This experiment has been tried in the Netherlands.
Did pot usage go up or down in the Netherlands?
Did Dutch crime go up or down?
Did Dutch political corruption increase or decrease?
People who argue for the legalization of marijuana in the Netherlands often point to statistics saying drug consumption has not gone up that much, and is not that much higher than in other EU countries. In fact, it is lower than in Spain or France. But this doesn’t show the whole story.
The Netherlands spend 139 Euros per capita per year on drug treatment programs. Spain spends 9. Greece spends 2. The country which, after the Netherlands, spends the most on drug treatment and regulation is Sweden, which consumes about 1/5th the amount of drugs that the Netherlands does. The Netherlands’ expenditure in a nation the size of the United States would translate to one hundred and fifty billion dollars. (Data is from a 2006 report, based on 2004 data.)
Also of note: the consumption of drugs other than marijuana has risen sharply in the Netherlands.
So, drug use in the Netherlands is still funding crime, still causing political corruption, still involving marijuana users in criminal activity... and still serving as a gateway drug to harder drugs.
Anyone smoking pot should be locked up!!!!!