The drugs debate once more....

[Mad Cyril]

Drugs are for mugs.

 

[* ORM *]

When you see a FB live clip of a junkie shoving crystal meth up her backside you know that drugs are wrong. To me it's a bit like my clearly old fashioned views on homosexuality. I have no problem with what people choose to do with their own lives as long as a) it is not in my face b) it doesn't impact me c) it doesn't impact others especially the innocent children of this world.

 

[Blueronron]

When you see a FB live clip of a junkie shoving crystal meth up her backside you know that drugs are wrong. To me it's a bit like my clearly old fashioned views on homosexuality. I have no problem with what people choose to do with their own lives as long as a) it is not in my face b) it doesn't impact me c) it doesn't impact others especially the innocent children of this world.

Glad to read that ORM :winking:


uts

 

[MK Shrimper]

Drugs are for mugs.

Meh, maybe. Spending billions on a "war" that's unwinnable is a muggier thing - especially when the two legal drugs that cause most damage to society are just that - legal.

 

[londonblue]

I would prefer it to be govenment controlled. That would make it safer and bring in revenue but I would also confine it to cafe's like in Holland and the privecy of your own home. Personally, it stinks and doesn't appeal to me but that's me.

The law has to change sooner or later as the so called war on drugs isn't being won. Probably not in my lifetime but coke will follow the same route when the powers that be finally realise how much money can be made.

Drugs are not legal in the Netherlands, and never have been. The police just turn a blind eye. This has led to some very unsavory criminal types becoming extremely rich.

 

[londonblue]

Meh, maybe. Spending billions on a "war" that's unwinnable is a muggier thing - especially when the two legal drugs that cause most damage to society are just that - legal.

Maybe the reason they cause more damage to society is because they are legal, and therefore more easily accessible?

I would be perfectly happy if smoking and drinking were made illegal too.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Maybe the reason they cause more damage to society is because they are legal, and therefore more easily accessible?

I would be perfectly happy if smoking and drinking were made illegal too.

Really? Because prohibition worked so well in 1920s America didn't it? :nope:

Humanity have always needs something to alter their perceptions and their moods, from peyote to fermented apples. You ain't gonna change that by banning it.

 

[londonblue]

Really? Because prohibition worked so well in 1920s America didn't it? :nope:

Humanity have always needs something to alter their perceptions and their moods, from peyote to fermented apples. You ain't gonna change that by banning it.

I didn't say it would work!

The point I'm making is that saying that the drugs that cause the most damage are legal is irrelevant. It could be simply because they are legal that they cause more damage, i.e. because they're more accessible. It doesn't mean that other drugs should be made legal.

I tend to agree that you need something, and as such alcohol should stay as it is. Nicotine on the other hand...

 

[Benfleet A1]

Drugs are not legal in the Netherlands, and never have been. The police just turn a blind eye. This has led to some very unsavory criminal types becoming extremely rich.

I never said they were legal in Holland. All I said was I would prefer it to be govenment managed if it ever happened.

 

[* ORM *]

Glad to read that ORM :winking:


uts

Ha ha I know I'm an old dinosaur. I could have been much more brutal on the drugs side. I personally know more than a few people, some family members, whose lives are permanently scarred through something as comparatively harmless as cannabis. For some people schizophrenia is a known side effect. Rather than ban it I would be more progressive and legalise it but require medical clearance (and retesting) at the users expense to be able to receive it.

 

[RHB]

Maybe the reason they cause more damage to society is because they are legal, and therefore more easily accessible?

I would be perfectly happy if smoking and drinking were made illegal too.

I doubt Chancellors of the Exchequer, past, present and future would agree with you.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Ha ha I know I'm an old dinosaur. I could have been much more brutal on the drugs side. I personally know more than a few people, some family members, whose lives are permanently scarred through something as comparatively harmless as cannabis. For some people schizophrenia is a known side effect. Rather than ban it I would be more progressive and legalise it but require medical clearance (and retesting) at the users expense to be able to receive it.

And I know of 3 people close to my wife who have died young due to alcoholism. I had a mate who was glassed twice thanks to some drunken twunt, and another who was beaten so badly he was altered beyond all recognition and has tried to kill himself due to PTSD.

Anecdotal evidence proves nothing and does not take in the wider picture.

Edit: Oh yeah, and I know of three people who have died of lung cancer due to smoking - one was in her 40s and left 3 young kids without a mother.

 

[londonblue]

I never said they were legal in Holland. All I said was I would prefer it to be govenment managed if it ever happened.

I know. You just happened to mention Holland (the Netherlands). I wanted to make sure people realised it was as illegal there as it is here.

 

[londonblue]

And I know of 3 people close to my wife who have died young due to alcoholism. I had a mate who was glassed twice thanks to some drunken twunt, and another who was beaten so badly he was altered beyond all recognition and has tried to kill himself due to PTSD.

Anecdotal evidence proves nothing and does not take in the wider picture.

In that case you should be happy that other drugs aren't made legal so that the chances of that type of behavior escalating is minimised.

 

[MK Shrimper]

In that case you should be happy that other drugs aren't made legal so that the chances of that type of behavior escalating is minimised.

Unlikely. Alcohol can turn people into violent *****. Cannabis, ecstasy, LSD and other "soft" drugs turn them into ***** to noone but themselves.

 

[londonblue]

Unlikely. Alcohol can turn people into violent *****. Cannabis, ecstasy, LSD and other "soft" drugs turn them into ***** to noone but themselves.

But it can all lead to psychological issues, which can also lead to that kind of behavior in the longer term.

 

[MK Shrimper]

But it can all lead to psychological issues, which can also lead to that kind of behavior in the longer term.

They can occur without them too. Who knows if those who have exhibited psychotic episodes after consuming drugs would have developed these regardless?

The crux of the matter is that millions of people take illegal drugs every week and the vast majority of users suffer no side effects or cause harm to others, especially those who consume soft drugs, but yet we'll throw millions of pounds at prohibition when it clearly has little, if any effect.

 

[callan]

They can occur without them too. Who knows if those who have exhibited psychotic episodes after consuming drugs would have developed these regardless?

The crux of the matter is that millions of people take illegal drugs every week and the vast majority of users suffer no side effects or cause harm to others, especially those who consume soft drugs, but yet we'll throw millions of pounds at prohibition when it clearly has little, if any effect.

Is your argument based on alcohols bad so soft drugs are good?

 

[MK Shrimper]

Is your argument based on alcohols bad so soft drugs are good?

That has been argued by Dr. David Nutt, though "bad" and "good" are subjective terms. Ranks of harm to society and the individual are more apt.

Lets face it, in some states in the USA cannabis is legal, its going to be legal in Canada. These are major western powers who have seen that the prohibition ban is inneffective and pointless for a plant that grows in the dirt.

 

[callan]

That has been argued by Dr. David Nutt, though "bad" and "good" are subjective terms. Ranks of harm to society and the individual are more apt.

So if I'm understanding you correctly you are arguing alcohol causes more harm to society (I agree) than say cannabis...and therefore an enlightened society would legalize the latter as it causes less harm than the former?