Cannabis is illegal yet we have really strong 'legal highs' ?

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qwerty7

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#119137 21-May-2013 21:15

Cannabis is illegal yet we have synthetic legal highs with who knows what in them, which are causing a whole range of problems and can be purchased anywhere. There is even a legal high called 'crack' which is a white powder and it comes with a glass pipe which you pour the powder in and smoke it like p. How does it make sense that all this cr*p is legal, yet cannabis is illegal?

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#823207 21-May-2013 21:43

Well, it's not legal anymore!
There's lots of studies about actual cannabis vs none for the legal highs and it looks like pot is probably less worse for you (or better medicinally) than the "legal" stuff.

oxnsox

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#823226 21-May-2013 22:00

It simply hasn't been made illegal. .. (therefore it must be legal), and because it's hard to define, it will stay that way till the law changes in August.

GBristow

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#823241 21-May-2013 22:16

And now Dunne's new law is going to make drugs a priori illegal. They must be proven non-harmful before they can be scheduled. Yet he makes explicit exceptions for tobacco and alcohol and makes absolutely no explanation for this. It's hypocritical. If legality is based on harm then such laws should be applied to all drugs. Marijuana and MDMA is by far least harmful.

kyhwana2

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#823243 21-May-2013 22:20

Oh man, if the new laws applied alcohol and tabacco they'd be hella-banned as well..

DonGould

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#823244 21-May-2013 22:20

qwerty7: Cannabis is illegal yet we have synthetic legal highs with who knows what in them, which are causing a whole range of problems and can be purchased anywhere. There is even a legal high called 'crack' which is a white powder and it comes with a glass pipe which you pour the powder in and smoke it like p. How does it make sense that all this cr*p is legal, yet cannabis is illegal?

What did your local MP say when you put this to them?

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#823246 21-May-2013 22:24

Banning tobacco and alcohol would be a sure fire way for an MP to lose their job at next election

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tdgeek

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#823251 21-May-2013 22:31

GBristow: Yet he makes explicit exceptions for tobacco and alcohol and makes absolutely no explanation for this. It's hypocritical. If legality is based on harm then such laws should be applied to all drugs.

I like a beer or a bourbon, but you are right, they are legal drugs. Can damage health, can and do cause death and injury, albeit often to innocent third parties, which is worse than traditional drugs which have more self harm aspects than alcohol.

plod

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#823254 21-May-2013 22:32

GBristow: And now Dunne's new law is going to make drugs a priori illegal. They must be proven non-harmful before they can be scheduled. Yet he makes explicit exceptions for tobacco and alcohol and makes absolutely no explanation for this. It's hypocritical. If legality is based on harm then such laws should be applied to all drugs. Marijuana and MDMA is by far least harmful.

just wait till some smart person has the money to prove pot is not harmful.

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#823261 21-May-2013 23:01

qwerty7: Cannabis is illegal yet we have synthetic legal highs with who knows what in them, which are causing a whole range of problems and can be purchased anywhere. There is even a legal high called 'crack' which is a white powder and it comes with a glass pipe which you pour the powder in and smoke it like p. How does it make sense that all this cr*p is legal, yet cannabis is illegal?

are you trying to make an argument for cannabis being legal? there are a few studies now that give credibility to the supposition that regular cannabis use leads to much higher rates of depression, anxiety and even psychotic disorders.

knowing quite a few people that suffer from these conditions and seeing the way it can impact lives and families, i wouldn't be voting it legal any time soon....

mental health issues don't just affect the person who has them, they can mess up entire families both mentally and financially. if cannabis lead to the developing of these conditions, then you cannot say that a person taking it is a 'victim-less' crime.

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#823275 21-May-2013 23:25

plod:
GBristow: And now Dunne's new law is going to make drugs a priori illegal. They must be proven non-harmful before they can be scheduled. Yet he makes explicit exceptions for tobacco and alcohol and makes absolutely no explanation for this. It's hypocritical. If legality is based on harm then such laws should be applied to all drugs. Marijuana and MDMA is by far least harmful.
just wait till some smart person has the money to prove pot is not harmful.

LOL What a ridiculous statement, you don't think plenty of smart and or rich people haven't tried?

Drugs are bad mkay?

kiwijunglist

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#823276 21-May-2013 23:26

You can put solvents or butane in a bag and get high if you want to. There are 100s of 'legal' ways to get high and destroy your brain.

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Dratsab

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#823286 21-May-2013 23:54

tdgeek: I like a beer or a bourbon, but you are right, they are legal drugs. Can damage health, can and do cause death and injury, albeit often to innocent third parties, which is worse than traditional drugs which have more self harm aspects than alcohol.

Only when viewed from the perspective of the end (l)user. I've seen a metric s**tload of results of standovers, "taxings", deals gone bad, takeovers etc. You need to look at the bigger picture.

qwerty7

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#823303 22-May-2013 00:25

DonGould:
qwerty7: Cannabis is illegal yet we have synthetic legal highs with who knows what in them, which are causing a whole range of problems and can be purchased anywhere. There is even a legal high called 'crack' which is a white powder and it comes with a glass pipe which you pour the powder in and smoke it like p. How does it make sense that all this cr*p is legal, yet cannabis is illegal?

What did your local MP say when you put this to them?

I get your point but I see writing to the local mp a complete waste of time and don't believe they would care about one persons opinion.

I do not believe cannabis should be legal, but I do believe it should be decriminalized.

Regs:
qwerty7: Cannabis is illegal yet we have synthetic legal highs with who knows what in them, which are causing a whole range of problems and can be purchased anywhere. There is even a legal high called 'crack' which is a white powder and it comes with a glass pipe which you pour the powder in and smoke it like p. How does it make sense that all this cr*p is legal, yet cannabis is illegal?

are you trying to make an argument for cannabis being legal? there are a few studies now that give credibility to the supposition that regular cannabis use leads to much higher rates of depression, anxiety and even psychotic disorders.

knowing quite a few people that suffer from these conditions and seeing the way it can impact lives and families, i wouldn't be voting it legal any time soon....

mental health issues don't just affect the person who has them, they can mess up entire families both mentally and financially. if cannabis lead to the developing of these conditions, then you cannot say that a person taking it is a 'victim-less' crime.

So can alcohol. Not being unsympathetic but there are a million and one other things that can lead to these issues aswell and I don't believe that is grounds to effect the legality for the majority of the population. I would also question whether the two were directly related in the first place. Or it just happens to be the type of person who would smoke cannabis regularly in the first place is more likely to get depressed. Some people get high several times a day. What are they escaping from?

1080p

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#823304 22-May-2013 00:26

Dratsab:
tdgeek: I like a beer or a bourbon, but you are right, they are legal drugs. Can damage health, can and do cause death and injury, albeit often to innocent third parties, which is worse than traditional drugs which have more self harm aspects than alcohol.

Only when viewed from the perspective of the end (l)user. I've seen a metric s**tload of results of standovers, "taxings", deals gone bad, takeovers etc. You need to look at the bigger picture.

Which would all continue if the illegality was removed and they were sold in regular stores?

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#823305 22-May-2013 00:33

Regs:
qwerty7: Cannabis is illegal yet we have synthetic legal highs with who knows what in them, which are causing a whole range of problems and can be purchased anywhere. There is even a legal high called 'crack' which is a white powder and it comes with a glass pipe which you pour the powder in and smoke it like p. How does it make sense that all this cr*p is legal, yet cannabis is illegal?

are you trying to make an argument for cannabis being legal? there are a few studies now that give credibility to the supposition that regular cannabis use leads to much higher rates of depression, anxiety and even psychotic disorders.

knowing quite a few people that suffer from these conditions and seeing the way it can impact lives and families, i wouldn't be voting it legal any time soon....

mental health issues don't just affect the person who has them, they can mess up entire families both mentally and financially. if cannabis lead to the developing of these conditions, then you cannot say that a person taking it is a 'victim-less' crime.

Alcohol and tobacco are far far worse to an individual's health, to society and are a massive economic burden. The harm caused by cannabis is much much less and no legit unbiased study you can show me will refute that. It is my right to choose whether or not I want to use any of these. The incidence of the disorders you mention is barely significantly higher in cannabis smokers than the general public. The people affected are usually genetically predisposed or heavy users. Used responsibly, cannabis is an extremely safe intoxicant. MDMA is also a very low risk substance if used responsibly but yes there can be adverse effects. These are but a tiny shadow of what alcohol and tobacco do. I always liked the following quote from the editor of the world's most prestigious medical journal

“The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health” - Editor of The Lancet (Nov 11, 1995)

The war on cannabis is a massive ridiculous failure but very few politicians are going to do anything about it. Unfortunately the general public believes the anti cannabis propaganda and lies that are spread by the uninformed, those on personal crusades and those with a vested interest in the drug being banned (which is why it was banned in the first place).

I agree that the nasty "legal high" filth that is unfortunately called "synthetic cannabis" should be banned from sale. If personal cannabis use was not a criminal matter, there would be no demand for it. It should be a health and education issue, not a criminal one. In Portugal they decriminalised possession of small amounts of ALL drugs and crime went down, drug-related disease rates went down, drug use went down even among youth, state spending on enforcement went down and police were able to focus on dealers and other serious crime. Don't expect the same around here with the likes of Dunne and Anderton on their ill informed crusades against all drugs (except good old booze and fags of course!)

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