Should drugs be legalised?

[ladyfootballer]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/26/bad-science-sniffer-dog-theory

 

After all that money raising as well.....................................!

[Baron Farkoff]

so many dogs, so few recipes.

[xoni]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7384717343852310100#

 

interesting documentary.

 

The Swiss legalised Heroin for addicts then saw the number of addicts drop by 90 percent...

[mogling]

No disrespect to all the people who fundraised so hard to pay for Shetland's drug sniffer dogs, and continue to work hard in the belief they are helping prevent our youth 'turning to drugs' but, I feel it's time to get rid of the dogs now.

 

I had a chap in my house about 4 years ago who predicted then, that we were going to have a massive heroin problem in the years to come.

He was saying then that it was almost impossible to get hold of any hash / Cannabis. Folk were asking their usual supplier for a wee bit of hash, and were being told there was very little getting into Shetland because of the Drug Dogs, but you could buy as much Heroin as you wanted! He predicted then, that youngsters would buy whatever was available cheap, and we'd end up with lots of Heroin addicts...

 

Cannabis / Hash / Grass/ Marijuana has a strong smell and is easily detectable whereas heroin, cocaine, LSD, Ecstasy etc are far easier to smuggle in in smaller amounts and far easier to disguise any smell of past the dogs.

 

Now Orkney does not have a huge Heroin problem, and, they are closer to the Mainland. What's the difference? They don't have sniffer dogs.

 

Cannabis is far less harmful than heroin, cocaine, acid etc, not addictive, and probably less dangerous than alcohol too. Cannabinoids are prescribed on the NHS for various conditions.

 

Perhaps, if we retired the drugs dogs, and allowed more cannabis to come into Shetland, we might see a drop in the numbers of new Heroin users developing habits?

[Ghostrider]

^^ Heroin has been in Shetland for at least in excess of 30 years, albeit very much a case of who you knew that knew somebody that knew who to talk to for the first two decades of that, its only within the last decade that its become a "problem". Which, right enough coincides with the dogs becoming active, but on the other hand, in all probability we were due something of a surge in usage anyway dogs or no dogs, it was predicted. "Problem" usage was steadily drifting north the country, by the 90's there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth in sundry "hotspots" in northern Scotland over it, and some predicted we'd be next.

 

Whether the dogs caused the surge here, or whether it would have happened anyway, or whether the dogs simply made a bad thing worse, is pointless to debate, and would just end up being a bone of contention that distracts from, polarises and promotes inertia towards the main issue if it was. I agree there's little doubt that the dogs, unfortunately, have not even begun to live up to the hype that preceded them, they need to be quietly retired to free up the resources they are using without results, so that those can be used to try something else.

 

The dogs were sold to those who bought it as a good idea, but its not delivered, the problem is here, they have not prevented it occuring. And now that it is here, their role is even less justifiable, as it really does not matter in such a small and finite potential user base whether you have a few suppliers or many, not every consignment can be prevented from getting in and one or two suppliers are perfectly capable of covering the market. At the stage its at, everybody who might have an interest to try something knows at least one person on sight who if they cannot "help" directly, know others who can. The Police heartily congratulate themselves whenever they chalk up another bust, and no doubt some in the "anti" camp "celebrate" in some way too, but in a small place like this every name that ends up in court probably does almost as much "harm" as "good", as it is one more name for anyone not using, but curious to try and wanting a lead, to talk to.

[OP8S]

Yes all drugs should be legalised, it's a matter of regulation & distribution though. I can't see buying a q of weed from Universal stores as being any worse than buying a bottle of whiskey from tescos. As long as prove of age was shown & it was a personal amount.

Harder drugs I think would be beter dealt with by a quallified health proffessional such as a GP or Nurse. They could give you a medical ( few quid in the bank for our N.H.S ) just to make sure that you didn't have any exsisting health issues that may be aggravated by your chosen drug, fill in a disclaimer, if needed your health proffessional could give you advice on the safest way to use the drug & then pop down to your local chemist to get your couple of e's, gram of coke whatever. Of course it's all pharmacuetically made so your coke or whatever probably would last you several times longer than the plant food that is now being sold to people in their 20's who have probably never tried cocaine before, but believe that's what it is because it's all they've ever known !

How can things get any worse than that ?! It really emphasises the point about what a shambles the British Drug Policy is. People putting stuff up their noses which is plant food & has quite a nasty effect on the persons body. A gram of pharmecuetical cocaine could never do that to somebody.

If your GP / Nurse notices any sign of the substance having a negative effect on your life or they think you may be visiting them to often then it would be up to them whether they gave you the prescription or not.

I don't think that people would have a problem paying a fee for the prescription, even £20 per prescription would save most drug users a fortune & they would get pharmacuetical quality drugs. It would blow the whole black market out of the water, who's going to buy cocaine that's 10-15% pure for £40-50 when they can get the real stuff from the chemists.

As for physically addictive drugs like opiates, GP's already prescribe substitution prescriptions. Though legally they cannot prescribe diamorhine without Home Office consent.

The whole issue of substance use / abuse needs to be brought up to date in this country, as usual countries like Germany, Switzerland, Portugal are miles ahead of us in understanding the problems surrounding drug use...& the pleasures to of course.

We can't rely on our Government to make any logical policy changes when they don't listen to their own experts & have just abolished The National Treatment Association !

So where do we go from here ? My letter is in the post to old Tavish, the lib / dems seemed to have the most sensible approach to drug treatment/ policy at the time of the election...but didn't they promise students something as well...

[xoni]

^Really couldn’t agree with you more OP8S, trouble is the Gov appear to feel the need to placate the ignorant Sun readers of Blighty and consequently bend to the mass hysteria/propaganda created though their lack of education on the subject.

 

Giving people the real facts is the only way to turn things around, which is going to be difficult job in itself because our archaic laws on drugs mean so many non drug users have now have been touched by the negative aspects of substance abuse be it through a loved one dying or by being a victim of drug related crime.

 

Of course when something touches your life in a personal way then your opinion is biased, I believe the statistics are something like 70% of all people in jail in the UK are there through some kind of drug related crime. Joe public needs to know the vast majority of this is preventable if the powers that be would simply grow a pair!

[Guest Anonymous]

so giving folks pure opiates is the answer, my god why couldn't we see this before? get the wasters wrecked for next to nothing on a smaller amount of drug and all our problems are solved. you obviously don't know anyone who takes drugs if you think this will make the wasters among them become upstanding members of the community. wasters are wasters and give them an excuse to get wasted for nothing they will take it. some will work until they can afford to get wasted others will steal, those that work still have moral values and that is the only thing that stops them getting mired in addiction, making drugs cheaper, better and more easily available will do them no favours. those that steal will still steal if not to pay for the drugs then to get whatever else they want because why not, they want drugs we give it to them so when they want anything else we have given them the impression that they are entitled.

I agree that the present drug policy is severely flawed but handing out smack is not that answer.

[mhutch]

so giving folks pure opiates is the answer, my god why couldn't we see this before? get the wasters wrecked for next to nothing on a smaller amount of drug and all our problems are solved. you obviously don't know anyone who takes drugs if you think this will make the wasters among them become upstanding members of the community. wasters are wasters and give them an excuse to get wasted for nothing they will take it. some will work until they can afford to get wasted others will steal, those that work still have moral values and that is the only thing that stops them getting mired in addiction, making drugs cheaper, better and more easily available will do them no favours. those that steal will still steal if not to pay for the drugs then to get whatever else they want because why not, they want drugs we give it to them so when they want anything else we have given them the impression that they are entitled.

I agree that the present drug policy is severely flawed but handing out smack is not that answer.

 

all i want to know is why there were hardly any housebreakings before heroin n now theres plenty? , the opinionated youth today are no other as the opinionated youth has ever been but the morals they are dishing out these days are far higher stakes , i.e. the collapse of a semi orderly society , well batter on , go for it , it wont work in such a small place

[xoni]

^I have posted this elsewhere but Im going to pop it up again regardless. This short Doc his hosted by a Doctor who was part of Thatchers medical advisory team in the 1980s and directly addresses your questions bobdahog.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7384717343852310100#[/url][/code]

[mucklejo]

Well something certainly needs to be done. Another young life has just been lost to it. How many is that already this year?

[xoni]

Its exceptionally sad especially when you consider the majority of drug related deaths are caused by people trying to come clean off a substance and failing . Tollerance builds very quickly with opiates, they try and stop , go through withdrawl which is horrific , they have a weak moment and start taking again thinking thier body can still cope with the amounts they were taking prior to trying to go clean , of course by then thier tollerance had fallen again and they overdose.

 

If you think these people are enjoying thier addiction you couldnt be more wrong , people take drugs for a variety of reasons but mostly because they are blocking out pain, mentally or physically. On Heroin thier first hit takes all the pain away and gives them eurphoria , the second hit does the same , the third hit isnt as good and the forth isnt anywhere as good so they take more. Realising they cant afford this or cant keep increasing the amount they take they try and come off and they get sick physically so they take again and that makes them feel like they did before they ever took it in the first place...so they stop again, get sick again , take it again just to feel normal and so the pattern continues. It's actually that Fast.

 

Police hold up thier hands and know they are losing the battle against drugs ,for every supplier they arrest another steps up to take thier place because there is a fortune to be made. Its not a case of stopping supply its a case of stopping demand , and thats never going to happen. Like it or not this isnt going to change until the goverment address the issue , unfortunatley drugs policy isnt an election clincher and they are petrified even though they have hard evidence to show that legalizing drugs could save them up to 14billon.

 

 

Many families have lost loved ones and this could have been prevented by supplying addicts with the drug they need to feel -normal- instead of villifying them. If you were to say to an addict heres your drugs now keep that £100 in your pocket and spend it on food , rent , your family, there would be no NEED for them to commit the crimes. Come on folks this is just common sense.

 

And before anyone gets on thier high horse about this, keep in mind those of you who drink alcohol , under current legislation if booze was invented now it would no doubt be a class A substance and be illegal too.

 

The deffinition of maddess is repeating the same action over and over and expecting a different result. Its time for change.

[OP8S]

so giving folks pure opiates is the answer, my god why couldn't we see this before? get the wasters wrecked for next to nothing on a smaller amount of drug and all our problems are solved. you obviously don't know anyone who takes drugs if you think this will make the wasters among them become upstanding members of the community. wasters are wasters and give them an excuse to get wasted for nothing they will take it. some will work until they can afford to get wasted others will steal, those that work still have moral values and that is the only thing that stops them getting mired in addiction, making drugs cheaper, better and more easily available will do them no favours. those that steal will still steal if not to pay for the drugs then to get whatever else they want because why not, they want drugs we give it to them so when they want anything else we have given them the impression that they are entitled.

I agree that the present drug policy is severely flawed but handing out smack is not that answer.

On the contrary, bobdahog. I know hundreds if not thousands of drug users & am in constant communication with not only drug users but GP's, Nurses, drug-workers throughout the country. Drug use & addiction knows no class & a maintenance therapy allows thousands of people to carry out normal lives. One prescribing GP has several other healthcare workers that he prescribes for ( surely they can't be wasters...? ), another Nurse from a CDT down in England tells me that amongst his patients he has a couple of policemen & has even prescribed for a Vicar before. I don't think that you would call the police a bunch of wasters.

From reading your post it seems that you are the one that doesn't know his onions, exactly what is your definition of a waster ?

I would suggest that you at least research the kak that you are spouting off before typing it. The whole point of maintenence prescribing is to take the person back from the fringes of society & help them lead a normal life. Beyond the endless cycle of scoring drugs & having to commit crime to fund their habit. I hope that you do take the time to research this, your reply is just the sort of narrow minded, red-neck approach I was expecting. Please try & educate yourself.

As for the other replies, I am quietly pleased that the majority of folk can see sense & agree.

[Guest Anonymous]

yes yes life up here is so bad you need to get out your tree just to cope with the hardships, poor peerie soul me heart bleeds it truly does.

fact is as xoni says addiction to opiates is fast and every sausage we lugs knows that, just some are too stupid to think that reality applies to them, and you think mollycoddling is the answer, where as I think a good kick up the backside would be better.

Most if not all the folk I know that are on smack it was for recreation that they started working we the sharn and now it is messing up their lives as predicted when they first partook in their drug of choice you expect them to be given free smack for the rest of their lives free at our expense. get a grip o desel boy.

I enjoy a few beers of a night yet still manage to get to me work but if I decide to steal the beer instead of buying it then under your utopian policy it should then be provided to me for free thus maintaining my habit at your expense.

Fact is I need a drink of a night just to blot out the crap spouted by your lot

[mhutch]

yes yes life up here is so bad you need to get out your tree just to cope with the hardships, poor peerie soul me heart bleeds it truly does.

fact is as xoni says addiction to opiates is fast and every sausage we lugs knows that, just some are too stupid to think that reality applies to them, and you think mollycoddling is the answer, where as I think a good kick up the backside would be better.

Most if not all the folk I know that are on smack it was for recreation that they started working we the sharn and now it is messing up their lives as predicted when they first partook in their drug of choice you expect them to be given free smack for the rest of their lives free at our expense. get a grip o desel boy.

I enjoy a few beers of a night yet still manage to get to me work but if I decide to steal the beer instead of buying it then under your utopian policy it should then be provided to me for free thus maintaining my habit at your expense.

Fact is I need a drink of a night just to blot out the crap spouted by your lot

 

whole hearted agreement , not that i bother wi the beer either