For many years the idea of cannabis legalisation has been lingering in the background, with the help of this petition we here at White Rhino Clothing would like to create awareness about how legalisation can be the way forward.

If you couldplease spend just 5-10 minutes giving this a read, we are sure by the end you will agree and want to sign the petition.

Well where to begin..

First of all lets make it clear that despite cannabis's status an illegal/controlled substance, it is still readily available on the streets. As it is illegal in most places it's distribution is left in the hands of criminals that often deal with far more than just cannabis. It is a massively profitable black market that could be instantly extinguished through legalisation.

This is one of many benefits that would come with the drugs legalisation. Another would be the reduced cost of trying to tackle the drug as an illegal substance. Millions of pounds are spent through the police and justice system giving people convictions for possession, but this doesn't deter users, why not save the police and courts masses of time and in turn the taxpayer money by making it legal, the money saved could be spent helping users to reduce their consumption of the drug through clinics and rehabilitation. This is the most likely route to success if governments actually want to reduce thedrugs consumption.

Furthermore, if the drug was legal for recreational use it could be taxed by the government in the same way cigarettes and alcohol are taxed. The Netherlands annual revenue from the drugs taxation is around 400 million euros. On top of that you have to consider the industry that it creates, people would have to work to produce the drug aswell as coffee shop workers to sell it, all of these people will be paying tax on their salaries. These could potentially be people that are currently dealing the drug illegally and not contributing at all to the economy, if it was legal they wouldn't have that option, and would be forced to work and thereby contribute to the economy.

With the recent discovery of how out of control the national debt for western countries is, can they continue to snub this huge potential boost to the economy?

Further legalisation benefits include being able to take full advantage of cannabis's medical abilities. Something not offered by cigarettes or alcohol ("the legal drugs"). Whilst on the topic of health, cannabis of course will have negative effects on users, however it is no worse than alcohol and cigarettes, if anything it's better. No deaths have ever been put down to cannabis consumption, unlike the millions of deaths from "the legal drugs". Yet it is still unacceptable? As well as this cannabis would be healthier if it was legal as it could be quality controlled by the government as apposed to criminals just looking to make money.

One argument that has been consistently used against legalisation is that cannabis is a gateway drug... if this is true the every drug is gateway drug. Constantly using one drug will build tolerances and reduce its effects,if that means that the user then wants to "move up the drug ladder" then we should make all drugs illegal, including alcohol and cigarettes. But it doesn't mean that at all it is just another feeble argument to avoid the truth about cannabis.

If this still has not convinced you, let me leave you with one thought...would you rather a country ofcannabis smokers or a country of "criminals" that smoke cannabis anyway?

It's time for change, sign the petition.

#freeworld?