Cannabis should be legalized in Ireland To pull Our country out of ression

g5fd6ow0hseima

Itll be interesting hoq the current bill for legalisation and in California goes.

Sadly, Ireland will never take the initiative in areas like this. Especially with the British rescheduling it makes it all the more difficult to imagine Ireland changing their policy in any way. The one plant rule, now existant in a number of EU states, would be a good step to take, but we cannot ignore how much this would effect alcohol sales, and one cannot ignore the prominence of the alcohol industry in the continued prohibition of cannabis.

If the government observed all the Irish money being spend on cannabis in Holland, surely that might force a little re-think. Sadly though, with our politicians, tunnel vision prevails.

Fighting Irish

If cannabis was legalized would people convicted of cannabis related crime be allowed out of prison?

g5fd6ow0hseima

No reason why they shouldnt be. It would be of great relief to the prison system

SeanW

Miles Poor Tedium wrote: »

No reason why they shouldnt be. It would be of great relief to the prison system

Yes. One of the many benefits of marijuana legalisation would be the obscene amount of Gardai and prison-places freed up to deal with real criminals.

Absolute Zero

we really need to legalise cannibis here, like these hemp shops are all over ireland now and they are selling $hit that isisnt NATURAL, WEED is natural why is it illegal. It makes people happy and the people who smoke weed are usualy the happiest/ law abiding people i know. I can vouch for the fact that if it is legalised it will be much safer than alcohol and the effects on society will not be CLOSE to what alcohol has done.

I am a student of WIT and our christmsa day celebration this year was a joke in terms of damage done and arrests, why?? because of ALCOHOL and how our country lets this be sold when the effects of it obn society are so much worse than weed ever will be.

When me and my freinds smoke weed its just with ourselfs indoors and watching television and its a very relaxed environment, however when we drink alcohol or go out the town is left in a mess and fights usually happen.

These laws are so messed up, weed is totally safe, cancer usually comes from people smoking it with TOBBACO, which is very common in ireland/europe because of the illegality (sp??) of cannibis and the fact that people want to conserve as much of it as they can. We all know that ciggaretes which are commonly used to provide the tobbaco are some of the dirtiest things you can smoke and are full of cancer causing agents and nicotine the stuff that makes you addicited, You dont get addicited to weed you get addicted to nicotine that is added to it.

well knowing this country it wil never happen or else wont happen until the UK does it because we cant thnik for our selfs in this country and copy everything the UK does

Overheal

I can vouch for the fact that if it is legalised it will be much safer than alcohol and the effects on society will not be CLOSE to what alcohol has done.

You would need to provide some serious evidence to suggest Stoned-Driving was not as dangerous as Drunk Driving.

On a side note though, I would be morbidly interested in seeing what would happen to Ireland when it suddenly got off of the Drink (a Depressant) and onto the Weed (an Anti-Depressant).

terenc

Interesting,
Sad killings on the roads to happy killings on the roads, sorry to all the hash heads for demonising your beloved weed .

g5fd6ow0hseima

terenc wrote: »

Interesting,
Sad killings on the roads to happy killings on the roads, sorry to all the hash heads for demonising your beloved weed .

but hash heads dont smoke weed

Fighting Irish

SeanW wrote: »

Yes. One of the many benefits of marijuana legalisation would be the obscene amount of Gardai and prison-places freed up to deal with real criminals.

I meant people convicted before it became legal. Would their records be thrown out?

Zambia

Fighting Irish wrote: »

I meant people convicted before it became legal. Would their records be thrown out?

I dont think so. You get the record for breaking a law, if the law later is changed it makes no difference as at the time you did it it was illegal.

ejmaztec

If drugs weren't illegal, the drug barons wouldn't have made enough money to protect the world economy from total meltdown.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/dec/13/drug-money-banks-saved-un-cfief-claims

Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor


Drugs and crime chief says $352bn in criminal proceeds was effectively laundered by financial institutions

• Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer.

Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result.
This will raise questions about crime's influence on the economic system at times of crisis. It will also prompt further examination of the banking sector as world leaders, including Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, call for new International Monetary Fund regulations. Speaking from his office in Vienna, Costa said evidence that illegal money was being absorbed into the financial system was first drawn to his attention by intelligence agencies and prosecutors around 18 months ago. "In many instances, the money from drugs was the only liquid investment capital. In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system's main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor," he said.
Some of the evidence put before his office indicated that gang money was used to save some banks from collapse when lending seized up, he said.
"Inter-bank loans were funded by money that originated from the drugs trade and other illegal activities... There were signs that some banks were rescued that way." Costa declined to identify countries or banks that may have received any drugs money, saying that would be inappropriate because his office is supposed to address the problem, not apportion blame. But he said the money is now a part of the official system and had been effectively laundered.
"That was the moment [last year] when the system was basically paralysed because of the unwillingness of banks to lend money to one another. The progressive liquidisation to the system and the progressive improvement by some banks of their share values [has meant that] the problem [of illegal money] has become much less serious than it was," he said.
The IMF estimated that large US and European banks lost more than $1tn on toxic assets and from bad loans from January 2007 to September 2009 and more than 200 mortgage lenders went bankrupt. Many major institutions either failed, were acquired under duress, or were subject to government takeover.
Gangs are now believed to make most of their profits from the drugs trade and are estimated to be worth £352bn, the UN says. They have traditionally kept proceeds in cash or moved it offshore to hide it from the authorities. It is understood that evidence that drug money has flowed into banks came from officials in Britain, Switzerland, Italy and the US.
British bankers would want to see any evidence that Costa has to back his claims. A British Bankers' Association spokesman said: "We have not been party to any regulatory dialogue that would support a theory of this kind. There was clearly a lack of liquidity in the system and to a large degree this was filled by the intervention of central banks."

thebman

Yeah but the drugs trade money came from users so :-/

ejmaztec

thebman wrote: »

Yeah but the drugs trade money came from users so :-/

Yes, but the amount of cash in the global money supply wouldn't have been so vast. Had everything been legal, the Irish government for one, would have taken its cut, and would still have blown the money out of the door, with nothing to show for it.

Mossticles

No argument. Legalise for a more peaceful country. Far less fighting on the streets, warm Smoking Cafes where everyone is sharing a communal hobby, giggling with new friends. Not out on the street at 2am queuing up for chips and a burger in a line of drunken louts. A cafe full of laughter is far better than a noisy nightclub full of people skulling back shots of Tequila....I think.

Yixian

You know actually, legalising cannabis would probably have a big positive effect on tourism.

Zuiderzee

Mario007 wrote: »

with regards to holland they have a completely different system over there. their health system is best in the eu

Was - Balkenende is a fan of Thatcher/Regan and that has caused privitisation, cutbacks and problems - but still - even when you pay its cheaper than Ireland.
Lived there for 6 years.

With my work, Ive been to several hospitals, either for myself or with crewmembers.
French system is probably the best in the EU - Scandanavians not bad either.
NHS is also under-rated because of UKTV coverage, the system in general is superb in helping out of the norm cases like seafarers.

MaceFace

Are ya all mad?

Legalising weed? Have any of you being to Amsterdam? It is full of an unholy amount of European trash.
It is the only place in the world I have been where I heard open advertising for "Cocaine, Heroine, Ecstacy". Guys shouting it on the corners.
Do you think the criminals will fade away - no - they will just move on to something else (like the harder drugs).

And, who has ever gone to prison for canabis offenses?

pueblo

MaceFace wrote: »

And, who has ever gone to prison for canabis offenses?

Marc Emery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Emery

Yixian

MaceFace wrote: »

It is full of an unholy amount of European trash.
It is the only place in the world I have been where I heard open advertising for "Cocaine, Heroine, Ecstacy". Guys shouting it on the corners.

You talking about Limerick?

MaceFace

pueblo wrote: »

Marc Emery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Emery

Wow - someone in the States went to prison for it.
How about someone from this country?

whynotwhycanti

have you ever been to Amsterdam yourself i.e. outside of the red light district? There's no one offering you drugs there. You were maybe there for a satg or something, focused around the red light disrtict? Oh and it is the influx of foreigners who have caused this, not the Dutch themselves. Still though, all the stats from drug related crime to dependency show that the Dutch are in a far better position than ourselves. I won't even start on how efficient they are in other areas because it just makes us look like imbeciles.

Joey the lips

whynotwhycanti wrote: »

have you ever been to Amsterdam yourself i.e. outside of the red light district? There's no one offering you drugs there. You were maybe there for a satg or something, focused around the red light disrtict? Oh and it is the influx of foreigners who have caused this, not the Dutch themselves. Still though, all the stats from drug related crime to dependency show that the Dutch are in a far better position than ourselves. I won't even start on how efficient they are in other areas because it just makes us look like imbeciles.

Imbeciles.... and you want us to legalise drugs here...lmao..... seriously.....:D

whynotwhycanti

Joey the lips wrote: »

Imbeciles.... and you want us to legalise drugs here...lmao..... seriously.....:D

I don't understand?? Is that we are already imbeciles so if we legalise drugs we will be worse off? Is that what you are trying to say because you haven’t explained anything in your post, couple of words, not really connected. If we could be a fraction as good as the Dutch we would be in a far better situation than we are now. Whats the saying, if the Dutch lived in Ireland they would be a rich and prosperous nation, if the Irish lived in Holland it would be underwater (or something like that).

MaceFace

whynotwhycanti wrote: »

have you ever been to Amsterdam yourself i.e. outside of the red light district? There's no one offering you drugs there. You were maybe there for a satg or something, focused around the red light disrtict? Oh and it is the influx of foreigners who have caused this, not the Dutch themselves. Still though, all the stats from drug related crime to dependency show that the Dutch are in a far better position than ourselves. I won't even start on how efficient they are in other areas because it just makes us look like imbeciles.

Yes - I have been there two (or is it three) times. Neither was a stag, and the first was with a person who lived there for many years, so don't assume anything as will probably be wrong.
It was not in the red light district that I saw hard drugs openly for sale - it was down by the Vondel park direction (but not near it).

Your defense seems to be more of the Dutch being different than Irish which I would totally agree with, but this is nothing to do with legalised canibis. The Danes have a very similar mentality.

No matter where in the world drugs are legalised, it will attract the wrong crowd and that is not a place I would want to live.

whynotwhycanti

MaceFace wrote: »

Yes - I have been there two (or is it three) times. Neither was a stag, and the first was with a person who lived there for many years, so don't assume anything as will probably be wrong.
It was not in the red light district that I saw hard drugs openly for sale - it was down by the Vondel park direction (but not near it).

Your defense seems to be more of the Dutch being different than Irish which I would totally agree with, but this is nothing to do with legalised canibis. The Danes have a very similar mentality.

No matter where in the world drugs are legalised, it will attract the wrong crowd and that is not a place I would want to live.

Well i had used the word maybe to imply there was a possibility you had been there for a stag, so i wouldn't be presuming you had by directly stating it. Having been to Amsterdam myself on numerous occasions, i believe the red light district is horrendous but the situation outside of there involving drug pushers is no different to other big cities e.g golden gate park in san Francisco, many Spanish cities also.

The problem is though, and you say it yourself, you wouldn't want to live where drugs are legalised because of the crowds they attract. I do take it you live in Ireland though and alcohol, which is a drug, is legal and it can attract a very interesting crowd. For instance, the stags on a Saturday night in town leave alot to be desired. Have you ever driven through a city centre on a saturday night, its like night of the living dead. Zombies everywhere, people fighting, puking on streets, shouting. What i don't get and perhaps you could clear it up is that you don't want to live in a place where certain drugs are legal (weed) but are happy with other drugs being legal (alcohol)? Or maybe you would want alcohol to be illegal also? If that is the case, then fair enough, you have every right to argue against cannabis becoming legal but you cannot advocate once substance (alcohol) and condone another (cannabis).

MrWeedluv

cannabis should be legal

starbelgrade

MaceFace wrote: »

Have any of you being to Amsterdam? It is full of an unholy amount of European trash.

So THAT'S where they made "Eurothrash". Cheers!

33% God

MaceFace wrote: »

Are ya all mad?

Legalising weed? Have any of you being to Amsterdam? It is full of an unholy amount of European trash.

...I found its night scene to be a good deal more pleasent than Dublin's, certianly less drunken brawling.

It is the only place in the world I have been where I heard open advertising for "Cocaine, Heroine, Ecstacy". Guys shouting it on the corners.
Do you think the criminals will fade away - no - they will just move on to something else (like the harder drugs).

The solution there is to make them legal too.
Of course that's a long way into the future, but it's irrelevant. There is no other revenue stream as big as Cannabis. It's a billion dollar game for these people. Other drugs might bring in some cash but nowhere near the same amount because no other drug has the same usage rates that cannabis has. Plus people approach dealers to get cannabis and through those streams a small minority get into other drugs. Without cannabis they won't have the customers to sell the "harder" stuff to.

aurelius79

The vast majority of people on this island take drugs. Most take legal ones, the rest take some legal and some illegal ones. That is a fact.

The question isn't, "Are drugs bad?", because we all know that most drugs can be helpful to humanity. Why else would we take them?

So the question should be, "Which drugs are good (legal) and which drugs are bad (illegal)?" I guess this can be answered by looking at who is selling them.

Good (legal) drugs are manufactured by pharmaceutical companies, breweries, tobacco and coffee producers, etc. These can all be strictly controlled and taxed. All of these can also be produced independently and without paying tax, at which point they become illegal. This is essentially the root of the problem. Drugs are only considered to be "good" if they can make a profit and increase tax revenue.

Now some will make the argument that some drugs are bad because they offer no medicinal or nutritional value. Well let's have a look at alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine. None of these offer any real medicinal or nutritional value and yet they are all legal drugs. So the argument of medicinal or nutritional value is unproven.

Another possible argument is the negative effect of certain drugs on the human body. I will be the first to agree that manufactured drugs, cocaine, heroin, MDMA, alcohol, prescription drugs etc. can have detrimental physical and psychological effects. I have no doubt these drugs cause untold suffering. Non-manufactured drugs, cannabis, opium, salvia divinorum, psilocybin/mescalin etc. have yet to be proven to have similar negative effects when compared to those of manufactured drugs. In fact, it has yet to be proven that cannabis causes any real physical or psychological problems with recreational use. Even chronic users do not seem to exhibit any detrimental effects from extended use.

In my opinion, it would be downright hypocritical not to legalize cannabis/hemp and other non-manufactured substances under the circumstances. Cannabis and hemp cultivation would revolutionize this country's agricultural and industrial industries and create thousands, if not tens of thousands, of guaranteed jobs nationwide.

michael2121

well if we legalize it the tax and tourism benefits would be enormous

well worth doing as it also takes money off the drug dealers hands and CAB can focus on the harder drugs out there