Yes, cannabis is dangerous. But a ban is even more dangerous. | Eirik Løkke

In a chronicle published in Aftenposten on July 9, a doctor, a researcher on the brain and Professor Svend Davanger warn against cannabis. He believes that it is strange that several Norwegian politicians slow down the unfortunate effects of hashish and marijuana.

Davanger justifiably argues that there is no reason to undermine the dangers of cannabis use. Most people will agree that it is positive for public health to limit the use of hash – especially for the youngest.

Although studies also show that there are health benefits for special groups, especially with respect to severe pain, it is important to emphasize that cannabis is far from harmless.

Read politicians carefully

But Davanger has a creative interpretation of the politicians he quotes (from the Green Party, the Left, Socialist Youth and Youth Rights) when he suggests that their motives for softening the legislation on cannabis is that they

If Davanger had read his own quotes more closely, he had observed that they had not written it, but that cannabis was less harmful than legal drugs.

That cannabis is considered less harmful than for example alcohol is something that most researchers in the field say is not controversial. Something less illustrated in an authoritative study in the medical journal The Lancet (2010), which compares the health hazards of various drugs.

What is so controversial is that it should be reflected in the law. Commentator Andreas Slettholm: – While politicians want legalization, the habits of young people have increased. And if there is a connection?

The Drug War Failed

Another much more important point is that the effect of strict bans and penalties on consumption is very uncertain. But what we do know is that the ban regime that has dominated the "war on drugs" has failed spectacularly.

This policy of prohibition acts as a catalyst for organized crime, we were illustrated during the ban period in the United States. Even though the government has invested massive resources, banning a worsening of the problems that the policy was intended to solve.

So it should not be surprising that the effects of US President Richard Nixon's "war on drugs" had the same disappointing effect.

According to official figures, US authorities used crazy spending of $ 1,000 billion to enforce the drug ban without moving closer to a drug-free society.

Studies show instead how the ban has helped revive the opiate crisis in the United States. . In Mexico, the war on drugs killed more than 100,000 people

In Norway, we see how the war on drugs finances criminal gangs like Young Bloods.

So the question is not whether cannabis and other drugs are dangerous, but how to enforce a policy that limits its use. which avoids the worst social consequences of the ban

What is interesting is that in Norway we have good conditions to combine these two objectives thanks to our experience with a restrictive policy on alcohol

. drugs strictly, we can better affect price, availability and quality.

Jail Risks

For example, early Colorado studies in the United States show that cannabis use among youth (ages 12-17) declined after lifting the ban in 2014. To all, it can not be established that the decline is due to the lifting of the ban. However, it can be determined that the use has not increased at all.

One of the benefits of sales regulation with respect to minors is that cannabis traders strongly encourage not to sell to this group. If they are brought to sell to minors, they risk employment and jail time.

Strict regulation will obviously not solve all drug-related issues, but there is good reason to believe that it is the least damaging to society.

• Follow and participate in the debates on the opinions of Aftenposten on Facebook and Twitter