Cannabis - It must be time for legality.

Chewbacca wrote: »

It's not a weak argument as it has the potential to happen.

I have never used cannabis, mainly because it is illegal not because I havent had the opportunity.

If it becomes legal for all, maybe I will.

I live where it is legal, I haven't noticed an increase in people stoned out of their heads wandering around the place and by all accounts, the police haven't either.

I fully support medicinal cannabis but I wouldn’t support recreational use.

My own experiences are that it damages people and is indeed often a gateway to harder drugs.

People who say legalising it will remove the criminal element need to look at tobacco and the sheer volume of illegal tobacco being pedalled openly everywhere which no doubt feeds illegal groups. Part legitimising another income stream can’t be the way forward. I would have a similar view to prostitution, it damages people and allows for trafficking of women to be hidden in the numbers.

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Why, when there is a huge campaign underway to deter people from smoking cigarettes, would you legalise another dangerous drug. It's baffling. And the alleged medical benefits are greatly over hyped.

believe me the benefits are not over hyped

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Why is it better to put it in the hands of cynical businessmen?

You know this answer yourself man. Top Businesses run on share prices, which dictates that the product they produce is of good quality that can be tailored to create and satisfy all sorts of markets to increase share price. War on the stock market. Street Criminals deal in different system which involves no share price, it is war on the street, same streets me and you have to walk on.

_Dara_ wrote: »

Weed did the square root of fuck all for my cancer pain, tbh. I’m fine with it being legalised but I do think the medicinal properties might be a tad overhyped.

If you don't mind me asking D, What form of cannabis were you taking for it?

This!!!

Mutant z wrote: »

If people want to have it for recreational use then surely its their own business.

We need to stop trying to babysit adults. Cannabis can be very helpful for people, be it to help them sleep, raise their appetite, manage pain or simply unwind after a long day in work.
It doesnt matter why people decide to use it, its nobodies business as long as they are adults.
Anything can be abused but there isnt even a danger of overdosing on cannabis. And legalizing/decriminalizing is not going to make it mandatory so if it's not your thing then that is perfectly fine too

Dick Rimmington wrote: »

This!!!


We need to stop trying to babysit adults. As with anything Cannabis can be very helpful for people, be it to help them sleep, raise their appetite, manage pain or simply unwind after a long day in work.
It doesnt matter why people decide to use it, its nobodies business as long as they are adults.
Anything can be abused but there isnt even a danger of overdosing on cannabis. And legalizing/decriminalizing is not going to make it mandatory so if it's not your thing then that is perfectly fine too

100% agree with the above, and imo a state that makes criminals of people doing something that does not affect others is not desirable.

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Drug dealers don’t ask for ID when selling it to customers, a buyer is a buyer no matter what age they are. A regulated service would indeed check for age before dispensing it, similar to alcohol & tobacco. Will that prevent under 18’s from obtaining it and using it? Of course not, but it would certainly be more difficult for under 18’s to get it.

Also this.
And realistically, I have children who are going to be exposed to the drug scene in a few years' time as young adults. I would much rather they would have a safe option of a regulated, clean product from a store, rather than have them procure something from somewhere shady.

You know, just like if they're going to drink alcohol, well I know it's unlikely it'll be some poteen or other alcoholic concoction made in someone's shed, when they can simply buy a bottle in a shop (or have it served in a pub).

Humans'll be humans. We like using mind altering substances as a species, it's not anything new really. What's new is science, and how we can now tell that Cannabis and alcohol are less harmful than crystal meth, Lsd, heroine etc...

Given that, I'd rather my little human specimens had that choice of relatively safer psychotropics (if it gets to it, which it might never of course).

I really just should just have this saved somewhere so I can say the same in every weed thread that comes up.

In my 10 years of being a Garda, I've never arrested someone for being stoned and committing a crime. It just doesn't happen. Some criminals may have cannabis in their system, but the main intoxicant that caused them to commit the crime is usually a class A or alcohol. I've arrested 1 person for having cannabis, and that's because he tried to sell to an off-duty student Garda. The drugs unit went after the dealers, and I had found young fellas with it on them, but if it was the only thing they had and they weren't involved in another crime, I let them off with a warning and confiscated the weed. Why? Because I didn't want to take away some young fellas opportunity to get into America due to having the bones of a 25 or 50 bag on them.

I would easily say that in the vast majority of cases I was investigated, aside from road traffic incidents, alcohol was involved. Burglary, theft, public order, domestic abuse, I can honestly say that alcohol was a contributing factor in about 90% of them. Throw in cocaine, heroin and MDMA (to a very lesser extent) into some of those cases too. I've never come across a case of any crime where the criminal was doing it to feed a weed habit, or because they were high.

The general consensus is that weed smokers don't commit crime because they're too busy eating the crap food aisle of Tesco, ordering take aways and sitting at home. This could change if it was legalised, as smoking cafes would become a thing, and idiots would try to drink and smoke at the same time and not do it in the correct order (smoke, pint, smoke, pint, etc) and end up pulling a whitey and going to sleep wherever they are. That's the worse outcome imo. Night in the cells, public order fine, out the gap. A stoner won't put up a fight, because they're usually not able to/couldn't be bothered. Stoners don't come to the attention of Gardaí like a drunk or coked up person would.

If it was legalised, you would see an increase in consumption, but it would die down very quick imo. People would figure out if it's for them or not. Legalise it and it will take a LOT of dealers off the streets. Will they look for income elsewhere? Probably, but a lot of weed dealers do it just to get their own for free, as it's so bloody expensive! Plus, you don't know what you're getting. If it's legal, it would be like going into Next Door and picking out your tipple for the night. Clean, guaranteed strains, properly labelled with THC/CBD content, possible side effects and expected type of stone. It would be taxed and bring in so much money in tax, the gubberment may even reduce taxes elsewhere! Probably not though, knowing our greedy feckers!

I'm all for legalisation. I'm no longer a Garda, and since quitting, I've discovered so many people smoke it. I know one lad who worked his way up to co-director of an IT Infrastructure company. He's a fully functioning stoner, with a wife, 2 kids, a mortgage, and you wouldn't even think he smokes. His missus gives out, but not a word said on the bottle of wine she drinks every night/2 nights, and even more at the weekend. He's spending less than he was when drinking, and would spend even less if it was legalised.

Yes, there will be mental health issues, but most independent studies have shown that weed exacerbates a pre-existing mental health condition, one you may not know you had until you smoked it. This is where personal responsibility comes into it. We have no issues with personal responsibility with alcohol, ignoring/not really tackling the fact that people over indulge. But this will happen with any product. Some people don't know when to stop/quite/cut back. It's why we have alcoholics. Same will be with weed, but imo, to a lesser extent. The tax revenue should be used to set up drug rehabilitation centres for such reasons.

And you'll have some Gardaí stating it's as bad as heroin, but there's idiots in every job.