""Why don't we allow medical marijuana in this state? They do in California…," he said.
Bloomberg then went on to endorse the complete legalization of drugs:
"The argument is that the only way you're going to end the drug trade is to legalize drugs and take away the profit motive," he said. "And that the corruption funds enormous dislocations, like Mexico, where thousands or tens of thousands of people have been killed in the wars where the government tried to crack down on the drug dealers..."
Bloomberg seemed to realize that he was stumbling in to a political minefield and quickly added:
"There is no easy answer to these things... There are places where they've legalized drugs, and whether it destroyed society or didn't is open to debate."
Drugs haven't actually been legalized in any country in the world, but some countries such as the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland and Denmark have decriminalized drugs and have had remarkable results showing a decline in the use of hard drugs.
It's the opinion of The Chronicle that decriminalization doesn't go far enough. As long as drugs are illegal to manufacture and distribute, black market criminals will continue to make a profit regardless of whether or not users are being punished. Prohibition never has worked and it never will.
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