So is Marijuana to be legalized in Ireland shortly?

Under_Graduate

Someone mentioned this to me the other day.

Is it true?

Would be great if so.

Give big pharma something to complain about.

Menas

No OP, it is not true. Sorry.

AnonoBoy

Menas wrote: »

No OP, it is not true. Sorry.

Menas wrote: »

No OP, it is not true. Sorry. The government will not e

Woaaahhh... Deja vu!

Charlie19

Yup.. it sure is, it all happens at midnight.

kneemos

Under_Graduate wrote: »

Someone mentioned this to me the other day.

Is it true?

Would be great if so.

Give big pharma something to complain about.

Someone was smokin the ganga.

Benteke

I thought it was already legal

warpdrive

Badly needs to be legalised for medicinal use anyway, don't care about recreational legalisation since it's so easy to get already.


But we need correct and scientific production of CBD oils and certain strains that would help some patients with some medical issues here. It's very unfair that it's not already available.

Custardpi

Under_Graduate wrote: »

Give big pharma something to complain about.

If & when cannabis is legalised in Ireland (I think it's probably a matter of time, things seem to be going in that direction, though slowly) it will almost certainly be sold by companies owned by existing Big Pharma corporations. The idea that a potentially multimillion euro industry would remain in the hands of your friendly neighbourhood dealer is fanciful.

PucaMama

Wish this "big pharma" paranoia was kept in the conspiracy theory forum

GAAman

Never touched the stuff in my life, no real desire to either. But looking at the amount of tax Colorado has pulled in since legalising it, and the fact it would likely take money outta scumbag dealers hands I say why not.

Allyall

No. It would be stupid to let our inept Government start deciding which strains cost how much, and the quantity we should get.

Cannabis quality control is much better for everyone in the hands of our criminals.

The Backwards Man

Just like good Friday pubs and nonreligious schools for all, it will happen eventually.

Old religious people vote folks, that's the bottom line.

Arghus

I say it won't happen for a long time.

How long exactly? Hard to say, objectively.

Because I'm so baked.

Custardpi

PucaMama wrote: »

Wish this "big pharma" paranoia was kept in the conspiracy theory forum

Within limits I don't mind it. The spectacle of fans of homeopathy & other guff (while there's tons of criticism you can make of pharmaceutical companies it's almost always those types who use the phrase "big pharma") which they are sold by large corporations having a whinge about other large corporations is generally good for a chuckle for the cognitive dissonance on display.

28srf0c

Might as well be legal, even my grandmother managed to get a bit of weed may she rest in peace. She put it in her mashed spuds. No word of a lie.

Hammer89

Not to be a prude, but I'd hate to live in Ireland if we legalised and/or decriminalised cannabis. In fact, I wouldn't raise a family here if that sh*t was readily available in the shop. I used to smoke a lot of it in the past and I wouldn't wish some of my experiences on my future children. It can throw up some very confusing and very frightening experiences and, apart from stoners, I just don't see who benefits.

Arghus

Hammer89 wrote: »

Not to be a prude, but I'd hate to live in Ireland if we legalised and/or decriminalised cannabis. In fact, I wouldn't raise a family here if that sh*t was readily available in the shop. I used to smoke a lot of it in the past and I wouldn't wish some of my experiences on my future children. It can throw up some very confusing and very frightening experiences and, apart from stoners, I just don't see who benefits.

I've also spent years in my past in a haze of THC and I understand your argument about their being downsides to the drug too.

Sometime's the pro-cannabis side of the debate can be guilty of overegging how harmless the drug actually is. It's the case with any drug really But I still think some form of legalisation wouldn't be a bad idea.

Who benefits? Well all of us really, if it's done in the right way. The tax take on state regulated weed could provide a big leg up for the national balance sheet. Lots of people are smoking the stuff as it is: legislation or not it's widely available and widely used, the state may as well try to get some benefit out of it!

Grayson

Hammer89 wrote: »

Not to be a prude, but I'd hate to live in Ireland if we legalised and/or decriminalised cannabis. In fact, I wouldn't raise a family here if that sh*t was readily available in the shop. I used to smoke a lot of it in the past and I wouldn't wish some of my experiences on my future children. It can throw up some very confusing and very frightening experiences and, apart from stoners, I just don't see who benefits.

People with MS and cancer. It's been proved to be of great benefit to suffers of MS and it really helps relieve the bad side effects from chemo. It's not a wonder drug, it's not going to cure anything much but it does have some proven medical benefits.

I see marijuana legislation in two tiers. Recreational and medical. I'm in favor of both. I think it's wrong to ban it for medical use. But I think it's fcuking horrible that sick people are denied a treatment because of archaic drug laws. I mean we give opiates to sick people, but not grass?

Under_Graduate

Mod- From the charter

Rules on drug discussion
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.

Bunny Colvin

It's crazy how it isn't already legal. When you talk about cannabis, it always gets compared with alcohol and with good reason!

What I find with a Saturday Night's drinking:

-You can completely become a different person. Overdo it and you can easily make a fool out of yourself! Personal responsibility and moderation come into this but sometimes it just happens, especially if you're tired and haven't drank in a while. But we can all agree that it can be very easy to overdo it with alcohol, that's the nature of the drug.
-You literally piss away a small fortune for a few hours.
-You are nearly guaranteed to suffer in some form the next day. I've had a three day hangover multiple times. My body was broken down, I felt tired with no energy. All of my good habits and intentions go out the window until I feel 'normal' again. The worst of it though is the mental side of things. For someone that suffers with depression, this is no laughing matter. I've had comedowns from alcohol (usually a 2/3 day session like a wedding for example) and felt as low as I can remember.

A Saturday Night smoking weed:

-Don't venture out of the house. I could but just too relaxed.
-Might eat more (usually do to be fair, who knew that cereal could be that nice)
-Zero side effects the day after. The odd time I might feel a little tired but that's probably because I stayed up half the night watching Netflix or documentaries on Youtube.

^That's just a direct compassion when 'using' the two.

There's many more things I could write. Eg. The amount of lives that alcohol has ruined in this country between alcoholics, broken marriages, children being raised in toxic environments, people dying from simply drinking too much, fights, drunk drivers, A&E's being jammed up at the weekends, Gardaí firefighting drunks at the weekends - the list goes on and on.
You compare that to people using cannabis, there is no comparison which has done the most damage and by a serious distance.

As it stands, I can go into any off-licence and buy enough alcohol to cause myself serious damage to myself but if I get caught with a little bit of cannabis, my life could potentially be ruined. What a ****ed up situation we currently have and I can see Ireland being in the dark ages for some time yet. It's all a farce really.

seamus

Arghus wrote: »

I say it won't happen for a long time.

I'd say back in 2010 people would have said that marriage equality and legal gender recognition was decades away.

In relation to cannabis specifically, we're not all that hysterical about it here like they are in the states. It's illegal "just because" really, stoners are considered a comical group of layabouts rather than crazy drug fiends. Nobody with any sense worries about their friends or (adult) children smoking a bit of dope, and nobody reports anyone for selling it.

My understanding is that there are EU restrictions preventing member states from legalising recreational drugs. We will decriminalise probably in the next 5-10 years as the US proves that cannabis is basically harmless to society, and the EU will likely lift the restrictions within the same timeframe, leading to eventual legalisation.

Bunny Colvin

Also, just to add. I think what angers me the most is how acceptable it is to drink. In this country it is very normal to tell anyone "I'm dying" or "Some session last night".

Alcohol is widely advertised, nobody would bats an eye lid when an ad for drink comes on! What about the fact that publicans are seen as stalwarts of the community, when in fact they're actually dealing a drug! Cannabis on the other hand is seen as dark and underground, people supplying the stuff are dealers pure and simple and most people would never openly admit to using it.

Reeling In The Years 2030 will make us look like ejiets!

/end rant

Hammer89

Grayson wrote: »

People with MS and cancer. It's been proved to be of great benefit to suffers of MS and it really helps relieve the bad side effects from chemo. It's not a wonder drug, it's not going to cure anything much but it does have some proven medical benefits.

I see marijuana legislation in two tiers. Recreational and medical. I'm in favor of both. I think it's wrong to ban it for medical use. But I think it's fcuking horrible that sick people are denied a treatment because of archaic drug laws. I mean we give opiates to sick people, but not grass?

I thought it was already distributed medicinally here. I was referring to recreational use.

Custardpi

I think advocates for legalisation of cannabis possibly go too far in describing it as "harmless" & don't believe that the argument in favour of legislative change should be built upon such a shaky foundation. Overindulgence in any mind altering substance has the potential to affect you as an individual & the people around you. If nothing else, regular recreational smokers may be prone to turning into insufferable bores, who ramble on about conspiracy theories & thrust their asinine political opionions upon anyone unfortunate enough to sit near them. Happily however, they're usually not particularly quick on their feet so can be escaped from relatively easily.

The question of whether any substance should be legal or illegal should not be made merely on the basis of where it falls on the binary "harmless/harmful" scale but whether the potential for harm can be best mitigated by a well regulated market & honest (rather than scare-mongering) education about its effects or by head in the sand prohibition & out sourcing of its supply to the violent criminal types who inevitably rush to fill any black market demand.

Graces7

ALL drugs have side effects. Legal or illegal. Which can vary greatly between individuals I take prescription codeine for chronic severe pain and someone once told me that was bad as it is "addicting" and that I should be using marijuana... I pointed out that m is illegal and they conceded the point. I know codeine and the side effects and at my age am not worried. I would be worried taking something illegal and therefore unregulated .. NB I also would have no idea how or acquire it so it is not an issue for me. BUT recreational drugs? The idea repels me totally. Is life so boring? Same for me goes for alcohol and tobacco. I do not have or see the need. I am seeing here a difference being made between medical and recreational?

seamus

Graces7 wrote: »

I would be worried taking something illegal and therefore unregulated ..

Cannabis and marijuana don't really fall within this bracket. These come from the plant with minimal processing apart from drying and chopping so the need to "regulate" them is no more than the need to regulate alcohol.

This is not the same for the vast majority of other drugs which are taken in a powdered or pill form. In these cases they need to either be industrially synthesised or processed, which increases the cost, and therefore which induces the producers to cut corners.

With cannabis there's not a lot you can do to "cut corners" and make it cheaper to process.

And more specifically if it was decriminalised, people could grow their own, which would decimate the illegal drugs trade overnight and force dealers to make their money off harder drugs.

BUT recreational drugs? The idea repels me totally. Is life so boring? Same for me goes for alcohol and tobacco. I do not have or see the need.

That's cool, that's your choice. Ultimately the debate is about what rights the state should have to restrict the freedom of the individual to consume what they want.

Bobby Baccala

Hammer89 wrote: »

Not to be a prude, but I'd hate to live in Ireland if we legalised and/or decriminalised cannabis. In fact, I wouldn't raise a family here if that sh*t was readily available in the shop. I used to smoke a lot of it in the past and I wouldn't wish some of my experiences on my future children. It can throw up some very confusing and very frightening experiences and, apart from stoners, I just don't see who benefits.

So would you hate to live in Holland too and certain parts of America because weed is readily available? Bit of a strange point of view imo. It's not crystal meth we're talking about here.

ScumLord

Custardpi wrote: »

I think advocates for legalisation of cannabis possibly go too far in describing it as "harmless" & don't believe that the argument in favour of legislative change should be built upon such a shaky foundation.

Yeah, this line tends to come up in these threads, pretty much out of nowhere and flying in the face of what pro-cannabis legalisation people are actually saying. Nothing is safe, drinking too much water can kill you, many so called ecstasy deaths are actually water poisoning deaths.

No one can say cannabis is safe, especially if it's being smoked. But it's not harmful enough to be made illegal. It's certainly not doing as much damage as the prohibition that's created the black market in drugs.

Overindulgence in any mind altering substance has the potential to affect you as an individual & the people around you. If nothing else, regular recreational smokers may be prone to turning into insufferable bores, who ramble on about conspiracy theories & thrust their asinine political opionions upon anyone unfortunate enough to sit near them. Happily however, they're usually not particularly quick on their feet so can be escaped from relatively easily.

Your right, drug abuse is bad. But we all know that. There's no need for the little digs though, they say more about you than "stoners".

The question of whether any substance should be legal or illegal should not be made merely on the basis of where it falls on the binary "harmless/harmful" scale but whether the potential for harm can be best mitigated by a well regulated market & honest (rather than scare-mongering) education about its effects or by head in the sand prohibition & out sourcing of its supply to the violent criminal types who inevitably rush to fill any black market demand.

That's the argument for legalisation. All scientific research shows cannabis does more harm when it's illegal.

weisses

Hammer89 wrote: »

Not to be a prude, but I'd hate to live in Ireland if we legalised and/or decriminalised cannabis. In fact, I wouldn't raise a family here if that sh*t was readily available in the shop. I used to smoke a lot of it in the past and I wouldn't wish some of my experiences on my future children. It can throw up some very confusing and very frightening experiences and, apart from stoners, I just don't see who benefits.

What about alcohol ...... the hypocrisy

weisses

PucaMama wrote: »

Wish this "big pharma" paranoia was kept in the conspiracy theory forum

Big pharma lobbying politicians is a fact .. Maybe look into these things a bit more

warpdrive

seamus wrote: »

Cannabis and marijuana don't really fall within this bracket. These come from the plant with minimal processing apart from drying and chopping so the need to "regulate" them is no more than the need to regulate alcohol.

This is not the same for the vast majority of other drugs which are taken in a powdered or pill form. In these cases they need to either be industrially synthesised or processed, which increases the cost, and therefore which induces the producers to cut corners.

With cannabis there's not a lot you can do to "cut corners" and make it cheaper to process.

And more specifically if it was decriminalised, people could grow their own, which would decimate the illegal drugs trade overnight and force dealers to make their money off harder drugs.
That's cool, that's your choice. Ultimately the debate is about what rights the state should have to restrict the freedom of the individual to consume what they want.

There's no real way of knowing the makeup of the strain of cannabis you're smoking when it's illegal. Maybe some good dealers will be very knowledgeable and be able to tell you what strains they have and what their effects and benefits are but still, these wouldn't be as good as being able to walk into a professional establishment and choose from a list of strains to get the one that'd best suit the persons needs as well as have the THC content regulated to an appropriate amount. As opposed to generic strains of weed currently available in Ireland that just aim to have the highest THC content possible.

But even then, edibles and oils would be better for most people than smoking since smoking anything is dangerous and bad for you. And it's very hard to get these when cannabis is illegal.

Grayson

Hammer89 wrote: »

I thought it was already distributed medicinally here. I was referring to recreational use.

It's still not legal for medicinal use. They allowed the first derivative made by a pharmaceutical company to be made available about two years ago. It's not as good as the real thing though and it's the only brand they ever made available as far as I know. Don't know what they're afraid of. Maybe it's all those people on chemo and with MS getting drugged up and going on wild crime sprees.

Custardpi

Grayson wrote: »

It's still not legal for medicinal use. They allowed the first derivative made by a pharmaceutical company to be made available about two years ago. It's not as good as the real thing though and it's the only brand they ever made available as far as I know. Don't know what they're afraid of. Maybe it's all those people on chemo and with MS getting drugged up and going on wild crime sprees.

80+ years of tabloid "reefer madness" stories are hard to dispel with mere objective evidence & reason. I think the tide of public opinion is changing though.

Mesrine65

seamus wrote: »

My understanding is that there are EU restrictions preventing member states from legalising recreational drugs.

Portugal?

Custardpi

Portugal has merely decriminalised it, it just means you won't be arrested for possessing it.

Huntergonzo

Cannabis laws across much of the world are a total farce and Ireland is no different, sadly though we tend to be a step or two behind Europe when it comes to social issues, which is very lazy, dismissive and disrespectful of our politicians.

But look there's a general election coming up and politicians are going to be knocking on people's doors asking them for votes so let them know that our cannabis laws are unacceptable and dismiss out of hand any tired old rhetoric about how 'dangerous' cannabis is, especially if the politician claims never to have tried cannabis themselves.

Ps, is there a single party calling for cannabis legalization or even just decriminalisation?

JackieBauer

It's not going to happen while most states in the USA and the UK is opposed to it. Simple.

ScumLord

JackieBauer wrote: »

It's not going to happen while most states in the USA and the UK is opposed to it. Simple.

There seems to be an effort to get all of the Americas on board in cannabis legalisation. There's a few south American countries that have changed their laws, Mexico is looking at legislation as a continuation of the attack on organised crime, which is already suffering because of legalisation happening across the states. I think America is going to go for full on legalisation across the nation. Canada has never been all that though on cannabis and is set to change the laws for legalisation.

Huntergonzo

JackieBauer wrote: »

It's not going to happen while most states in the USA and the UK is opposed to it. Simple.

Even when they do legalize we'll still be well behind them. Ireland sort of has an image of copying Britain's laws and legislation, which is only half correct, we tend to copy their conservative moves and ignore any liberal laws they introduce.

Sadly it's fair to say we're not going to take the initiative or set any examples when it comes to legalising Cannabis in Europe, as always we'll be well behind the pack.

ScumLord

Huntergonzo wrote: »

Sadly it's fair to say we're not going to take the initiative or set any examples when it comes to legalising Cannabis in Europe, as always we'll be well behind the pack.

Which is a real pity, the cannabis industry has the potential to be a massive earner. Not just from the point of view of growing and selling recreational cannabis, but it would hopefully open up the hemp industry which would be a great money earner for Irish farmers, there's also the fact hemp production would make growing illegal cannabis more difficult (pollen from hemp could potentially contaminate recreational grows making them worthless).

If Ireland could get ahead of the game and establish a brand Ireland with relation to cannabis for recreational use and hemp for the comercial sector we might stand a chance on the global markets.

Hemp can help reduce our reliance on oil based products. It could be a huge and environmentally friendly industry that has absolutely nothing to do with drugs.

Hammer89

weisses wrote: »

What about alcohol ...... the hypocrisy

No actually there's no hypocrisy mate. I specifically said that my view on the drug was based on my experiences of using it. If alcohol gave me countless panic attacks and turned my short-term memory to absolute sh*t then I wouldn't want my children touching that either.

Mesrine65

Hammer89 wrote: »

No actually there's no hypocrisy mate. I specifically said that my view on the drug was based on my experiences of using it. If alcohol gave me countless panic attacks and turned my short-term memory to absolute sh*t then I wouldn't want my children touching that either.

If it affected you in that way then you were wise to knock it on the head IMHO

On the other hand, I've smoked it daily for 30+ years & it doesn't affect me in that way at all, it focuses me, in that if I'm brewing beer or rebuilding a motorcycle engine, I'm more focused on the task at hand, plus it gives me a happy, relaxed buzz as well.

I have a very good friend who is an absolute gentleman, give him more than 3 pints & he turns into a beserker...

Conclusion...some people don't react well to certain things that others would have no adverse affect to.

turnikett1

Well folk can be as anti-cannabis legalization as they want, but no there's no denying it, cannabis WILL be legalized in most if not all Western (and further?) societies within the next 30 years or so... It's already slowly begun. I will happily sit, be patient and smoke spliffs in the meantime Our day will come.

Grayson

Hammer89 wrote: »

No actually there's no hypocrisy mate. I specifically said that my view on the drug was based on my experiences of using it. If alcohol gave me countless panic attacks and turned my short-term memory to absolute sh*t then I wouldn't want my children touching that either.

To be fair, alcohol does that to a lot of people. The amount who have no recollection of the day beforehand is quite a lot.

I do smoke but I hardly smoke anymore. I don't like getting wasted. Because I hardly smoke, and because the stuff on sale is so strong, I get really stoned when I smoke now. I'd really like to get my hands on some really weak grass. The kind of stuff that would give me a mild buzz. That's never going to happen now though and that's part of the danger of illegal grass. If it were sold in shops I'd have my pick but not from my local dealer.

warpdrive

Honestly, would it be acceptable to bring the canvassers into your home and sit them down and have them watch videos like the one of the child with epilepsy that was successfully treated with CBD oil? And the one about Charlotte's Web?

Then ask them to seriously discuss their views on cannabis, at least for medicinal use.

darkpagandeath

People go mental over E cigs can you imagine someone lighting a spliff on the bus or in public ?? Think of the Children !

Mesrine65

darkpagandeath wrote: »

People go mental over E cigs can you imagine someone lighting a spliff on the bus or in public ?? Think of the Children !

Never been on Dublin Bus route 27 I take it?

Spliffing on the top deck to their hearts content & not a word uttered.

Out of order IMHO, do it in your own home by all means, anything else is piss-taking.

BorneTobyWilde

After that handball in the world cup I should think not.

Arghus

seamus wrote: »

Cannabis and marijuana don't really fall within this bracket. These come from the plant with minimal processing apart from drying and chopping so the need to "regulate" them is no more than the need to regulate alcohol.

This is not the same for the vast majority of other drugs which are taken in a powdered or pill form. In these cases they need to either be industrially synthesised or processed, which increases the cost, and therefore which induces the producers to cut corners.

With cannabis there's not a lot you can do to "cut corners" and make it cheaper ....

Yes and no.

I know after buying weed for years that what you can pick up can vary greatly from one experience to another, even if you buy it consistently from one source. There can be many links on the chain before it reaches you.

Sometimes you can be lucky or know someone directly who can offer you completely unadulterated cannabis: in that case you're onto a good thing. But even some people who might have "good stuff" one week, can have absolute garbage the following week.

Cannabis can very much be tampered with, beyond drying and cutting, and it frequently is. You might hear people talking about buying weed that has been "sprayed" i.e. - it's been literally sprayed with all kind of unknown chemicals and god knows what else to make it, for example, smell more pungent or mimic the effects of THC. And all this is connected to the forces of supply and demand and isn't all together too dissimilar to the cases of all other illegal drugs - there's a profit to be made in adultarating your product, if you only have a limited supply and people will, a lot of the time, buy whatever they can get.

Mesrine65

Arghus wrote: »

Yes and no.

I know after buying weed for years that what you can pick up can vary greatly from one experience to another, even if you buy it consistently from one source. There can be many links on the chain before it reaches you.

Sometimes you can be lucky or know someone directly who can offer you completely unadulterated cannabis: in that case you're onto a good thing. But even some people who might have "good stuff" one week, can have absolute garbage the following week.

Cannabis can very much be tampered with, beyond drying and cutting, and it frequently is. You might hear people talking about buying weed that has been "sprayed" i.e. - it's been literally sprayed with all kind of unknown chemicals and god knows what else to make it, for example, smell more pungent or mimic the effects of THC. And all this is connected to the forces of supply and demand and isn't all together too dissimilar to the cases of all other illegal drugs - there's a profit to be made in adultarating your product, if you only have a limited supply and people will, a lot of the time, buy whatever they can get.

Grow your own, the only option for quality & consistency.

warpdrive

Mesrine65 wrote: »

Grow your own, the only option for quality & consistency.

Best solution to avoiding possibly harmful additives from scumbag dealers. But still, no real way of knowing the true makeup of each harvest with regards to THC content.