At the same time the reclassification is a red heering and essentially unimportant.

The demonization of cannabis is a clear-cut case of Social Constructivism, ie. we have constructed out of thin air the notion that cannabis is terribly dangerous and that almost any violation of rights and punishment of users is legitimate. As often is the case these over-estimated socially constructed problems are only possible if the majority of the population LACK first-hand knowledge of the subject. When they tried the trick on alcohol in the US it didn’t work because people KNEW otherwise.

Having this socially constructed place in our consciousness opens up for something else terrible. Everyone thinks of cannabis as “something special”, so instead of looking at it rationally the voters apply a drastically different standard to cannabis. One that can only be called medieval in natur, or one which resembles most of all the Islamic notion of Sharia: that our values should be made into absolute law so that dissidents can be crushed.

The most comprehensive study ever by Stanley Zammit demonstrated that the marginal likelihood of contracting schizophrenia due to smoking cannabis is 0.002 – or 0.2%. To explain this to those not into statistics: a non-user has a likelihood of contracting schizophrenia of 0.5% (a 0,005 likelihood). Smoking cannabis allegedly raises this likelihood to 0,007 – or 0,7%. That’s the 41% increase you may have heard about elsewhere?

Recent large studies have – despite the fact that there are carninogens in cannabis smoke – acquitted cannabis on this account. For “some reason” cannabis smokers simply do not statistically contract cancer. Maybe that’s because THC retards cancer cell growth, and maybe it’s because the normal, average cannabis smoker happens to smoke a small fraction of what the tobacco smoker does (thus getting fewer carcinogens that fail to increase illness).

The simple fact is that cannabis is a relatively safe drug that doesn’t qualify as so particularly dangerous that we can legitimate the criminalization.

Unfortunately people DO NOT LIKE CANNABIS. They just don’t. Just like racists don’t like other races, just like some religious nut cases don’t like homosexuals. The list goes on. But because they’re in the majority that can simply chose NOT to care and use whatever power they have to fine, imprison and otherwise humiliate the average cannabis smoker. Constitutional Rights are, unfortunately, only for those who do NOT happen to smoke cannabis (or do any other drug they choose).

Stop this moral crusade. Don’t support this Western Sharia. Legalize.