I see these terms used all the time within politics but I don’t get it. Surely if it’s de criminalized it’s legal?
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Decriminalization = it’s still not _legal_, but you won’t get prosecuted, or won’t get prosecuted as severely, for doing the thing.
Legalization = the thing is fully _legal._
This is especially relevant for things like research and business. If a drug is _decriminalized_ but not _legal_, you can’t set up establishments or businesses around the drug — e.g. safe monitored consumption sites. You also are limited in the types of research that can be done on that drug, since it’s still illegal.
Simplified example: maybe a school doesn’t give you detention or another punishment for, say, skipping class. You just get sent back to class when you get caught. That’s decriminalization. But you still aren’t “allowed” to just skip class whenever you want 🙂
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