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Should drugs be legalised?


Should drugs be legalised?  

193 members have voted

  1. 1. Should drugs be legalised?

    • Yes
      74
    • No
      86
    • Its not a yes/no question
      43
    • Undecided
      2


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Do you think that if smoking was illegal it would have been equally possible to create this change in attitude?

 

Not sure what your asking, are you suggesting that since smoking is legal we are in more control of how the public views smoking?

 

I think that if smoking tobacco was made illegal the public attitude would turn against it eventually. Would the political will to enforce such a ban last long enough for attitutes to change is a different question. I don't think there is a government brave enough to try it though, and if they did, they probably would be out of a job pretty quick.

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Not sure what your asking, are you suggesting that since smoking is legal we are in more control of how the public views smoking?

 

Yes.

 

That being the case doesn't mean that we should legalize more drugs in the hope of turning people away from them. Illegal drugs are already less acceptable than smoking and as Fjool says:

The public attitude is, in general, already against smoking.

 

I believe someday that smoking tobacco will become illegal probably brought about by some health and safety legislation making it impossible for companies to get public liablity insurance to produce or sell it. Maybe a long way off, but some day.

 

Legalizing other recreational drugs now will just be something else to ban further down the road, by which time it'll be harder to ban than it is to just leave it illegal now.

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Drug user/addicts ARE nutters. No question, no doubt, absolutely, 100% are nutters (i can think of betters names for them however). Anybody that thinks otherwise - i.e. they can abuse illegal (and they are illegal for a reason) sustances, abuse their bodies, engage in illegal activities to fund addiction and generally remove themselves from human civilized society are the people that need to join the real world....Drug takers will kill themselves off one at a time (destroying families as they go) and to be brutal about it, i say let them - survival of the smartest.

 

In my opinion, when you volunteer yourself to illegal drugs you give up your rights to be treated the same as the rest of the law abiding public.

 

Prescribed drugs and those from the chemist come with proper instructions for safe usage - don't they? Follow the instructions and there is very little chance of problems. What kind of useage is safe for the 'recreational' drug being talked about?

 

What would you say to my friend who is in constant pain due a muscle wasting disease, who has tried various prescribed medication to no avail. Upon the recommendation of another individual with the same disease they tried cannabis and found it to provide effective temporary respite from their pain. They now grow some cannabis plants for their own consumption. The individual in question is hardly able to get up from a chair, let alone commit crime to feed a drug habit

 

Drug user/addicts ARE nutters. No question, no doubt, absolutely, 100% are nutters
Do you think my friend is a nutter because they choose to grow and smoke some plants which alleviates their suffering? Why would that make them a nutter?

 

when you volunteer yourself to illegal drugs you give up your rights to be treated the same as the rest of the law abiding public
Personally, I believe my friend has every right to be treated the same as everybody else. You obviously disagree

 

The person I speak of is in every other aspect of their life a law abiding citizen who is constantly troubled by the morality of breaking the law. Attitudes like yours serve to compound their troubled conscience. It may be wise to avoid lumping all drugs and all drug users together

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Very well said peerie brian , at the same time I would like to apologize to sudden stop for calling him narrow minded and it was wrong and childish of me to suggest he take some Lsd to loosen his mind up a bit..

Although having experimented with illegal substances , i have never been concerned in there supply and I have never encouraged it in people who dont want to take it, at the same time i have met thousands of people now who have willingly used a variety of illegal drugs recreationally , i have met them through working , holiday's and of the several music festivals i have attended both here, britain and in mainland europe, Ihave quite literally been in the company of hundred of thousands if not millions of people over the years all taking part in using somthing or other to alter there state of consciousness and generally relax and have a good time.

The worst trouble I have seen throughout that time.... is definately the mindless violence carried out on the streets of lerwick by people pished and unable to control there basic emotions.

What I am trying to say to sudden stop is you simply dont have the whole picture , your views on this matter have become firmly entrenched , probably by the years of indoctrination issued by government statements and certain parts of the media .

By reading some of your previous posts since this little debate started , it seems to me you just chose to ignore any fact that doesn't agree with your way of thinking.

But this is the fact sudden stop , drugs are here on the streets of britain and widly available.

the illegal drug industry is huge! it is definately up there with the big ones , Oil , sex ,arms (guns etc) , drugs ,

Its a multi £billion industry and remember sudden stop its controlled by criminal's, criminal organisations and terrorists organizations .

Perhaps you could seal the borders from drugs if the politica & publicl will was there?

Yes , but I believe it would be so costly it would bankrupt the country!

And then even that would not stop the drugs that are manufactured or grown within our borders!

No sudden stop the only way this country can win is to legalize , take the money out of the criminal & terrorists hands and then use the money they currently spend trying to enfoce this prohibition to educate the young , treat those who already have problems and ensure that those who will still take it .... and they will , that they recieve a prescribed pure product with safety instructions

As I said before also I have now given all the nonsense up and see it as a part of growing up , to me it's all part of the life experience and to the most part I very much enjoyed it.

Now a days ,like most of my contemporaries I am concentrating on my career and family life.

Remember sudden stop , not everyone who tries a drink turns into an alcoholic , you tried it and it kills more people in this country than all the Illegal drugs PUT TOGETHER!

And remember alcohol is probably legal because it is so dangerous , when it was illegal in america thousands died in terrible agony after drinking what was known as "boiler room gin" which basically burnt out there insides because it had not been distilled properly, those that survived were usually blinded , they had to legalise it to save lives!

On this issue sudden stop you have to learn to think outside the box.

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your views on this matter have become firmly entrenched , probably by the years of indoctrination issued by government statements and certain parts of the media .

By reading some of your previous posts since this little debate started , it seems to me you just chose to ignore any fact that doesn't agree with your way of thinking.

 

droiker - Yes my views on this matter are probably very entrenched, but they are my views. I would like to believe that I can make my own mind on things through my own experiences and that the Government doesn't just have me following along blindly, doing as i'm told. Unforunately for anybody trying to change my mind, my experiences, unlike yours...

The worst trouble I have seen throughout that time.... is definately the mindless violence carried out on the streets of lerwick by people pished and unable to control there basic emotions.

...have all involved people who rattle when they walk or are deluding themselves with the 'I can handle anything' and 'I'm not hurting anybody' attitutes. Alcohol is a huge problem too and causes so much illness and damage to families that I'm upset with the governement for not taking a stronger line on it.

 

 

peeriebryan You have my sincere apoligies to you and your friend. I would say again that these are my views and people should totally ignore me if I have caused offence. I have not had in mind people such as your friend and your right in saying that I shouldn't lump all drug users together.

 

That said, people such as your friend are very much in the minority of illegal drug users. The dangers involved with cannabis smoking would have to weighed against the pain relief properties. In such circumstances you have to accept the risk.

 

That people are using for pain relief doesn't mean that it should be legalized though. Again in my opinion.

 

My arguement is aimed at recreational drug users. We have enough problems with the side effects of drugs that are already legal.

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No offense taken Sudden Stop. I agree that using cannabis for pain relief wasn't what you were getting at. My point is that there is a huge gulf between (for example) someone who grows cannabis in the privacy of their home for their own consumption and someone who regularly commits crime to feed a heroin addiction. In theory, they're both 'druggies'

 

Many folk I know have no knowledge of differing types or classifications of illegal drugs and consider anyone who uses them for any reason to be 'druggies'

 

To use a (rather clumsy) analogy, I don't think that someone who gets a parking ticket should be lumped in with someone who is found guilty of wreckless or drunk driving simply because they've both commited driving offences

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Although there are people who perhaps should have the right to grow cannabis in their own home for the own pain relief in their own home, i still don't think it can be legalized. If there it could ever make it through clinical trials then perhaps some kind of prescription could be issued. The problem i see, as i've said before, is that prescription drugs have a safe dosage. The chemicals in cannabis remain in the body far longer than the effects last thus leaving gaps between each 'dose'. Not much use of pain relief.

 

The current level of classifaction is probably low enough that anybody who truely needs it can have it without fear of having their door broken down in the middle of the night, but people using it for no other reason than to get high, have to get it from somewhere and anybody concerned in the supply can still be prosecuted.

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If there it could ever make it through clinical trials then perhaps some kind of prescription could be issued. The problem i see, as i've said before, is that prescription drugs have a safe dosage

There government sanctioned clinical trials for the medicinal use of cannabis during the late 90s, with a view to establishing a 'safe dosage'. However, the government pulled the plug a few years later as a result of (in my not particulary well informed opinion) tabloid hysteria and a percieved public attitude that the establishment were 'soft on drugs'. Exactly the attitude that would be expected when all drugs and drug users are lumped together

 

Cannabis has been used for pain relief for as long as ther has been pain and cannabis. Perhaps it would be prudent for clinical trials to be resumed to establish exactly what a safe dose is?

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There government sanctioned clinical trials for the medicinal use of cannabis during the late 90s, with a view to establishing a 'safe dosage'. However, the government pulled the plug a few years later as a result of (in my not particulary well informed opinion) tabloid hysteria and a percieved public attitude that the establishment were 'soft on drugs'. Exactly the attitude that would be expected when all drugs and drug users are lumped together

 

Cannabis has been used for pain relief for as long as ther has been pain and cannabis. Perhaps it would be prudent for clinical trials to be resumed to establish exactly what a safe dose is?

 

Since it's classification has been reduced, there is perhaps scope for trials to resume. But again, there are risks with cannabis use, i don't know if it could make through to being medically approved. I know that in previous trials, it certainly has been found to relieve pain, there's no denying that, but the long term psychological problems associated with prolonged use, as a side effect, might be a show stopper.

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Keep them banned. Same with anything that's allegedly not good for your health. Ban pies. Ban sweeties. Ban Chips. Ban casual sex. Ban mobile phone usage. Ban anything that's "bad" for you (or even potentially bad). Hell, we should certainly ban work - that definitely can't be good for you. Then we'll all live happy, healthy lives, right?

 

Has it occurred to you at all that many people who take (or have taken) drugs may actually enjoy it? Everyone I know who's done drugs do it for fun.

 

(NOTE : except me - I would never admit to using drugs. Naturally a man of my calibre - a gentleman of high social standing,who commands the unswerving respect of all in the higher echelons of government and high society - must maintain a certain level of decorum... ;))

 

Anyhoo, as I was saying, these folk go back to their jobs on Monday and live regular lives. They're not shooting up in some high-rise squat with Zamo from Grange Hill, or prostituting themselves to feed some habit - they're just normal people who happen to occasionally enjoy drugs. The only real downside (for them) is the illegality of it.

 

Now, I'm not denying that drug addiction isn't a problem for some (like alcohol addiction), and I would certainly be highly concerned about the mental health of anyone who decided to inject them selves with, well, anything really, but my point is this : until people cease with the lie that all drugs are evil bringers of death and that all who partake are "nutters", then any message on drug awareness is going to be completely lost.

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Has it never occurred to you that many people who take or have taken drugs actually enjoyed it? Everyone I know who's done drugs do it for fun

 

...they're just regular people who happen to occasionally enjoy drugs. They only real downside (for them) is the illegality of it.

 

I'm well aware that people enjoy it, why the else would they be doing it? There are lots of illegal activities that some individuals enjoy and in each case there is a law for a reason. Do you think the drug laws as purely spoil-sport laws, just there to stop people having fun?

 

People are killed by taking drugs, even just once. Now i'm sure that some will say that if you legalize things you can control and ensure quality, and that everything will be great and the dodgy batches of chemicals that kill folk will disapear. If it was that simply, why hasn't the government done so, think of all the tax revenue they are missing out on.

 

Will someone on the pro-legalization side please tell me why they think these drugs are illegal in the first place?

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I had to laugh the other day when reading an article on the police appealing to cannabis users to stop as they were funding criminal organisations and murderers all around the world. Every single chonger was thinking 'Aye! So change the bloody law then, and the government can make money from us instead!'

 

Suddenstop, the law as it stands does not work in the slightest, it doesn't really matter what reasons they had for making them illegal.

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