you can't build budgets around it or anything. not to mention the fact that most pot users don't want to deal with criminals. it's too unstable. and it's just not where the big money is...

so, it's like...let's do this to eliminate a problem that doesn't exist, to fund a problem that doesn't exist. ??. i know this is politics to ease centrists, but it simply doesn't exist in reality. i'd rather see an education program targeted at these centrists!

just sell it at the corner store, already. and, i'm not saying that funding addiction treatment is a bad idea, but it would help if it went towards something that's actually addictive.

i mean, it's going to be hilarious if we see marijuana addiction centers open up.

in today's society, the reality is that marijuana use is broadly passed down across generations, much as alcohol use is. it's cultural. if you look this up, you'll find that in a majority of cases of young marijuana use, there was a parent at home that was using it at some point. my dad quit when i was young, but he didn't have a problem with it and i was raised to see it differently than other drugs. i wouldn't even class it with alcohol. i'd class it with caffeine and aspirin. and, while not everybody can ask dad for a hookup, the reality is that that hookup that is found at some point along the chain is almost certainly coming from somebody's dad - and no doubt to a local grower without any connections to organized crime.

the reality is not like it is in the movies, built on reagan-era drug war propaganda.

globalnews.ca/news/2407903/trudeau-says-tax-on-legalized-pot-wont-be-a-government-cash-cow/