Search: Inside the U.S. City that Made Every Drug Legal
We travel to Portland, Oregon, the first U.S. city to decriminalize all drugs in 2020, to see what really happened. Over the past four years, the city has faced record highs in overdoses, homelessness, and drug use. We meet with locals who’ve experienced the crisis firsthand and others who have been documenting its effects on the streets. Together, we explore the human impact of this bold policy experiment—and why it ultimately came to an end.

No. My point is that those who want weed legalized must be held accountable for the damages as a result. They should not be allowed to wash their hands. If the legalizers feel marijuana is so harmless, let them back it up with their own money. What could they possibly be afraid of? Any fund would collect interest, so it is an investment that should only grow, right?

It makes no sense to me to tax marijuana and then use that tax money to spend on the negative impacts, damages, educational programs, etc. Less than a zero-sum game in Bermuda. Using the Sugar Tax as an example, where is the tax money being spent? Where are all those obesity & diabetes initiatives the government said would be established?

In the US, there are highly paid spokespersons, mostly lawyers, who travel from state to state, pushing for legalization using the same script. Not one spokesperson is held accountable for the negative impacts when a state legalizes marijuana.

LA’s staggering cannabis problem could cost the city $400M, California’s largest legal cannabis market is facing widespread collapse – SFGate Oct 22, 2025

The legal cannabis market in Los Angeles is hitting a breaking point. At least two-thirds of LA weed businesses have failed to pay their local taxes, and the city is currently out hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The dire financial status of the city’s cannabis stores — with more than 500 out of LA’s 738 pot companies owing outstanding taxes — has forced the city to take the extreme step of proposing an amnesty program to bail out the industry, according to a city letter obtained by SFGATE.

“Due to widespread non-compliance with tax and permit regulations feeding A THRIVING BLACK MARKET, combined with a tax burden which vastly exceeds the rates paid by other industries, legally permitted cannabis businesses face a daunting task,” Magioglu wrote in the letter.

That is not true.

1. They establish a fund from their own wallets to cover damages to people, businesses, and property. Health-related damages, people being mugged for drug money, businesses being robbed for drug money, driving while high crashes, etc.

2. That they be held criminally liable for all damages.

Since weed is so safe, there should be no problem. Who wants to establish that Weed Is Safe Fund?