Cannabis to be legalised 😁!

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121281614#Comment_121281614

Booze and weed banned? Christ, how boring would life be without any release! I'm sure you realise how many lives would be saved on the roads, if we just banned driving?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121281731#Comment_121281731

The gas thing is, I and many others do. Before I have a smoke, I make sure I don't have to be anywhere, or be responsible for anyone. It is my time to switch off, because I am a responsible adult.

We'll have less psychosis, due to lower strength weed being available, AND weed labelled so you know how strong it is.

I am firmly against under 18's smoking weed, and would prefer it be kept to over 21's, due to their developing brains. I think it would be unworkable to keep it from 18-21 year olds though. A proper awareness campaign would be needed instead. Explaining WHY usage for under 21 year olds is not recommended due to their growing brains, after that smoke away (in moderation!)

While some of you may call me a waster (😜), I am very much, a realist, unlike the poster below:

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121281733#Comment_121281733

What's crazy is to look around the world where you can actually see the affect of legalising weed, and STILL think you should waste more money trying to stamp out it's use.

It would cost A LOT of money to "stamp out its use". More than a new hospital, new roads etc. For what? Look at whats happened in Colorado for the last ten years, for example: https://www.colorado.edu/today/2022/11/04/decade-after-legalizing-cannabis-colorado-heres-what-weve-learned

Alcohol has been drunk by kids for millennia, and how can you think they could successfully stamp out cannabis use, when they can't even stamp out kids drinking alcohol?

And some say us smokers are departed from reality 😂

Gloomtastic!

Those negative posts got me thinking how people in Muslim countries deal with past trauma if there’s no alcohol. Apparently they turn to prayer instead. We’ve been there, done that. Look how that turned out.

Gloomtastic!

https://youtu.be/3gMlj4gwk3I?si=AjlYk81EPpCbgZsl

Just time........

Gloomtastic!

https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2024/0401/1441037-germany-cannabis/

Still no word from our lot and their intentions. Come on Simon, make a difference 😋

cj maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121015141#Comment_121015141

exactly how am I incorrect ? Please tell me how my life experiences are incorrect ?

drury..

Last time I checked on the darkweb the US online stuff was half the price of the US shop bought stuff

The illegal market will still run cos they've no taxes on it

Bobson Dugnutt

I’ve never met a regular cannabis smoker who wasn’t a complete loser in life, but there’s no point criminalising people for having enough for personal usage.

Pauliedragon

To be fair maybe your meeting the wrong people in general and they would losers without weed. I know plenty who have steady jobs families etc and live perfectly functional lives. One comment I found interesting was a friend said to me it's much easier to get up early the next morning and go about life after a few spliffs the night before than a heap of pints.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121962021#Comment_121962021

Maybe they know how you feel and won't tell you because of your prejudice? I know many regular cannabis smokers with

Happy family lives.

Homes.

Work they're happy in.

What would you consider personal usage to be?

Would you be against people growing it themselves?

Personally, I want shops brought in, 50gm personal allowance and 3 plant allowance for home.

Bobson Dugnutt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121962044#Comment_121962044

I’m talking about habitual cannabis smokers. The sort that smoke daily. Paranoid, conspiratorial and angry sorts who are so far into their addiction they have convinced themselves their drug is somehow good for them.

PowerToWait

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121962021#Comment_121962021

I think you need to meet more and different people. Weed, like booze, is consumed by every type and creed from all walks of life in all sorts of careers and none. The stereotype you perpetuate belies your narrow horizons.

chrissb8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121962083#Comment_121962083

I smoke every day, but I mean not all day. It's a case of when I get to the evening and all the responsibilities of the day are done I'll have a joint or two.

There's a lot of cross-over and very general terms you're using. "Smokers are wasters", "daily smokers", would you just be talking about straight-up losers? Because, as mentioned, many people in this world smoke cannabis and go about their lives with no issue.

Causation isn't correlation. While I know what type you're on about there are plethora of people who are lazy, entitled and hopeless. Cannabis being introduced to these types of people is probably why there's an image of the lazy, loser, stoner.

Because unfortunately they tend to make it a part of their identity while many daily successful in their lives smokers rarely talk about it or mention it. It's just a fun part of their life, that's it, not the be all and end all.

apache

Long time smoker here. Smoked over 1/2 Oz a week. Hate the stuff. It has wrecked my life. Done lots of damage to my mental health also. Just out of treatment. Hope I can beat it this time 💪 The other side of the coin..…

RurtBeynolds

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988040#Comment_120988040

I am in NY right now. This was literally the first thing I smelled when I exited the terminal.

The smell is literally everywhere. It is horrific. And to be honest it would make me rethink coming back here. I am all for legalisation but this experience really hits home the potential impact of such a decision.

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121973364#Comment_121973364

That’s why, if and when we ever legalise cannabis, that I’ve been suggesting that Ireland adopts a no smoking/vaping rule. There are edibles, tinctures and other consumption methods that don’t give off a smell. Imagine the tourist opportunities!

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121973308#Comment_121973308

Best of luck with beating it. Getting treatment is hard.

It really goes to show, like booze, messing with what we put in our head can be dangerous and needs to be done in moderation. It would take me about 6 months to go through a 1/2 Oz!

XsApollo

I smoked heavily in my teens and early 20’s.
By heavily, I mean 10- 12 waterfalls a day heavy. It ruined me mentally, was a recluse and paranoid by the end.

Woke up one morning and looked in the mirror and said I need to change or die basically.
that was 18 years ago :-D certain situations can still trigger anxiety related to my smoking days.

If it’s legalised, really should be 21 and over, that stuff does damage to developing brains with heavy use.

I know a few people that didn’t come the other side so well from those days.
so yea I don’t think it has such an effect on people who are older and have developed, but for teens and the like it can certainly send them in the wrong direction.

bobbyD1978

If you are smoking every day, you have an addiction. Addictions are not healthy.

My own surroundings suggest it should remain illegal however I wouldn't be bothered if it was legalised either. It's very much a low concern. I know 2 daily smokers. Both have jobs but are unreliable and every single conversation always ends up on the same subject. It's boring to listen to and you aren't the cannabis users association spokesman! As a result, they tend to be on the outside of most group conversions.

I know a few others that would be social smokers, again all have jobs and no issues. It's just an Alternative to having a beer.

Then I know the two former users, one gave up when it started effecting his mental health but still works, has his own home, etc. 90% Mentally stable. The second chap kept smoking, lost his job and his girlfriend. He's on the dole last I hear but could be working again or could be worse. We as a group, walked away and gave up trying. Can't help someone who won't try.

The whole argument about the legalisation being a solution to criminality is a joke though. Look around, plenty of criminals smuggling legal items still and plenty still buying them. Between licences, checks and enforcement of both the licencing, etc and catching smugglers and smuggled items, there's no net gain to the state in either finances or manpower.

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121974868#Comment_121974868

Nobody should be smoking, full stop.

Those who are active members of society why should we be criminalised? Growing your own takes you away from the criminal element altogether removing the ‘gateway drug’ incentive.

cj maxx

I just remembered , my cousins ex husband got caught growing weed in Canada . The smell gave him away , it was a good setup . Lights and all . He gave me a bag of it that I smoked when the bus stopped on the way back to New York . But I panicked at Niagra falls and buried it beside a tree at the falls . Being stoned got me through immigration . He kept asking how did he know I would leave the US and I kept repeating because I had to as my visa was up . I must go back and look for it 😷😷. And I just remembered I may have posted that before

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121973364#Comment_121973364

Yeah, horrible smell. Parts of San Francisco can be the same.

Musicrules

There are too many risks and dangers with weed which means we just can't legalise it. Alcohol causes enough damage. Look at how young most of us started drinking. Imagine the damage weed would do the huge numbers of teenagers who'd get into it. I'm another one who can't testify that smoking young did me harm.

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121962083#Comment_121962083

That's still a generalisation though

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121976754#Comment_121976754

And dealers ID people, do they?

I presume the dealers are knowledgeable about their product, and offer a range depending on what effect you're after?

bobbyD1978

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121975492#Comment_121975492

You ignored pretty much my entire post and went off to an area not mentioned at all by myself. Pretty much why, as I said in my post, cannabis smokers are boring in conversation. They don't listen and always bring the conversation to the same place with the same statements.

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121978024#Comment_121978024

OK, let's look at your original post……..

If you are smoking every day, you have an addiction. Addictions are not healthy.

Agreed. Inhaling anything other that fresh air into your lungs is just plain stupid.

Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences. † It is considered a brain disorder, because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control.

In my lifetime I've been addicted to several things - mobile phone, tobacco, alcohol and cannabis. (Gambling. I've never succumbed thank goodness).

Like most people today, I'm hooked on my mobile phone. As I don't use my mobile while driving there are no real adverse consequences so I continue.

I smoked for over 20 years, between 20 and 40 a day. I gave up 18 years ago because it was obvious to me that the adverse consequences were affecting my pocket and my well being. The cravings when I quit were pretty severe but they always went away so I've managed to stay off them and will probably never take them up again.

Had a pretty big problem with alcohol for over 35 years. Probably got drunk every day and I was the life and sole of the party but boy, did I suffer the next day - sleepless nights and hangovers that only got worse as I got older. So I stopped drinking to excess. Now, I might have one pint of a weekend if I'm socialising with friends but haven't had a hangover for over four years.

Started using cannabis again at the start of COVID. I grow my own so I am never in contact with any dealers and it costs me about €1 a day, mostly in utility bills. I make my own cannabutter which I then use to make edibles, which I consume 4 evenings a week. The THC (the high) in edibles is processed by your liver as opposed to your lungs. I've had my liver checked out by a medical consultant and his diagnosis was to not to drink too much alcohol (he said he was never going to promote the use of cannabis so would not condone it but he didn't tell me to stop).

So where are the adverse consequences to my cannabis use? And if there are none is it still considered an addiction?

My own surroundings suggest it should remain illegal however I wouldn't be bothered if it was legalised either. It's very much a low concern. I know 2 daily smokers. Both have jobs but are unreliable and every single conversation always ends up on the same subject. It's boring to listen to and you aren't the cannabis users association spokesman! As a result, they tend to be on the outside of most group conversions.

I know a few others that would be social smokers, again all have jobs and no issues. It's just an Alternative to having a beer.

Then I know the two former users, one gave up when it started effecting his mental health but still works, has his own home, etc. 90% Mentally stable. The second chap kept smoking, lost his job and his girlfriend. He's on the dole last I hear but could be working again or could be worse. We as a group, walked away and gave up trying. Can't help someone who won't try.

I work virtually every day running several successful businesses and haven't had a sick day in over 30 years. I have numerous passions and can usually find something in common with everyone I meet so conversation is never a problem. However, I just automatically switch off when the conversation turns to sport. People who can only talk about sport are, to me, the saddest, most boring people on the planet. Should we ban sport? No, because everybody is different and each to their own.

So, in your opinion I am a criminal now and should remain so in the eyes of the law. Why?

bobbyD1978

Quite the rant. Again however I fail to see how your reply relates to what I said considering I never said users should be criminalised. Despite popular opinion, cannabis is not legal in Spain and Portugal but it's possession for personal use is not a criminal act.

The only thing post did prove was my point about the conversation always going to the same angry place which results in people not wanting to engage in conversation.

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121983349#Comment_121983349

I thought it was a measured response to your question but you ignored mine…..

Why, if the only person I’m affecting is myself, should I be deemed a criminal?

bobbyD1978

Why are you asking me? I dont make the law now expressed an opinion. What I did was state my experience and interactions.

You are asking because that's as I have said, all that users can do. Get angry and go down the exact same path every single time regardless of the actual conversion they are in.

So as I do with them, I do with you, stop engaging because it's boring.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121984121#Comment_121984121

He asked for your opinion as to why he should be labelled a criminal after you offered your opinion, "My own surroundings suggest it should remain illegal"

Sounds like a simple request to me 🤷‍♂️