Legalise Cannabis and other drugs?

[Spirit]

I guess there is a lot covered by this subject so lets try to keep it focused. My personal opinion is that class A drugs are rightly illegal, can cause all sorts of long term psycological problems, are highly addictive, can remove someones ability to lead a normal life, and are are so far still very untested. However, the odd bit of hash is ok by me - I don't see cannabis as any worse than alcohol, probably in fact less harm full. If alcohol was discovered now it woul be made illegal immediately, it's just because it has been socially acceptable for so long that it isnt.

Does smoking hash lead onto harder drugs? Yes, but indirectly, and I think that would be solved by legalising it. There are two reasons why it does - #1 is that you have to go and sit in a dealers house to buy it, and he happens to ask if you want any speed while you're there... Legalising hash would remove this problem 100%. #2 The person smoking it has a desire to get wasted and doesnt care how. This problem will still exist regardless. This starts with alcohol, not hash, so unless alcohol is banned too, ppl will always strive to get out their head occasionally.

Will people end up addicted to hash and unable to work if it is legalised? Yes, I imagine some will, as they do with alcohol, however - those that would probably are already, it's not like its hard to get hold of at present. Also, I think it would take away from the 'thrill seeking' aspect of smoking hash somewhat - people would smoke it more just to relax in the evenings, as opposed to going out purposely to get wasted.

Are there any downfalls imho? Well yes, you have to smoke it... One thing I hate about hash is that you have to smoke it with tobacco (Unless you want to get really wasted with a bong or something similiar ) I think the government should investigate more ways of ingesting it that just by smoking - how about a THC drink? Instead of ordering a pint, you could order a glass of skunk juice mmmm

Segregating hash from the other drugs will remove a lot of the problems imho, and decrease the amount of people who move onto harder drugs. Also, the goverment could make a huge amount of tax on it with no loss to the punter - if I'm gonna buy and eighth I'd much rather £10 out of the £15 it cost me goes back into the running of the country, than to some greedy dealers pockets.


My 2 cents worth anyway, fire away

 

[Cutter]

One thing I've been thinking about:

Is the reason alcohol is so widely accepted because you drink it?

Not quite sure how best to phrase this, but the point I am getting at is that drinking liquids (along with eating) is perceived as a "normal" human activity. Thus, by drinking alcohol, as well as getting your drug, you can also rationalise it by saying "I'm drinking to quench my thirst".

All other ways of taking drugs - injecting, snorting & smoking are not "normal" activities as it were - by doing them, you are obviously taking a drug and nothing else. There is no way you can "kid yourself" what you are doing is for bodily sustenance.

i.e. Drinking and eating are not activities you automatically associate with drug use, whereas injecting, smoking and snorting are?

Maybe this is why we have a more lenient view on drinking booze and popping pills/eating mushrooms?

@Spirit - good idea about delivering cannabis in a way other than smoking. As a drinker, I guess I would have no problem with "herbal tea" or a glass of "energy juice" instead of a pint of cider. Drinking it would also prevent lung damage and the ratty smell of stale smoke on your clothes!

 

[Mr_Bungle]

The meat of the matter is the point that people are always going to want to take drugs.Nothing will ever change that.

Take the market out of the criminals hands,legalise,open legitmate sales points.Tax it.Use the tax revenue to treat the soon to be hordes of drug addicts (j/k).

Something has to be done about the seedy drug culture as it is.I've seen my city turn from a very pleasant place into one of the most violent places in europe.People are shooting each other here now!Its gangs trying to get control of the rampant drug trade that causes it and a few more bobbies on the beat ain't gonna help.

And beside you really should be able to choose how you intoxicate yourself.As someone said in the thread its just whats acceptable in society.More hypocracy.

"ITS OK TO DRINK UR DRUG"- Bill Hicks RIP

 

[Ajax]

Does smoking hash lead onto harder drugs? Yes

Bollocks, i have been smoking hash for fooking ages only once did i try another drug, smoking hash doesnt have to lead to other drugs thats like saying drinking coffee will lead to drinking cider or something

Are there any downfalls imho? Well yes, you have to smoke it

no you don`t i make a mean choccy hash browie , smoking it is the normal way to use it yes but you dont have too, also I for one never have it with tobacco.

There are more powerfull drugs out there which are totaly leagal also, drink is one as is Salvia Divinorum which for those of you who dont know is a totaly leagal from of sage which can induce trips and illusion`s upon the taker

(click for more info)

now when you read how powerfull a leagal drug like this is you have to wonder why weed is still ileagal

 

[Spirit]

Originally posted by Ajax


Bollocks, i have been smoking hash for fooking ages only once did i try another drug, smoking hash doesnt have to lead to other drugs thats like saying drinking coffee will lead to drinking cider or something

Aye, read the rest of my post. It does introduce most users to a society in which harder drugs are readily available, legalistation would remove this completely. The desire still has to be there for the person to take harder drugs as well, but you cannot denie than by going to a dealers house to buy your weed, you are also putting yourself in a postion where you could buy something harder as well if you wished.

no you don`t i make a mean choccy hash browie , smoking it is the normal way to use it yes but you dont have too, also I for one never have it with tobacco.

Of course there are other ways as well, however eating cannabis is not cost efficeint, you have to eat much more to get stoned than you do smoking, and it doesn't have as potent effect. And although you can role a joint pure it will never smoke as well as one that has tobacco in - weed is not plyable enough to role an even and free-smoking joint. Personally I smoke mine 90% weed, 10% tobacco. Maybe if they treated it and cut it up like they do with tobacco, but I don't want my weed being treated with 1000s of chemicals

Edit: Just to provide some background to justify my knowledge about cannabis: I've been smoking weed for over 10 years and spent many of those years gaining a working knowledge of the high end of the supply chain. Dont get involved with that side of things any more, but am pretty well educated as to the ins and outs of the cannabis society

 

[Ajax]

have you even eaten hash yes you have to use a lot but its sure worth it, get you more stoned imo than smoking it and last`s longer, as putting myself where i could get other drugs aye this is true but only makes the arguement for making it leagal stronger imo, lets get it outta the scum`s hand and make it leagal then this temptation will exist for the normal hash smoker, as for the chemicals bit well if you smoke resin you already smoking chems

 

[Spirit]

Originally posted by Ajax
have you even eaten hash yes you have to use a lot but its sure worth it, get you more stoned imo than smoking it and last`s longer,

I have eaten hash uncountable times yes, and the buzz does last longer, but it takes ages to kick in and is only stronger cos you have eaten twice as much as you would smoke. If you eat and smoke an equal amount you will find you get more stoned, quicker, by smoking it.

as putting myself where i could get other drugs aye this is true but only makes the arguement for making it leagal stronger imo, lets get it outta the scum`s hand and make it leagal then this temptation will exist for the normal hash smoker, as for the chemicals bit well if you smoke resin you already smoking chems

It does make the arguement for legalising it stronger, that was my point And yes resin has lots of shit in it, including melted down plastic from those 9bars which got broken up in the ship on the way over and had to be melted down and reformed - I dont smoke any form of resin for that reason, nor bother with kind of standard weed. I only buy high quality skunk, and yes it may cost me a bit more, but when 1 joint is the equivalent of 10 resin joints, its worth it

The last weed I bought in England was White Rhino imported directly from Amsterdam, and it was f00king nice

 

[MrMerc]

Legalise Cannabis and other drugs?

For medicinal purposes yes. For anyone who isn't ill, no.

 

[Spirit]

Why not legalise cannabis MrMerc, why should alcohol be legal and not hash, when alcohol is a more offensive drug in every way?

 

[Apocalypse]

I not going to protray myself as whiter than white here, far from it, but as someone who doesn't smoke (and never has - not even to try it), who, when goes out drinking with the lads has one Bailey's then drinks pepsi all night and doesn't do drugs of any kind - other than Insulin. I have to say that no drug (with the execption of caffeine and alcohol, for the plain and simple reason that the are widely used and could not be banned) should be banned and stay banned, never being made legal, nm now small a drug it may seem or how harmless.

I think the affect they have on people is bad, whether or not they are used for recreation or not. I belive that they will lead to stronger more addictive drugs ( a few guys from my school, who only used hash once in a while or now full blown crack addicts and in jail for such).

I suppose everyone will have different views on this matter, but just offering my $0.02

 

[Ajax]

Goose like i said it don`t always lead to harder drugs the fact that its ileagal is the main reason ppl who smoke weed get offered other drugs because of where they have to go to get it, get weed out of the scum sucking dealers hands and you see how many weed smokers will then go on to try other thing, i bet it will be less than what it is now

 

[Spirit]

Goose, I agree with your point of view to a certain extent, the world would be a better place without any recreational drugs of any kind.

However this is never going to happen, they will be manufactured and sold on the black market regardless of the law, as drugs are the most profitable business to be in. The point is, there would be less harm caused if cannabis was legal that there is now with it being illegal. The figures of ppl moving onto harder drugs would be reduced and people would not be introduced to the relevant dealers.

imho they should legalise cannabis, and make the laws on other drugs even stricter.

 

[Andy]

RE:

Its the culture that comes with hard drugs that is the issue if no-one broke in to peoples houses or robbed people to get drugs you wouldnt care tbh, the health risks are your own in my opinion, there is a risk in everything you do wether it be driving or snorting coke. And we should all listen to Bungle after all he has done every drug going

 

[MrMerc]

Originally posted by Spirit
Why not legalise cannabis MrMerc

For medical use, yes it should, as should other drugs. It should be given to people who need it, not some junkie who wants to get high.

 

[Spirit]

So do you believe alcohol and caffiene should be illegal too MrMerc?

 

[Apocalypse]

I suppose people will always want to use recrerational drugs, but at the end of the day I don't think making cannabis legal will solve any problems with the current state of drugs in this country. tbh I think it will only be fuel to a fire.

I'll use an analagy to try and make my point.

Imagine reasiing the speed limit on a motorway from 70 to 80. Would that stop people doing 80 on the motorway, well no I don't think it would. I think it would just make them think that it is ok to cruise at 90.

If soft drugs are ok and legal, then lets get a kick out of the harder ones?

 

[Cutter]

Originally posted by Ajax

There are more powerfull drugs out there which are totaly leagal also, drink is one as is Salvia Divinorum which for those of you who dont know is a totaly leagal from of sage which can induce trips and illusion`s upon the taker

I already knew of that one. You might want to add Henbane, Thorn Apple, Aconite, Amonitum Muscaria ("shrooms" to you) and Mandagora to that list.

Of course, I don't recommend you mess with *any* of those unless you really know what you are doing. Half will kill you (from liver damage, and after lengthy and freaky trips) and the others will generally leave you feeling rough for days afterwards.

Speak to your local wiccan for more info

 

[Ajax]

which leads me back to one of my first points, if ther are these drugs out there which are leagal which cause more harm to you than weed then why the fook is weed ileagal ?

oh and shrooms is a gray area its leagal to eat them there and then but as soon as you store or process them then i think they become ileagal (not 100% sure on this though)

 

[Spirit]

The law on mushrooms is this:

Legal

Pick them
Eat them fresh
Store them in a plastic bag

Illegal

Sell or give them to anyone else
Process them in any way (ie cooking)
Dry them out
Store them in a paper bag (construed as drying them out)

 

[MrMerc]

Originally posted by Spirit
So do you believe alcohol and caffiene should be illegal too MrMerc?

No, although Coffee keeps me from being cranky during the day. Alcohol and caffiene arn't as deadly as some drugs.