Why is cannabis illegal?

I was a heavy smoker in my late teens/early twenties. Was also suffering from depression (found out years later that I was bipolar). I moved abroad for a while and was smoking stronger strains or hybrids. Found that I became very paranoid when stoned. I now feel sick whenever someone even lights up a joint or bong.

In saying that, I would be in favour of decriminalisation. I know that it can ease the pain of MS sufferers or people receiving chemo. I wish it was available for my mother who died of cancer. She went through two bouts of chemo and was only a shell of her former self and her last days in the local hospice could have been made easier with marijuana. It's easy to get and easy to administer and would have left her more lucid than being heavily dosed with morphine. I know it's not a cure-all for everything from a verruca to terminal cancer like all the advocates say but it does have its uses and should be available medically or at least ignored by the Gardai.

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

If Canada drove into a lake would we have to follow.

If Canada perfected fusion should we not follow? :rolleyes:

Cos hemp vs paper back in the day. /thread

I don't like the blanket statement cannabis is bad. It's a diverse plant with many strains that many people can find their happy medium with.

People I hear having bad episodes I wonder if they had an extremely strong strain. Did they simply ingest it the wrong way with too much in a joint or too much in an edible?

The statement "it's just not for me" is fine but I do think if some of these people could walk into a store and be educated on what various strains do, strength etc. It would change alot of people's mind.

It's just the mystery around it and sometimes I smoke and think I really hate this so much. I feel out of my head, anxious the next few days and in general just out of it. Then sometimes I smoke some different stuff and think this is amazing I'm so relaxed, in a good mood, inspired and motivated to do something creative.

Big thing for me is that it's such a wonderful diverse plant with a myraid of options it would be a shame for people to discount it on the basis of the bad traits. Which are completely relevant, sometimes but not all the time. Just like you would have 5 pints over a bottle of vodka there are levels to it.

Hammer89 wrote: »

Ridiculous.

at least theyve learned their lesson, and wont do it again!:D

It's all Big Pharma and the illuminati conspiring OP. They know that weed both prevents and cures all diseases and they want to keep getting rich off selling drugs and vaccines that give you cancer and turn people gay, which is part of George Soros' plan to destroy western civilisation.

The benefits of legalisation far outweigh the negatives. Colorado and Amsterdam being good examples.

It is a waste of resources and it is idiotic giving people convictions who would otherwise be 'law abiding' citizens.

It is the most futile of fights that the Drug Squad are involved in. It is not possible to police. Weed plants can be extremely easily grown in every house, garden field or wood in the country. Same way alcohol can be brewed anywhere by anyone.

Heroin and Cocaine cannot be produced in this country, and have more adverse affects on the end user, and is far more profitable for organised crime. So trying to combat them can make at least some sort of rational sense.

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Nah. The crazy logic is one is solving a problem linking a health & safety issue to the criminal justice system.

We do that in all sorts of ways.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy wrote: »

Makes you a lazy, unmotivated stoner. And causes psychosis.

Your ignorance amuses me

The Orb wrote: »

Colorado has seen a massive increase in the market for illegal high strength THC cannabis which is being controlled in the state by Central American and Asian crime gangs. Colorado's homeless population has risen dramatically, driven by heavy users coming to Colorado to avail of this new enlightened system, many of whom have developed mental health issues.

Colorado's drug driving death figures have also increased.

It is not a good news story in Colorado.

According  to  CDOT,  the  number of fatalities in  which a driver tested positive for  Delta‐9 THC  at or above the  5.0 ng/mL  level declined  from 52 (13%  of all fatalities) in 2016 to 35  in 2017 (8% of all fatalities).


Total revenue from taxes, licenses, and  fees increased from :

 $67,594,325 in 2014 to 

$247,368,474  in 2017 (+266%). 

Excise tax revenue dedicated to school capital construction assistance was  $40,000,000 in  2017 and an additional $27,752,968 was dedicated to the  public school fund. 




Anyway :

Legalization may result in reports of increased use, which may be a function of the decreased stigma and legal consequences associated with use  rather than actual  changes in  use  patterns.   Likewise, those reporting to poison control, emergency  departments, or  hospitals may  feel more  comfortable discussing their recent use  or abuse of marijuana for purposes of treatment.  Finally, complex  and sometimes conflicting  laws have caused law  enforcement officials  and prosecuting attorneys to modify policies and practices that cannot be disentangled from available data. For these reasons, it is critical to avoid ascribing changes in many social indicators solely to  marijuana legalization.  

gctest50 wrote: »

According  to  CDOT,  the  number of fatalities in  which a driver tested positive for  Delta‐9 THC  at or above the  5.0 ng/mL  level declined  from 52 (13%  of all fatalities) in 2016 to 35  in 2017 (8% of all fatalities).


Total revenue from taxes, licenses, and  fees increased from :

 $67,594,325 in 2014 to 

$247,368,474  in 2017 (+266%). 

Excise tax revenue dedicated to school capital construction assistance was  $40,000,000 in  2017 and an additional $27,752,968 was dedicated to the  public school fund. 




Anyway :

The number of fatalities with cannabinoid‐only or cannabinoid‐in‐combination 
positive drivers increased 153%, from 55 in 2013 to 139 in 2017.