[papa smurf]

[QUOTE=Osem;35898502]Yes it is and that's why we are where we are. To develop what we've got to the standard of the best in Europe having taken the network back into public ownership would cost many billions and necessitate the tax rises nobody will vote for. Catch 22.

---------- Post added at 11:44 ---------- Previous post was at 11:24 ----------

So Farron's big idea is to legalise cannabis. He reckons it'll solves all sorts of problems, generate loads of revenue and put the drug dealers out of business.

Hmmm. If I were a drug dealer I think I'd just produce a stronger version and undercut the price of the official stuff. It'd take time but and yes there'd be a proportion of people who'd prefer to rely on the officially supplied gear but there'd be a great many who'd simply want to try something cheaper and stronger. This is exactly what's happening with Spice now isn't it? It's also the reason out sea and airports are flooded with cheap and all too often dodgy cigarettes which people choose to buy knowing all the risks of, for example, product contamination and lack of quality control, because they're cheaper.

Yep HMG could reduce the prices it charges for the official cannabis but where does that leave the predicted revenue stream?

Also if they legalise small scale home cultivation how are they intending to protect neighbours from the pungent aroma these plants generate or are non drug users just going to have to live with that?[/QUOTE]

it's ok i'm used to my house stinking of someone else's skunk.