The floor’s most-respected argument was a No warning that the debate was moving too quickly past cannabis’s psychological risks: “Assess harms first then look at policy.” Yes nevertheless won by a clear margin, producing a verdict for regulation rather than an uncomplicated vote of confidence in the drug.
The winning side framed prohibition as a failed policy, not a failed aspiration. Its best-respected case called it “a gift to organised crime”, while other Yes voices pressed the practical benefits: age limits, THC caps, controlled consumption, tax revenue, fewer prison sentences and less police time spent on possession.
No voters were not simply defending the status quo. They distinguished medical use and decriminalisation from recreational supply, raised the risk of impaired driving and normalisation, and warned that “marijuana really is a gateway drug for many people.” A more anxious voice compared legal cannabis with vaping’s “legal and safe - so why not” attitude; the two sides largely talked past each other, with Yes answering that demand already exists and No insisting that inevitability is not a justification.
The wider argument was the familiar public-health contest between managing harm through regulation and trying to prevent it through restriction. Voters here also split over the model: some pointed to Portugal and urged, “Take production and supply out of criminal hands”, while others feared weak enforcement, stronger illicit products and a wider opening to other drugs.
The result was decisive, but the argument was conditional: regulate cannabis, many said, precisely because it causes harm.
27 Opinions
So I am saying no here, because I just look at the impact of vaping, which very much appears to be a - it's legal and safe - so why not attitude. Rather than being a smoking cessation aid, it's very much a recreational thing. I worry that legal cannabis would go down the same route.
Take the money out of organised crime, tax it up the wazoo, and regulate the thc content. Control where it can be consumed. It does cause harm, but so does alcohol and tobacco. At least this way the tax goes back to address some of this.
Look at Portugal's decriminalising (not legalising) strategy. A huge success without an explosion of drug use. Take production and supply out of criminal hands. Reduce crime as a result. Demystify it for youngsters. Sell and tax good quality, regulated products. I dont use anything like this but my elderly father finds it good for pain relief
The mass doping of our people should always be opposed.
I can't understand how those who so vehemently oppose cigarette smoking and vaping can be considering making marijuana legal. With the former, you are only damaging yourself, but with marijuana you introduce the possibly of harming others if you get in your car after using it, and then lose control. Basically, the people that would be most likely to use it (apart from those for medical reasons), would be those who most likely to be a danger to the public.
Marjuana is the wedge case to open the door to legalising all drugs so no.
Yes, but with the caveat that the "legal" Marijuana should be of much lower strength of THC than is currently on the street.
Look how much revenue in US states where it's legal . We could do with legalising it and ppl need. Serious education on the benefits of marijuana ! Instead of spouting it's a gateway blah blah blah !
This is tough. I understand the pro legalisation argument to combat organised crime, but I feel law enforcement is under resourced to combat illegal drugs effectively. The consequences are severe in other countries in Asia if you’re caught with cannabis.
When you look at scales of harm caused by different substances. Multicriteria decision analysis, published in The Lancet, score substances out of 100 based on criteria like mortality, dependence, economic cost, and crime. For comparison alcohol scores 72 points, tobacco 26 points, while cannabis scores 20 points. Not sure if I'm allowed to post links but: economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/06/25/what-is-the-most-dangerous-drug