Legal Marijuana

[Lokasenna]

Of course, and you're entitle to your opinion. If you hate marijuana, that's fine. It only when you're at a party and you decide to "remonstrate" someone at a party--that's when I have a problem.

Well, that'd different. I was responding to your comment where you didn't specify context, when you said that you would remonstrate anyone smoking in your presence. Well, that could mean anything. Like I said, if you're at a party (and you're not the one hosting it, of course), I would find it extremely rude for someone to start scolding someone smoking pot. It's really not your problem. Leave the party; problem solved.

Actually, that would depend on the context of the party - I would be highly unlikely to go to a party that was liable to be full of people using cannabis. In which case, should the event arise at a party I would go to, then those who began smoking marijuana would be very much a small minority - and, thanks to the stink and fumes of the stuff, would be inflicting it on the rest of us. That, in my opinion, would be rude, and I would have absolutely no qualms about going over and making my feelings known, regardless of the host's sentiments. Much like Neely's comment in regard to how clean and fume-free our pubs and restaurants are now that public smoking has been banned, why should I or anyone else be driven away from a party we've been invited to by the actions of a small group?

And you don't think it's too late for marijuana?

Almost, but not quite.

[JuniperWoolf]

I have yet to see someone smoke weed in a public place. No one wants to be high and paranoid in the middle of town surrounded by nosy, morally superior old ladies who know your grandma, and strangers are to be avoided like plague carriers. Weed is a by yourself/small group drug (unlike alcohol, where your annoying drunkenness is in everyone's face).

[Alexander III]

I must say I'm very surprised at this and wonder if it is a cultural thing or if it is indeed accurate. I am positive that if you could easily get marijuana at every corner shop or supermarket in the UK that the use as it would absolutely rocket. It might be fairly easy to get hold of now illegally, but it's certainly not as easy to get hold if this were the case. I would not like to see it legalised in the UK for this reason.

As I say I don't care what people get up to in their own homes (though I can still smell it on my way to work) but I am certainly with Loka on the smoking it in public places. On this I was glad on the tobacco ban too, pubs and restaurants have never been cleaner since and we can all potentially live a little longer because of it.

Holland where in Amsterdam pot is legal - 5% of its population smoke marijuanan daily

America where pot is illegal - 9% of its population smoke daily.


If we have learned anything from the american prohibition, it is that what is idelogicaly right is often horribly wrong in reality.

By keeping it inlegal nations are choosing to keep huge amounts of money in the hands of drug cartels, and gangs which in turn use that money to fuel more crime and violence, instead of normal tax paying bussineses.

Imagine if ever alchohol label was a mafia group, imagine the bloodniness and criminality and money that would foster - well for roughly a decade in america that is what happened -and in all the world the same is happening.

To be honest a vote for maintinng it inlegal, is a vote for maintaining the powers of the drug cartels - like in the 20's a choosing to keep alchohol inlegal was a vote for maintaining the power of the mafia.

[Alexander III]

I have yet to see someone smoke weed in a public place. No one wants to be high and paranoid in the middle of town surrounded by nosy, morally superior old ladies who know your grandma, and strangers are to be avoided like plague carriers. Weed is a by yourself/small group drug (unlike alcohol, where your annoying drunkenness is in everyone's face).

Yes when you are stoned you want a couch, some food, and some really good friends to talk to - that is the best bit having truley beautifull conversaton with people and reaching levels of intimacy which are nigh in impossible to reach. Also the things you see are incredible.

Everyone thinks of it as some disgusting drug, but what it is most often is a highly spiritual and metaphysical experiance.

Once when stoned I cried for 15 minutes when I saw one of Carravagio's paintings, beacuse i thought it so sad.

Yet no one seems to think of it like that, but as a asty ugly drug - and the only reason people do think of it that way is beacuse they have never tried it and they believe all the goverment instigated fear of pot. It is propaganda that is it.


And also to all the personal anectdotes, has no one evere considered that these people were just douches/mental ilnesses ec.t and the weed had about as much to do with it as alchohol or tv or lack of friendship or heck even that pizza they ate the night before. It is just a typical case of defending somone you care about triugh a scapegoat.

No No, Johny used to be a great father but then the weed made him a bad father - maybe Johny was a douche all along and he smoked weed and negltected his children because he was a douche, not the otherway round.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Holland where in Amsterdam pot is legal - 5% of its population smoke marijuanan daily

America where pot is illegal - 9% of its population smoke daily.


If we have learned anything from the american prohibition, it is that what is idelogicaly right is often horribly wrong in reality.

By keeping it inlegal nations are choosing to keep huge amounts of money in the hands of drug cartels, and gangs which in turn use that money to fuel more crime and violence, instead of normal tax paying bussineses.

Yes I know there is that argument, which is a fair one, but I wonder if the numbers are a cultural difference, in the same way that the use of alcohol is on the continent vs yob/binge drinking culture in the UK. I just do not buy the argument that if cannabis were readily available in Tesco (buy an ounce get an ounce free?) or available in corner shops that drug use would do down. This is clearly nonsense. Here at least.

[JuniperWoolf]

Yet no one seems to think of it like that, but as a asty ugly drug - and the only reason people do think of it that way is beacuse they have never tried it and they believe all the goverment instigated fear of pot. It is propaganda that is it.

Exactly. They try these stupid anti-drug commercials in Canada to sway people because old politicians don't want people to get high for some reason, even though we live in a democratic society and the people say otherwise. It's just so sad it's funny, here's one. It was clearly written by someone who doesn't know what the hell they're talking about, all they ever succeeded in doing is uniting people together in the opinion that the government is stupidity incarnate. Also, those kids look nine. Wrong target audience, idiots (unless they're using the image of little children doing drugs to get overprotective moms on their side, in which case that's just kind of underhanded).

Haha, oh yeah, have you ever seen the This Is Your Brain On Drugs ad? It's American, but it's f'ing classic. Reeeeal informative like.

Yes I know there is that argument, which is a fair one, but I wonder if the numbers are a cultural difference, in the same way that the use of alcohol is on the continent vs yob/binge drinking culture in the UK. I just do not buy the argument that if cannabis were readily available in Tesco (buy an ounce get an ounce free?) or available in corner shops that drug use would do down. This is clearly nonsense. Here at least.

Who cares if more people smoke recreationally? You like being able to go to the liquor store and pick up a bottle of wine, don't you? I think Darcy (or Alex, whoever originally posted that legalization doesn't cause a spike in drug use) was getting his information a bit mixed up: it isn't drug/alcohol use in general that stays at the same rate, it's excessive drug/alcohol abuse which remains relatively constant whether it is legal or illegal. Sometimes abuse is higher in countries where it's illegal because people consider themselves criminals for doing it in the first place, they already feel like they've done something wrong, so why not run with it? If it were fully legal then there would obviously be more normal people picking up a few grams when they're out grocery shopping or something, just like people do now with alcohol. Why shouldn't they?

[smerdyakov]

If the government did legalize it the revenue stream from taxation would be colossal. It would be billions for Ireland anyway. I read in a study, (although since no hard data is available it is merely speculative) and they calculated it from the amount of people who smoke and how much they smoke, that the potential revenue from taxation is the States would be anywhere from 50-110 billion a year! and near enough the same for Canada (study from The Fraiser Institute). Couple that with the money saved against the war on drugs and you are talking about some serious money for the country's exchequer. Free eduaction/ Free health for all-stuff that any self respecting nation should have, and certainly one that's the richest nation on the planet. People could then be assessed by their doctors and only given it by prescription like in Calif at the moment, the difference being a normal healthy person can avail of it but if you are genetically disposed to schizophrenia or have any other adverse reactions from it, you would be excluded from having the choice to avail of it--proper regulation. Clinics could be opened for people who develop problems.

How difficult is this? The governments don't want to know because they are not progressive and basically couldn't care less what people want. It is a minority rule-the minority being a rich plutocracy who makes decisions for the many based on the desire and benefit of the few.

[JuniperWoolf]

The governments don't want to know because they are not progressive and basically couldn't care less what people want. It is a minority rule-the minority being a rich plutocracy who makes decisions for the many based on the desire and benefit of the few.

Not only are they a small rich plutocracy, but they're an ineffectual small rich plutocracy. Every year on April 20th (ugh, lame) the people of Edmonton gather at the parliament building and smoke weed right on the lawn. Good luck trying to control that, GoC.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Who cares if more people smoke recreationally? You like being able to go to the liquor store and pick up a bottle of wine, don't you? I think Darcy (or Alex, whoever originally posted that legalization doesn't cause a spike in drug use) was getting his information a bit mixed up: it isn't drug/alcohol use in general that stays at the same rate, it's excessive drug/alcohol abuse which remains relatively constant whether it is legal or illegal. Sometimes abuse is higher in countries where it's illegal because people consider themselves criminals for doing it in the first place, they already feel like they've done something wrong, so why not run with it? If it were fully legal then there would obviously be more normal people picking up a few grams when they're out grocery shopping or something, just like people do so with alcohol now. Why shouldn't they?

I'm not sure that I would like people 'drugging it up' everywhere. You've already pointed out the problems with alcohol and public use, imagine opening that up to a whole host of drugs, I wouldn't like it. Also alcohol is perfectly safe within limits, even beneficial, as in a little red wine with meals, I'm not sure if the same can be said for marijuana or crack cocaine.

[Bluehound]

But were do you draw the line - there must be some people who are hooked on heroin and live a happy productive life, so should that be available at Tescos too ?

[smerdyakov]

Cool. I don't like weed or hash cos it make me very anxious, and that's only happened over the last few years. Don't know why. Methamphetamines, or a very close lab variant, were legal here afew years ago to buy in head shops. You could buy weed too but it wasn't strong. The government closed them all down cos people were havin too much fun

[JuniperWoolf]

I'm not sure that I would like people 'drugging it up' everywhere. You've already pointed out the problems with alcohol and public use, imagine opening that up to a whole host of drugs, I wouldn't like it. Also alcohol is perfectly safe within limits, even beneficial, as in a little red wine with meals, I'm not sure if the same can be said for marijuana or crack cocaine.

Haha, they're not "drugging it up everywhere." Like I said, smoking weed in public would not be a fun adventure, it would be terrifying. You don't tear the cork out of a bottle of wine and start chugging it at aisle three, do you?

Also, marijuana has many medical benefits. It stimulates appetite, cures nausea and it's a painkiller. Beyond that, for people who don't go crazy (and I've never met or even heard of someone who personally knows one of those until this thread, despite the fact that I live in a country where the people don't see much of a difference between weed and alcohol and consume both regularly, so something tells me it's not very common), it helps them relax which is good for mental health.

[smerdyakov]

Yeah Neely, give the weed smokers a bit of credit - they aren't drug addled zombies!

[LitNetIsGreat]

Haha, they're not "drugging it up everywhere." Like I said, smoking weed in public would not be a fun adventure, it would be terrifying. You don't tear the cork out of a bottle of wine and start chugging it at aisle three, do you?

Ha, it seems that one out of every two/three 'hoodies' I pass on the streets, morning or night, are smoking drugs. At least on the council estates. The stuff reeks. Imagine opening that up to every corner shop and Tesco, trust me, people will be drugging it up all over and then we'll have drug packets to go alongside the cans of Stella and packets of fags that we have now littering up the streets and parks. No thanks.

Yeah Neely, give the weed smokers a bit of credit - they aren't drug addled zombies!

Until Tesco does a Buy Two, get Two Free offer. You should see the lines of mouthwash I have on top of the bathroom cupboard. Crazy!

[Bluehound]

Haha, they're not "drugging it up everywhere." Like I said, smoking weed in public would not be a fun adventure, it would be terrifying. You don't tear the cork out of a bottle of wine and start chugging it at aisle three, do you?

Also, marijuana has many medical benefits. It stimulates appetite, cures nausea and it's a painkiller. Beyond that, for people who don't go crazy (and I've never met or even heard of someone who personally knows one of those until this thread, despite the fact that I live in a country where the people don't see much of a difference between weed and alcohol and consume both regularly, so something tells me it's not very common), it helps them relax which is good for mental health.

The UK has a real problem with moderation, I see people drinking cans of lager and smoking weed all the time on my way to work at 9 in the morning.
So yeah we have loads of people over here that do/would go crazy because of weed.
I know a guy who put his girlfriend in hospital because she couldn't lend him a tenner to get some smoke, he has to have it everyday, doesn't really care what he has to do to get it, criminal or otherwise, and he has no motivation to get a job.