Head-shops. About three months left?

Biggins

Well it looks like Headshops will be made illegal in or around 3 months.
Picked upon the following while reading about a current medical card fiasco (where the Gardi had to be called in).

...the Health Minister said she expected to have regulations in place to govern 'head shops' selling substances that can be used to obtain legal highs by the end of this month but it would take another three months before they were ratified by the European Commission. Difficulties arise because of the problems in banning chemical compounds which need to be used in areas like the plastics industry.

Source

Anyone who is in the business and is leasing out property for these shops, your time is now more numbered. It won't kill off the business for the dealers but it will make life more awkward again and behind closed doors more so.

genericguy

fcuk it, i'll just go to a dealer for some illegal weed, and give him a few extra bob towards his bullets to spite harney.

WindSock

genericguy wrote: »

fcuk it, i'll just go to a dealer for some illegal weed, and give him a few extra bob towards his bullets to spite harney.

And DVDs. Remember, purchasing of drug dealers funds movie piracy.

Cookie_Monster

WindSock wrote: »

And DVDs. Remember, purchasing of drug dealers funds movie piracy.

YAR! Keep buyin me DVDs matey!

geeky

Victory for stupid.

Wazdakka

I had actually been smoking the legal stuff for a while, and know a few people who take those legal pills every now and again.

It wasn't really the same as the real thing but we figured, hey, It's easier to get and legal.

Looks like I'm going back to buying my mind altering substances from drug dealers.

Yeaaa... Good job there nanny state.
See how this works in the real world yet?

seamus

If Harney can come up with rock solid legislation to control all current and future substances without affecting the existing legal substances (such as cigarettes and alcohol), we should just hand her the Taoiseach's badge.

They can't ban head shops, they have no legal basis on which to do so. The shops will continue to find new substances with which people can get legal highs, and they also sell all manner of drug paraphenalia too anyway.

They only way they'll get them is through tax evasion. Most of these shops probably don't have up-to-date or legitimate accounts.

Vain

I was working in a headshop a few days ago just for a day putting up a stud wall, one guy lost the head inside the shop as they were out of his product he wanted, got kicked out of the shop and then was outside trying to get people to go in and buy the stuff for him, he was convinced the shop assistant had some and just didn't just want to give him anyway.

I kept my hammer close to hand for the day, that guy looked like a pure nut case walking around outside the shop, eventually the assistant gave him something to get him to leave.

Was a funny day, watching knackers and scum come in looking for something called queen bee, of course it was all sold out so alot of unhappy non high people that day, must of them got xxx instead.

Was a funny day, from young guys (over 18) to knackers, to a mother with her kid, to people in late 50s ealry 60s, alot of high people going around:rolleyes:

AnonoBoy

WindSock wrote: »

And DVDs. Remember, purchasing of drug dealers funds movie piracy.

I've got a whole collection of drug dealers in my basement. I make 'em fight each other.

Maybe I wouldn't have bought so many if I'd known I was funding movie piracy though.

Have you seen The Transformers 2 Lad? Yaaarrrrrr!!!!

WindSock

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

YAR! Keep buyin me DVDs matey!

Can I have 'A Bridge Too Faaaarrrrrr' please?

Buford T Justice

seamus wrote: »

They only way they'll get them is through tax evasion. Most of these shops probably don't have up-to-date or legitimate accounts.

Way to go Seamus - just tell the government how to do it.

Banning them won't have any major effect imo.

The people that were taking legal highs will take illegal highs now because there will always be people who take drugs. Some people like to get high, it's always been like that and always will be.

Anyway, what a lot of people are doing now is buying Methadrone (not a typo) online from England. Supposedly it's a quarter of the cost and completely legal.

There will always be loopholes.

Cookie_Monster

Mr.S wrote: »

Easier to just to go to a dealer tbh.

Easier again just not to do it.

geeky

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I've got a whole collection of drug dealers in my basement. I make 'em fight each other.

Put a live stream up on the net, man. You'll make a fking mint.

geeky

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Easier again just not to do it.

Indeed, because 'just say no' has been so successful. :rolleyes:

JimmyCrackCorn

Buy buy overpriced Potpouri, cattle wormer, plant food and other crap that'll make you high without FDA trials.

Good head shops will survive, the ones selling poo to survive wont. Next health food stores.

c0rk3r

Wazdakka wrote: »

I had actually been smoking the legal stuff

legal.

Looks like I'm going back to buying my mind altering substances from drug dealers.

I really dislike people saying that. "Legal" as if you have any respect or care for legalities. If you did you wouldn't buy drugs from a dealer, which i have no problem with by the way just don't hide behind "legal" because where drugs are concerned it means nothing to you.

geeky

Username-in-use wrote: »

I really dislike people saying that. "Legal" as if you have any respect or care for legalities. If you did you wouldn't buy drugs from a dealer, which i have no problem with by the way just don't hide behind "legal" because where drugs are concerned it means nothing to you.

Resisting the urge to expound on the contempt that Mary Harney and her colleagues in Government have displayed for legalities, or basic organisational principles of society....

You're missing his point. Head shop owners are not running around shooting each other and innocent bystanders. Dealers are. This move will just result in more money going to dealers, and more human misery.

But hey, what do facts and consequences matter when people are ringing in to Joe Duffy?

Cookie_Monster

geeky wrote: »

Indeed, because 'just say no' has been so successful. :rolleyes:

Maybe they need to make it bigger

"Just say NO" splayed down the side of Liberty Hall for instance :pac:

AnonoBoy

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Maybe they need to make it bigger

"Just say NO" splayed down the side of Liberty Hall for instance :pac:

But you know someone would have a 'B' spraypainted on to the end of that before the week is up.

It's got to the point where I'd rather my money went to some enterprising young knacker than to a goverment who is making it a priority to close safe headshops. If they wont happily take tax from headshops in a recession, then give me my 2% levy back.

Korvanica

seamus wrote: »

Most of these shops probably don't have up-to-date or legitimate accounts.

Why would that be? They are legitimate businesses. Thats like saying most corner shops don't have up-to-date or legitimate accounts.

geeky

Korvanica wrote: »

Why would that be? They are legitimate businesses. Thats like saying most corner shops don't have up-to-date or legitimate accounts.

Which may also be true!

dan719

Biggins wrote: »

Well it looks like Headshops will be made illegal in or around 3 months.
Picked upon the following while reading about a current medical card fiasco (where the Gardi had to be called in).


Source

Anyone who is in the business and is leasing out property for these shops, your time is now more numbered. It won't kill off the business for the dealers but it will make life more awkward again and behind closed doors more so.

Why is this a good thing? Jobs lost, less revenue for the government, yay, lets all celebrate. :rolleyes:

TheZohanS

Vain wrote: »

I was working in a headshop a few days ago just for a day putting up a stud wall, one guy lost the head inside the shop as they were out of his product he wanted, got kicked out of the shop and then was outside trying to get people to go in and buy the stuff for him, he was convinced the shop assistant had some and just didn't just want to give him anyway.

That could easily have been a junkie looking for some legal gear.

Pesonally I think all the legal high stuff sold in head shops is nasty, coffee shops ftw, but that's a whold different thread.

Korvanica

geeky wrote: »

Which may also be true!

true yea, but Seamus neglected to point that out. Aiming his comment only at head shops, basically saying that because they sell what they sell they must be dodgy..

TheZohan wrote: »

, coffee shops ftw, but that's a whold different thread.

we can only dream, and take regular trips to holland

Bonito

Wait wait wait. If the shops are going to be made illegal what about what they sell in the shop??? Anybody say "Stash up" :pac:

Korvanica

Bonito wrote: »

Wait wait wait. If the shops are going to be made illegal what about what they sell in the shop??? Anybody say "Stash up" :pac:

Massive clearance sales :eek::eek:

seamus

Korvanica wrote: »

Why would that be? They are legitimate businesses. Thats like saying most corner shops don't have up-to-date or legitimate accounts.

The kind of people who run these shops are the kind of people who operate on the fringes of society anyway and would receive all sorts of suspect stock from suspect sources.

Obviously I have no proof, it's a personal speculation - I would be very surprised if most of these shops would survive a revenue audit.

Bonito

TheZohan wrote: »

That could easily have been a junkie looking for some legal gear.

Pesonally I think all the legal high stuff sold in head shops is nasty, coffee shops ftw, but that's a whold different thread.

You mean dead thread! It was booted off to the tCn

My name is URL

Only thing I've ever bought in any of those shops is Rizlas, and they're available everywhere

I can't say I'm sorry to see these places go though, they're springing up too much.. the stuff they sell needs more research done into it.. it's no surprise that a blanket ban is going to be introduced by the same government that banned Magic Mushrooms on a moral whim without any real scientific grounds for doing so

geeky

My name is URL wrote: »

It's no surprise that a blanket ban is going to be introduced by the same government that banned Magic Mushrooms on a moral whim without any real scientific grounds for doing so

And funnily enough, also in reaction to a bit of media hot air about this. Rather like the time they banned happy hour, remember that?

What a shower of utterly spineless, craven, reactive muppets. Have they no gumption anymore to do something pro-actively, or do they just make a knee-jerk response when enough people call Angry Joe?

Co45

This government really is stupid. Here is the one chance to regulate and control the recreational drug market. People are actually beginning to buy from head shops who pay tax and don't go around killing people instead of drug dealers. My cousin only the other day was saying the drug dealers are going mad in his area because they're losing so much money to these shops.
These headshops are hitting gangster's pockets worse than the introduction of CAB did and now the government wants to ban them on some moral high ground?

I just can't get over the idiocy, do they think the people buying from headshops are just going to stop buying once it's made illegal? No they will go back to buying from drug dealers who in turn are going to get powerful again and more dangerous (The more profitable a business the more competition, the more bloodshed and the more intimidation)

IF THEY CARED EVEN AN IOTA ABOUT USER'S HEALTH THEN THEY WOULD REGULATE THE SUBSTANCES RATHER THAN PUTTING THEM BACK INTO THE HANDS OF GANGSTERS WHO WILL MIX GOD KNOWS WHAT INTO THEM JUST TO MAKE A PROFIT.
DON'T BE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO THINK THIS IS ABOUT PROTECTING IRISH CITIZENS ITS ABOUT GETTING VOTES.


Drug profits for the gangsters are going to EXPLODE once these headshops are banned. Nice one, Harney.

Biggins

Our town has decided to hold a public local meeting shortly to discuss their opening here.
(We have 3)
You can bet your backside that if the government was getting enough revenue from the products, they'd be very damn slow to shut them down.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily standing up for the head-shops, its the very clear hypocrisy that I see coming down from those in the Dail.

allisbleak

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I've got a whole collection of drug dealers in my basement. I make 'em fight each other.

Brilliant

Stoned fight club

"the 1st rule of stoned fight club is ...... what is it agin?
"the 2nd rule of stoned fight club is ..........?

is it february or march? who are you? where am I?

I would love to see the junkies on the quays be made run the 200 metres, and only the 1st 3 would score a bag.

Menengroth™

damn it kids, drugs are bad mmkay?


/me runs quite quickly away

allisbleak

seamus wrote: »

The kind of people who run these shops are the kind of people who operate on the fringes of society anyway and would receive all sorts of suspect stock from suspect sources.

Obviously I have no proof, it's a personal speculation - I would be very surprised if most of these shops would survive a revenue audit.

The hemp shop is part of a franchise, they have specific rules to follow. 2 people must always be in the shop. Everything has to be legit. They have a central accounts and are completely above board.

This is our stupid gov listening to people that should not be allowed to have opinions. We are all adults. Drugs should be legal, we need to grwo up as a society.

TheZohanS

allisbleak wrote: »

This is our stupid gov listening to people that should not be allowed to have opinions. We are all adults. Drugs should be legal, we need to grwo up as a society.

I think it's a knee-jerk reaction to a problem.

At present there isn't proper legislation for testing of these drugs for say drug-driving. So you could be unfit to drive a vehicle due to the influence of these legal highs and still legally drive.

Also the long term effects of taking these types of drugs has to be considered and research on these new drugs is very limited.

Dravokivich

Minister of Health,

I implore you, if you are so concerned for the well being of the population who are unable to think for themselves and become easily corrupted by the debauchary of demoralised and unhealthy living, why stop with head shops? If you wish to set a precedent, I shall hope you acknowledge my complete disgust at "Fast Food" retailers such as "McDonalds" and "Burger King" who seem to think a mere few leafs in a plastic bowl is a healthy alternative to food drenched in fat soaked grease. We should also be rid, or at least license the sale of carbonated liquids, as it has been shown through many reports to cause issues with Tooth Decay.

- Drav!

geeky

allisbleak wrote: »

Brilliant

Stoned fight club

"the 1st rule of stoned fight club is ...... what is it agin?
"the 2nd rule of stoned fight club is ..........?

is it february or march? who are you? where am I?

I would love to see the junkies on the quays be made run the 200 metres, and only the 1st 3 would score a bag.

Why stop there? I want hurdles and hilarity. Actually, wasn't there a site a while back that paid homeless guys to fight each other?

Korvanica

bumFights -- not arsed lookin for proper one, although it was probably the next like down on google. That requires more mouse movement.... I remember seeing a few of those movies. one where a bum was pain 100$ to pull his tooth out, awful stuff

As mentioned before, theyre trying to ban headshops because of a few votes. And because of an incident where a lad took something he got in a head shop, drank 10 litres* of vodka and died.


*amount not confirmed

RobbieTheRobber

seamus wrote: »

The kind of people who run these shops are the kind of people who operate on the fringes of society anyway and would receive all sorts of suspect stock from suspect sources.

Obviously I have no proof, it's a personal speculation - I would be very surprised if most of these shops would survive a revenue audit.

You may be quite wrong there.

These shops even prior to the Joe Duffy Crusade were already being targeted by the garda having their stock checked for any iregularities, so seeing as the government was already ensuring they met these standards Im sure they would ahve had revenue conduct a thorough search of their financial accounts.

Another reason for them being most likely well within their finincial obligations to government is that they were buying these products at relatively low prices in bulk and selling them at quite a mark up to customers. So no need to fudge the accounst when idiots will pay good money for crap.

Some of these headsops owners should get awards from enterprise ireland they were only creating jobs and tryign to keep the moral of the people up during these testing times.

Ruu_Old

WindSock wrote: »

And DVDs. Remember, purchasing of drug dealers funds movie piracy.

Here you are, dahlin', 4 weddins'!

AnonoBoy

geeky wrote: »

Why stop there? I want hurdles and hilarity. Actually, wasn't there a site a while back that paid homeless guys to fight each other?

Those bum fights were absolutely vile. I felt physically sick after watching some of them.

The guy that made those videos is a complete and utter scumbag.

hooradiation

Vain wrote: »

I was working in a headshop a few days ago just for a day putting up a stud wall, one guy lost the head inside the shop as they were out of his product he wanted, got kicked out of the shop and then was outside trying to get people to go in and buy the stuff for him, he was convinced the shop assistant had some and just didn't just want to give him anyway.

Aye i've seen that too.

Granted it was in an off-license..........

15Pete

S0crates feels the need to remind people that unless these substances themselves are banned (which is impossible) people will still be legally able to order them on the internet and smoke them wherever.
It is MORALLY WRONG to tell someone what they can and can not do in the privacy of their own homes when it does not affect others. Who is some white-haired, backwards fool in the government to tell S0crates what he cant smoke? S0crates did not vote for him and he means nothing to S0crates. All the people who want to close the headshops are fiftysomethings who dont like them because they don't know anything about them, and as we all know in Ignorant Ireland if you dont understand or like something, it should be banned.

fcussen

Biggins wrote: »

Our town has decided to hold a public local meeting shortly to discuss their opening here.
(We have 3)
You can bet your backside that if the government was getting enough revenue from the products, they'd be very damn slow to shut them down.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily standing up for the head-shops, its the very clear hypocrisy that I see coming down from those in the Dail.

I suspect that given the social stigma attached to drug use (can't mention it in the workplace, can't tell the parents, etc.), that meeting will be very short on people who dissent from the hysterical bullsh1t that's been pedalled in the Irish media over the last few weeks.

I also suspect that the number of people who do drugs in Ireland is a lot higher than the number of people who listen to Joe Duffy.

allisbleak

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vain
I was working in a headshop a few days ago just for a day putting up a stud wall, one guy lost the head inside the shop as they were out of his product he wanted, got kicked out of the shop and then was outside trying to get people to go in and buy the stuff for him, he was convinced the shop assistant had some and just didn't just want to give him anyway.

hooradiation wrote: »

Aye i've seen that too.

Granted it was in an off-license..........

I think there was an instance of a hammered off duty garda, getting ejected from a harcourt street establishment behaving in exactly the same way, but of course he had card carrying friends with him, so nothing more was done.

Apparantly alcohol is not such a problem.

AnonoBoy

allisbleak wrote: »

I think there was an instance of a hammered off duty garda, getting ejected from a harcourt street establishment behaving in exactly the same way, but of course he had card carrying friends with him, so nothing more was done.

Apparantly alcohol is not such a problem.

What about the two Gardai who were arrested for drunkenly fighting across the road from the American Embassy a few years back?

Alcohol of course played no part in their drunken brawl. They had sensibly left their guns with the barman before fighting each other.

drBill

Mr.S wrote: »

Easier to just to go to a dealer tbh.

If it was easier to go to a dealer then surely the shops would already have gone out of business.

If you're young and impressionable but cautious, you're probably not going to go near a dealer and are statistically less likely to get into the habit of taking anything. Or at least it'll take longer for you to start.

fcussen

S0crates wrote: »

It is MORALLY WRONG to tell someone what they can and can not do in the privacy of their own homes when it does not affect others.

It might be "MORALLY WRONG" but it's my suspicion that most people in Ireland over the age of about 45 weren't raised to believe in such a live and let live philosophy; they're far more accustomed to a father-knows-best begrudge-everyone's-hapiness we'll-drive-it-out-of-you-you-sinning-little-c*nts gossip-and-dirty-looks mentality.