peeriebryan Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 I have just read an article on the BBC website which reports that the government are considering returning cannabis to a class B drug, 2 years after downgrading it to class C. This appears to fly in the face of research, much of it conducted by the Labour government itself, which had earlier recommended the decriminalisation of cannabis and approved public trials of its medicinal properties. Their apparent reasoning is that there is unproven potential for a minority of users to have an increaced risk of developing mental health problems. Does this mean that cannabis users may again be facing a maximum 14 year prison sentence rather than the slap on the wrist which has become commonplace in most areas of the UK. Remember that this follows last year's legislation which put magic mushrooms in the same class as heroin Here's a few links to some interesting articles on the subject - U.K. Leans Towards Stiffer Penalties for Cannabis Smokers - Police chief says cannabis proposals far too lenient - Blair plans U-turn on cannabis - Sting leads campaign against Blair's plan to reclassify cannabis - Cannabis medication 'turned my mum into a stranger' - Cannabis: The final word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowe Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 If cannabis was legal and the government could get tax money from the sale of it they wouldn't care if it had proven negative side effects or even if it could be fatal for users. Alcohol and tobacco are both drugs that are proven to seriously harm or kill people but they remain as legal as ever. Perhaps the tax money from these two all goes towards the health service to treat smoking and drink related illnesses. If that is the case then surely it would make sense to the government to make money from the legal sale of cannabis since it's use wouldn't result in illness and over crowded hospitals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFly Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 It's a shame that the real issues are being ignored in favour of the myths and hysteria being peddled by the red tops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distortio Posted January 22, 2006 Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 big influential pharma companies won't want pot legalized as they can't patent it. much better for them if they can just stick some random plant extracts in a pill, commission some 'research', package it up nice, and flog it as a new wonder drug. the legal drugs, alcohol & tobacco are the only ones that'll kill you if you use them properly. incidentally, guess who stands to make a mint from the current strain of hysteria...? http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0511/S00016.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriebryan Posted January 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 So the government have decided not to re-re-classify cannabis (article), but they've announced a review of the current drug classification system (article). Lets hope for a bit of progressive thinking, rather than the moralistic dogma and political point scoring which has driven much of the previous debate on drugs It's a shame that the real issues are being ignored in favour of the myths and hysteria being peddled by the red tops...... just like everything other issue the red tops cover incidentally, guess who stands to make a mint from the current strain of hysteria...? http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0511/S00016.htmThat's quite a worrying article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 I occasionally drink, I stopped smoking years ago and I don't do (illegal) drugs but I've always found the way that one legal drug (alchohol) is so widely advertised but another (tobacco) isn't a bit odd. Add to this the fact that yet another (cannabis) is illegal given the fact that as far as I can see alcohol is generally the most abused of the 3 and is therefore at least as dangerous and damaging if not more so. OK, so fags aren't good for your health and shouldn't be advertised fairysnuff. But alchohol advertising should also be banned. And has cannabis proven to be any more dangerous than alchohol? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 The empirical evidence would seem to suggest that in contrast to both alcohol and tobacco, no-one has ever died as a direct result of using cannabis. The origin of the recent governmental turmoil stems from speculated links between cannabis usage and mental health issues and possibly cancer. There seems to be no direct way of separating this hypothesis from the possibility that the health issues may be inherent in the individual regardless of usage, and may just be aggravated by usage. In direct contrast to this, there may be strong evidence to suggest that cannabis is sometimes used to 'self-medicate' in a therapeutic fashion. The other factor in these studies is the alledged existance of new super-strains of marijuana and it's derivatives which may be accentuating these issues more so than ever before. Also the unscrupulous cultivation and manufacture of cannabis bearing plants, using harmful pesticides or additives. A problem avoidable by statue regulation, or individual cultivation. In comparison to alcohol consumption and mental health issues the cannabis debate takes on a decidedly more positive light, as alcohol is almost invariably destructive , unless taken in smaller quantities than prevalent in our culture, and even then, it is still a depressant. The golden rule throughout the cannabis and alcohol debates can only be- "All things in moderation". As for tobacco, there is no positive light. The greater mystery is that with GM crops being 'perfected', why has no-one developed a nicotine or tar free tobacco plant. We have de-caf coffee, tea, fat-free cakes, organic meat and fish, polyunsaturated-cholestrol-lowering spreads, how have they missed the marketing opportunity for cancer free cigarettes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 What is the point of making another drug almost legal? I think that the government should deal with the problems created by Alcoholism and Tobacco before they go legalising another 'stupid' drug. Cannabis gives you something to do when you are bored, but it is when you are bored that you should be using that time to learn new skills, or write a novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriebryan Posted January 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 Cannabis gives you something to do when you are boredIs it not the same for all activities/hobbies. TV gives you something to do when you are bored and the negative impact it has had on the nations health is well documented. Make that illegal too you should be using that time to learn new skills, or write a novel.Many a literary genius has partaken in drugs. And most of the bands you mention on this forum use cannabis regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 Many a literary genius has partaken in drugs. And most of the bands you mention on this forum use cannabis regularly. I'm aware of that, but if we use Les Claypool as the eggsample, he stopped in 1999, before antipop. Since then we've had Antipop (Primus) which was amazing, Grand Pecking Order (Oysterhead), his best solo project), Purple Onion (Frog Brigade), the second best side project CD he's done, Live Frogs 1 & 2 (Frog Brigade) amazing live album with immaculate covers on number 2, Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People (Primus), a wonderful little CD and of course, Colonel Claypool's Bucket Of Bernie Brains (C2B3), which is one of the most creative and brilliant albums I have heard for a while. So it almost seems like he's got better since. Is it not the same for all activities/hobbies. TV gives you something to do when you are bored and the negative impact it has had on the nations health is well documented. Make that illegal too Yeah, but cannabis does give you the news, recipies or porno, if you're into that kinda thing. TV's are used positively, whereas cannabis is only used through boredom and creativety. People say to me "The only way to like pink floyd is on drugs", which I think is sprootle. If you can only appreciate a band when you are having a brain dance, maybe thats not such a good band then. Oh no I've gone cock eyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim-jam Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 whereas cannabis is only used through boredom and creativety.I think it is very naïve to suggest that people only use cannabis because they are bored. There is a huge body of evidence to suggest that there are numerous reasons why people use 'soft' recreational drugs including alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. Then you seem to contradict yourself by saying, as far as I can deduce from your post, that people use it for creative purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFly Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I can't believe your using Les bloody Claypool as a shining example of the creative pros and cons of using drugs. Couldn't you have thought of someone who actually mattered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 its elegal drug no mater what class it is - if you brake the law you take the punishment. its quite black and white to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim-jam Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 its elegal drug no mater what class it is - if you brake the law you take the punishment. its quite black and white to meI think the debate is on what level of crimminality, if any, should be attatched to cannabis possesion. I don't think the cannabis issue is 'black and white' by any means. Surely we shouldn't unquestionongly accept every law that the government forces on us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFly Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Surely we shouldn't unquestionongly accept every law that the government forces on us. Damn right jim-jam! Some people seem to have forgotten that governments are there to serve the interests of a nations people, not the other way round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.