13/08/2024
Robin-Ivan Capar
The Norwegian Green Party (MDG) has made another public push to legalise cannabis.
The party's leader, Arild Hermstad, told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that the government's current approach to combating drug-related crime, led by Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, was doomed to fail.
"Vedum's 'war on drugs' will fail. We do not solve the crime challenges by sending more police to (take care of) the young people who get high. We must throttle the gangs' most important source of income: the sale of drugs," he said.
How state sales of cannabis could curb illegal market revenues
The Green Party's proposal would end the punishment for the personal use and possession of drugs, with a focus on legalising cannabis.
Hermstad said that the Norwegian state should take over the sale of cannabis to undercut the illegal market. Norway's state is responsible for the sale of alcohol stronger than 4.7 percent to consumers through its wine monopoly system.
