[later12]

Is there scope on boards for a recreational drug discussion forum? (Public or private.) I think it's important to be realistic about the fact that people use recreational drugs in their everyday lives, and a discussion forum on the topic could facilitate more responsible and informed drug usage.

A boards.ie search tells me this has been turned down in the past, but is there any chance that the policy on this one can change? Posters are using recreational drugs; I don't think a forum is going to alter that, but it might encourage a better and safer use of these drugs.

[silja]

What kind of drugs? I'd be concerned regarding legal issues.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

request for boards legal high forum.. take seventeen


anyway, private or public if this forum gets created joe duffy will be all up in our **** in a heartbeat.
-1

[Fysh]

I think it'd have to be a private forum if it was going to be even remotely feasible from a legal perspective, which would defeat any potential benefit in terms of informed guidance and advice on the topic.

Even as a private forum, people aren't going to change their recreational drug usage habits because of the existence of a forum any more than they stop smoking because of the warnings on fag packets. More likely it'd end up a place where you get a combination of:

• folks calling for the legalisation of $DRUG
• asking each other where to score X/what's a good price for Y/Is it true if I take Z my mickey'll fall off/what stuff can I take to get high as a kite that's not yet banned
• a boatload of Howard Marks/Bill Hicks screencaps/image macros.

I don't particularly see any value in boards shouldering the not-inconsiderable legal risks of providing a venue for discussion of usage habits relating to banned substances.

-1

[later12]

Originally Posted by Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

request for boards legal high forum.. take seventeen

No it wasn't a request for a legal highs forum, but for illegal highs.

@Fysh, drug use is already openly discussed on AH.

As far as I am aware, this has been given the go-ahead of the management of the site, so long as there is no dealing, for example. I and many others have often discussed drug use in AH without any question of boards' responsibility for our actions outside of the site. Is there any specific legal reason or example why you think this should be a problem?

As for the people calling for legalisation of a drug, I don't think that's likely to be a problem. Obviously the forum would be private, and it would be slightly absurd to be 'preaching to the choir' so to speak, on that issue. In any case, that is easily managed by implementing provisions against it in the charter.

[Fysh]

Originally Posted by later12

@Fysh, drug use is already openly discussed on AH.

People may do it (and even get away with it) but that doesn't mean it's allowed. The AH charter includes a link to this post, from which I quote:

Originally Posted by dr.bollocko

The following are not permitted:

• Asking / telling where to buy drugs.
• Asking / telling how to take drugs.
• Asking / telling how to grow drugs.
• Asking / telling how to get a fake ID.
• Advising other users to take drugs.

Note that these rules apply to both illegal drugs and the legal alternatives you can buy in head shops. The admins do not want to be held responsible for posts telling people where to get drugs of any kind. You can argue about the legality all you want as long as you abide by these rules.

So given that in AH, advice on how to get/obtain/take drugs (whether legal or illegal) is banned, exactly what aspect of allowed drug-related discussion is allowed that you see as being of sufficient interest to merit a forum? And why would the admins want the potential hassle & aggravation involved in being responsible for the existence of such a forum, whether private or public? As far as I can tell anything much beyond "I'm mangled on $DRUG right now, yay " would likely breach the rules or end with "We can't talk about that here".

[later12]

Originally Posted by Fysh

So given that in AH, advice on how to get/obtain/take drugs (whether legal or illegal) is banned, exactly what aspect of allowed drug-related discussion is allowed that you see as being of sufficient interest to merit a forum?

I'm not sure how often you read AH, but discussion of drug use can be pretty rampant on there and I've never seen it punished, even though it might have been banned in the charter 3 years ago...

Some recent examples...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showp...8&postcount=21
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2056617853
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showp...7&postcount=26
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2056548619

...you will find literally hundreds of threads and posts like these quick examples if you look in AH.

All I'm saying is that it's clearly tolerated; in fact, the AH charter does not prohibit the discussion of drug users' experiences. I'm certainly not proposing a drug dealing forum. I'm saying why not give users their own forum where people can discuss experiences in a mature way?

I do think the forum should be private in order to discourage minors.

[Fysh]

OK, I think you're maybe missing my point.

I don't post in AH and I tend to avoid it. It being probably the single most high-traffic segment of boards, it's always going to be tricky to catch every single infraction, especially if they go unreported.

However - the charter clearly state what you are not allowed to do. Someone having done it without punishment does not represent the overturning of that rule, it represents an instance in which the rule was not enforced.

Your OP states that the purpose of such a forum would be to encourage "better & safer use of these drugs". But that's clearly contrary to the stated rule about telling anyone how to take drugs. So to what extent can you usefully discuss your own experiences without crossing that line? Anything even remotely approaching a description of how you partake of $SUBSTANCE_X is going to be a description of how to take $SUBSTANCE_X.

So either you'd have an entire forum consisting of little more than "squidgy black, wheeeeeeee ", or you'd have a forum whose very existence (be it public or private) would paint a target on the entire site - because creating a space for discussion of illegal or potentially illegal activity will always attract the attention of the authorities. Just go and chat to the folks who publish 2600 if you don't believe me.

[later12]

Originally Posted by Fysh

However - the charter clearly state what you are not allowed to do.

Yeah and that doesn't include discussing one's experiences of usage or least/ most favourite drugs, which happens in AH at present.

Your OP states that the purpose of such a forum would be to encourage "better & safer use of these drugs". But that's clearly contrary to the stated rule about telling anyone how to take drugs.

So to what extent can you usefully discuss your own experiences without crossing that line? Anything even remotely approaching a description of how you partake of $SUBSTANCE_X is going to be a description of how to take $SUBSTANCE_X.

Eh, that rule exists in AH. AH is not the forum I am suggesting.

Obviously, a drug discussion forum would suggest things like how not to use a drug, for example.

[Zaph]

Originally Posted by later12

As far as I am aware, this has been given the go-ahead of the management of the site, so long as there is no dealing, for example.

Well then you're more aware of that than I am I have to say, as this isn't something that has been communicated to the admins.

Given that you're ascribing actions to the guys in the office that may or may not be true, I'm going to ask Dav to comment on this thread when he gets a chance.

[Dav]

Hey there,

I rarely post in the forum as I think it's important that the members of this site decide for themselves what they want to talk about, but in this instance I'm saying a definite no.

There are a few reasons for it, most of which are legal and moral and there are even some personal ones.

The "office" position has been that if someone admits to being a recreational drug user, we're not going to ban them for it or shop them to the police or anything like that, but we don't condone the "I smoke every day and I'm grand" or the Enhancement Smoker threads. I don't think there's anything to be gained in having a forum for this though - be it public or private. It's niche, it could be seen as condoning, it could also be seen as facilitating illegality - definitely not a good thing for us.

[later12]

I can definitely appreciate your concerns about facilitating something that is illegal Dav. However, just to confirm, the request was for a forum discussing experiences as currently happens in AH, and which doesn't appear to be against their charter.
As well as that, it could have been somewhere where people were warned against certain unsafe methods or highlighting instances of bad or contaminated drugs as occasionally published by the gardai themselves - for example in terms of the recent case where the twin brothers died in Limerick city.

I didn't start this thread to promote some "Delicious Drugs" free for all. All I'm saying is that users' experiences, side effects and 'bad batches' are already being discussed within the rules.

I do appreciate the worry of legal or reputational problems of having a forum dedicated to recreational drugs and safety. But then again not all of the private forums are exactly bastions of innocence or moral purity.