First of all, decriminalization does not mean legal. You still get tickets when caught under decriminalization. You don??t get charged under Criminal law, you get charged under civil law.

This change does benefit the user in some ways, and harms them in others.
In one important way the user will not have a criminal record.
But, it is Much Much easier to get charged under civil law. So eventually more people will get charged.

Furthermore the level of necessary proof is significantly lower under civil law. Under criminal law you must be proven guilty without a reasonable doubt.
In civil it is ??the balance of probabilities?. IE. Who ever has a better argument!

So, more people will be charged and more people will be found guilty! (bad)

Another important point is that the process in Civil vs criminal are different.
In criminal you will get a jury But in Civil you only get a jury if you could get jail time of 2 years less a day. So now when your in court the power to punish isn??t in your peers. It will rest with a judge who is very influenced by political pressures.



Growing cannabis will remain 100% illegal and may carry higher penalties, following the argument ??were not going after the user, only the supplier)

So, no more people will grow their own dope. This will further entrench our societies dependence on Gang produced weed, which brings enormous harm to society.

Now do you understand?