Jamen Shively, former executive of Microsoft, on Friday expressed his view on the subject during a speech at a symposium in Mexico, where he suggested the creation of a policy on marijuana by a model of "responsible regulation" instead of its prohibition in the country.

Shively, founder and CEO of Diego Pellicer Inc., a company dedicated to marijuana sales in the United States, maintained that "the risks associated with marijuana are not so much from its use, but from the results of prohibition" and added that "there is no evidence that a single person has died from the consumption of cannabis."

"However, tens of thousands of innocent people have died in violence and crime caused by prohibition laws, directly and indirectly, and especially here in Mexico," he explained.

According to Shively, "it has been proven that cannabis is safer than alcohol, but the prohibition of cannabis is what is pushing people to consume other dangerous drugs, instead of opting for safer options."

He considered it necessary to open a discussion to determine how to regulate marijuana to minimize the risks to young people and other vulnerable groups, and also of the amount of taxes this could generate, along with national and international solutions to minimize drug trafficking "and other unbearable effects that this causes".

"In conclusion, prohibition as a policy has been a total failure and it is the policy of prohibition that is causing most of the damage. And if the ban is not the answer, what is? Responsible regulation and taxes", he highlighted.

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Omar.Marintez@Sandiegored.com

Editorial@Sandiegored.com