Cannabis to be legalised 😁!

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989107#Comment_120989107

Yeh. They're the 1%.

The vast majority of the time the stink is coming out of the gob of some little shit.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989147#Comment_120989147

I completely disagree

Musicrules

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989115#Comment_120989115

Do you mean like alcohol? That's hard to keep away from teens because it's regulated?

Cannabis can be lethal for teens and cause issues for life but it can also be dangerous for adults. As I said, trying to make out that it's a harmless drug is common for those who want it legalised for their own selfish reasons.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989158#Comment_120989158

That's fine.

But when I'm walking down the street and I get the bang of that stuff, it usually turns out that two seconds later I see where it's coming from and they're generally not lads I want to go near. Most people don't go around on the street puffing on that junk during the day and in some cases, it's all day. Folk like that are best avoided.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989163#Comment_120989163

Yes, like booze. Do you think it’s easier or harder for under 18’s to get booze with the current laws in place, vs no regulation concerning age?

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989011#Comment_120989011

I’ve seen first hand the damage that cannabis can inflict on young people so you won’t find any arguments here on that score.

This debate has similarities to the abortion/same sex referenda. There will be people using fear as a deterrent but let’s wait and see what the reality holds. Cannabis has been prohibited for over 100 years by vested interests in the pharma/alcohol industries. Maybe they have selfish reasons too.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989183#Comment_120989183

That’s your experience. My experience from the last week, around Temple bar, South William st, George’s st area is completely different and it was much more normal people smoking, which I was very surprised by.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989205#Comment_120989205

I live in Dublin, close to town. Goth kids in Temple Bar notwithstanding, by and large the people puffing away are not people you want to approach.

Trust me.

Musicrules

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989191#Comment_120989191

Eh? Did you mean to ask would it be easier for teens to get booze if it was banned or with current laws in place? Cause that's the comparison we're discussing.

foxsake

i think this is a good thing as we should legalise all drugs

but I do hate weed smokers who smoke in public (esp bus stops) who think we all need to smell their weed

_Kaiser_

Oh look, it's the fortnightly Boards "legalise weed" thread!!

Things are bad enough on the streets of Dublin and elsewhere, not to mention the roads (have you seen the amount of drug-driving stops on the Garda twitter account these days?) without adding to it all by legalising it - the Gardai can't even deal with the junkies as it is!

As usual it's being advocated for by those who partake and that's fair enough, but very obviously because they want to get their fix easier and without being stopped by "the man".

Answer me this though - with the exception of legitimate medical use to alleviate serious pain, what benefits would it offer to society and those who don't want to be (even more) surrounded by weed-smoking cool kids (which can include people in their 40s and 50s) everywhere? You can skip the "economic"/tax benefits. I mean social benefits

Are there any, beyond personal pleasure of those who indulge?

Musicrules

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989196#Comment_120989196

You're comparing people wanting to smoke weed anytime they want to a woman's autonomy over their own bodies or people being allowed to get married? This is the type of attitude I was talking about. You know of the dangers of cannabis but you don't care as long as you get to light up.

Vinny Cleary 25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989249#Comment_120989249

I don’t consume weed. I never have.

Don’t fall off your high horse.

Edit: Actually, please do fall of it. Try to break your neck in the process too. Do us all a favour. Smug prick.

Grayson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988506#Comment_120988506

I haven't smoked in years but when I did, I grew. You can buy a small grow tent and the setup you need in Ireland. There's sites online that do it. lots of gardening centers will sell most of the stuff you need. A small tent will have space for 1-2 plants. when you include all the potting stuff and lights you're talking about 200-300 euro depending on how much you want to spend. You can order the seeds online from Amsterdam. You can get plants that are a higher yield and get 50 grams of bud per plant. And you can grow a couple of times a year. Or there's some plants which have lower yields that can bud in about 60ish days so you can even have up to 5-6 harvests a year.

As for how you do it all, there's loads of guides online.

I'd recommend anyone in ireland who's a regular smoker to grow their own and cut out the dealers. Although most low level dealers are nice people who just sell for a bit of extra money, you're still giving money to the higher up's who are scum. If you have to smoke, growing your own is the most ethical way to do it.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989280#Comment_120989280

Now now.. don't throw your toys out of the pram because you can't answer a simple question.

If legalising weed is such a good thing, then there should be no problem with coming up with some societal benefits to support the idea, right?

So let's hear some..

CalamariFritti

The German legislation change - as currently proposed - is not as reasonable as it appears from the outside.

The Greens came in all guns blazing during election campaign and are now dragging their feet and in tandem with their coalition partners seem to be getting sucked into the ever present German overregulation madness.

Limits, restrictions exceptions, so many plants at home, taxes, this and that.

In the end after two years nothing has actually happened yet and one of the main goals - taking load of the criminal/justice system - seems to be turned into the opposite. Expect to have your home raided to ensure you dont have 4 plants instead of the allowed 3. :/

whomitconcerns

I noticed the same in Boston, city centre along by Boston common stinking of weed. Not against weed smoking.. But the smell really lingers more than smoke.

Grayson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989307#Comment_120989307

When I was in San Francisco I smelled more weed than i did in Amsterdam. It's everywhere.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989295#Comment_120989295

I doubt you'll be hearing anything else from that particular poster.

Grayson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989249#Comment_120989249

What are the negatives? Weed is incredibly easy to get. I can walk around Dublin and smell it already. People are getting stoned everywhere. It's in every part of the country and everyone would know someone who could get it for them.

A benefit is to take the biggest illegal drug out of the hands of criminals. Yes, you can tax it too. In many jurisdictions it's generated loads of money. You regulate the growing which means that you get safer product. You can limit the strength.

And here's a big benefit, you don't make criminals out of people who just want to get stoned and relax.

You seem to just dislike people who smoke weed. You even referred to them as junkies. And you don't want to be around them. Does not liking an activity mean it should be illegal. If you don't like drunk people walking down the street, should alcohol be illegal?

Can you back up any of the negatives of legalisation with actual stats? Weed has been legalised in many jurisdictions. You should be able to demonstrate how it's negatively affected societies there.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989232#Comment_120989232

No it’s not.

I’m talking about regulation.

Right now, a 15 year old can go up to any dealer and get a bag of weed.

Can they walk into an off licence that’s regulated and buy booze? No they can’t, because it’s regulated market.

Im not saying there is no way they can get booze (I’m sure we’ve all done it) but by regulating the supply of booze, it makes it harder for the 15 year old to get it.

The same would be true of weed.

They would still be able to go up to a dealer and buy it, but by legalising and regulating, we free up Garda resources to chase these dealers.

TagoMago

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989249#Comment_120989249

Regarding your first point, legalising it will not legalise drug driving, that will definitely remain illegal, the traffic corps will definitely keep testing and those caught will definitely still get lengthy bans off the roads. I'd imagine they would increase roadside testing if it was legalised.

As for the societal benefits, the government have already brought in legislation that I'd argue are beneficial. The 'caution' based system lead to huge decrease in courts summons for people caught with small quantities.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/new-cannabis-caution-scheme-sees-drop-in-numbers-charged-for-possession-1.4767492

This (in theory anyway) should increase garda resources and free up our courts considerably to go after actual crimes. Not to mention saving people from receiving criminal records for doing very little wrong

Tony EH

A benefit is to take the biggest illegal drug out of the hands of criminals.

This is the big myth that won't happen. The criminals will just undercut the legal, taxed, price. And, if and when, it does become legal, you can bet that it'll eventually get taxed to high heaven (pardon the pun), which will drive users back to the black market in no time at all.

Thing is, there are no real societal benefits to legalising dope and there's probably more downsides, from mildly annoying issues like the stink to more serious issues like drug driving. I've had cars race by me with the stench of dope coming out of them. Not a great development by anyone's standard.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989249#Comment_120989249

Yeah. I can name one.

In the mid 90’s, I had a friend caught with about an ounce. He was brought to court, given the probation act as he was 17, and off he went.

Until the local paper reported his court appearance, and published his name.

He had a very Irish name and the first hit on Google was that report on his court appearance. That held him back for years until he was able to get it deleted from Google. He’s now in his 40’s and works a dead end job in a petrol station. It wasn’t the weed that f*cked up his life, but his conviction.

Another friend, 19 at the time, was caught with 2 ounces. One broken up into 20 spots as he was on his way to a party. His solicitor told him there was absolutely no way he was going to escape prison. This lad was a complete softie. He didn’t have an ounce of muscle on him, just a scrawny 19 year old hippie. Anyway, the thought of prison terrified him, so he ran away. He was in a kibbutz for a while, homeless in Paris for a while and I have no idea where he is now.

He smuggled himself back into Ireland for his mothers funeral, but only stayed for the 3 days and left again. I didn’t see him, but friends did and they said he was completely changed, and not in a positive way. The youthful loving, trusting, super smart tripping hippie had been replaced by a gruff tough headcase.

I know this is anecdotal, but I doubt either of these nice, middle class boys lives would have been ruined if weed had been legalised.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989556#Comment_120989556

In fairness, that's more a case for decriminalisation, not necessarily legalisation.

But nobody should be getting hauled over the coals for an ounce. That's a complete waste of time for everyone concerned.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989563#Comment_120989563

I am in favour of decriminalisation, regulation and moving all low level drug issues from the criminal system to the health system.

nullzero

Instead of legalising drugs maybe governments should expend their efforts ensuring their people aren't stupid enough to want to take drugs to begin with?

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989606#Comment_120989606

There’s many reasons people take drugs. It’s a fairly ignorant statement to say that people take drugs because they’re stupid. There’s significant pain relief from some, others explore their spirituality, some use drugs for the creativity, and others use it for the release of a very boring, grinding life.

If the govt really wanted people to stop doing drugs, they could try and make the place a bit more pleasant to live in for a start.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989530#Comment_120989530

https://oxfordtreatment.com/substance-abuse/marijuana/average-cost-of-marijuana/

Seems so

Just checking Nemesis there on the darkweb US weed is about $100 an oz

Has to be they're avoiding all the government taxes etc.

cantalach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988447#Comment_120988447

Actually it has. Many businesses in British Columbia sell a mix of product from legal and illegal suppliers. IIRC, the reason is that the illegal suppliers can undercut the legal ones by 50%! Just to be clear, I'm strongly in favour of legalisation, but it is incorrect to say that it would be a magic wand to wipe out the underground trade.