Govt ignores 200k petition to legalize cannabis

[Eirikur]

Having seen from close by what problems legalised cannabis causes in my previous home country I fully agree with the govt

[pjclarke]

The defining attribute of the drugs debate is hypocrisy. There is not a single argument used against cannabis that does not also apply to alcohol and tobacco, both available in your corner shop and likely to remain so. A magistrate can give someone a criminal record for possession of a few grams of dope, then go home and perfectly legally take addictive carcinogens and drink himself stupid.

Young people, especially, know this, and wonder what other absurdities the law allows...

[Eirikur]

The defining attribute of the drugs debate is hypocrisy. There is not a single argument used against cannabis that does not also apply to alcohol and tobacco, both available in your corner shop and likely to remain so. A magistrate can give someone a criminal record for possession of a few grams of dope, then go home and perfectly legally take addictive carcinogens and drink himself stupid.

Young people, especially, know this, and wonder what other absurdities the law allows...

If smoking and alcohol were "invented" now it would probably also not be allowed. Besides we're on the way to banning tobacco more and more from society.

[MicrosoftBob]

The problem with cannabis is just the criminal element associated with it, legalise it or at least make it available for sale through pharmacists and the problem goes away

[Eirikur]

The problem with cannabis is just the criminal element associated with it, legalise it or at least make it available for sale through pharmacists and the problem goes away

For sale through pharmacies would only be for medical reasons, something I don't oppose. It's the other sales channels such as the "coffee" shops in The Netherlands that are the big problem. Go to any secondary school there and you will see 14 year olds smoking cannabis on or around the school grounds.

[Martin Scroatman]

There's a lot of evidence that if you have a propensity for mintal illnesses such as schizophrenia, regular cannabis use, especially the high octane hydroponically produced skunk weed popular among today's youth, can trigger these conditions Moulton bicycles. Conditions that may otherwise have remained latent.

[MicrosoftBob]

For sale through pharmacies would only be for medical reasons, something I don't oppose. It's the other sales channels such as the "coffee" shops in The Netherlands that are the big problem. Go to any secondary school there and you will see 14 year olds smoking cannabis on or around the school grounds.

That would be a bonus here, they would at least be too stoned to bother mugging anyone

[Martin Scroatman]

The defining attribute of the drugs debate is hypocrisy. There is not a single argument used against cannabis that does not also apply to alcohol and tobacco, both available in your corner shop and likely to remain so. A magistrate can give someone a criminal record for possession of a few grams of dope, then go home and perfectly legally take addictive carcinogens and drink himself stupid.

Young people, especially, know this, and wonder what other absurdities the law allows...

That's a crass comment and so typical of the pro dope lobby (it's no coincidnce that your a green either)..

The 2 can't be compared. Cannabis changes one's state of mind often leading to stupefication. Tobacco does not.

Utterly ridiculous.

[DaveB]

There's a lot of evidence that if you have a propensity for mintal illnesses such as schizophrenia, regular cannabis use, especially the high octane hydroponically produced skunk weed popular among today's youth, can trigger these conditions Moulton bicycles. Conditions that may otherwise have remained latent.

I think you've been smoking some yourself

And the same things apply to alchohol.

[pjclarke]

That's a crass comment and so typical of the pro dope lobby (it's no coincidnce that your a green either)..

The 2 can't be compared. Cannabis changes one's state of mind often leading to stupefication. Tobacco does not.

No, it just gives you cancer. Ok, I was sloppy, should have said alcohol or tobacco, still it is not possible to be anti-cannabis and pro-alcohol or tobacco and remain consistent. Which drugs are permitted and which banned is pure historical accident. We signed up to the 1925 Geneva International Convention on Narcotics Control at a time when cannabis was virtually unknown here.

Its moot anyhow, no politician dares to be perceived as 'soft on drugs' so the possibility of an informed and grown up debate is pretty small and pretty futile, as Professor David Nutt discovered.



Oh and I am not 'pro-dope' any more than I am 'pro-booze'. There's no such thing as a safe recreational drug. Long term use of cannabis can cause short term memory loss, psychosis, paranoia and short term memory loss.