Wazz & the Potheads, you may now rejoice...

[Cod]

I guess but still though it being illegal doesn't mean that much, people will still do and try them. At least if they were llegalised (spelling) they would have more control over them and be able to make them alot safer..

 

[Scooba Da Bass]

Why? Why should they be controlled? Why should the government have the right to tell me what I can and can't put into my body, regardless of the damage it may do? The fact that something like cannabis which is infinitely less harmful than alcohol or tabacco should be illegal is totally baffling. No doubt the Daily Mail readers will be able to explain why tho

 

[Embattle]

Also while keeping it illegal may not stop most people it will generally put some people off using it, even if it is a tiny amount. Making it legal would most probably increase its usage.

 

[Embattle]

Originally posted by Scooba Da Bass
Why? Why should they be controlled? Why should the government have the right to tell me what I can and can't put into my body, regardless of the damage it may do? The fact that something like cannabis which is infinitely less harmful than alcohol or tabacco should be illegal is totally baffling. No doubt the Daily Mail readers will be able to explain why tho

True you can do what you want but by breaking the law of the country you live in you have to risk the consequences.

In the short term it does seem like the evidence points towards it being less harmful than alcohol or tobacco but the long term effects are harder to predict. Tbh since tobacco seen in the same light originally I don't reckon much of these reports, I also know my body doesn't smoke naturally and I'm not going to force it too.

 

[Cod]

At first probably yeah but is it a bad thing if people try it? Both of the drugs aren't nearly as bad as alcohol or tobacco. I'd rather people took pills at some point and smoked weed rather than drink alcohol and smoke tobacco

 

[xane]

Originally posted by Scooba Da Bass
The fact that something like cannabis which is infinitely less harmful than alcohol or tabacco should be illegal is totally baffling.

Whilst it is true that the substance itself is not as harmful, in fact it has several beneficial uses, the fact is that smoking dope is not healthy, in fact smoking anything is unhealthy, but somehow I don't expect to see dope users switching to pills any day soon.

 

[Penry]

Originally posted by camazotz


Whilst it is true that the substance itself is not as harmful, in fact it has several beneficial uses, the fact is that smoking dope is not healthy, in fact smoking anything is unhealthy, but somehow I don't expect to see dope users switching to pills any day soon.

Some would disagree - prepare to be amazed by the research stats showing the health BENEFITS of smoking cannabis

$2,000,000 of Canadian Federal Government research: (surprisingly shelved when found than cannabis may protect users Against Cancer)
http://www.ccguide.org.uk/nocancer.html

And here's one for the American Journal of Public Health (read the paragraph near the bottom ! - If you just smoke cannabis, you have less chance of cancer than someone who doesn't smoke cannabis or nicotine !!!!
http://www.ccguide.org.uk/cancdata.html

anyway - whats wrong with eating the stuff !

 

[Scooba Da Bass]

I pay taxes, I have a private healthcare plan, despite this a proportion of my taxes (I pay a lot of tax heh) goes to the NHS, some of this money will go towards treating people with lung cancer who smoke, and treating cirrohsis. However, I am not allowed to legally smoke a substance that is less socially damaging than either Tobaccao or Alcohol, and has far less associated dangers. I don't begrudge that tax does go to curing these people, I just wish that the idiots who continually fight at least the decriminalisation would wake up and see that the nation won't turn into 'drug crazed' murderers and robbers.

 

[caLLous]

I have never seen people on pot get in a fight, because... it is fucking impossible.

"Hey buddy..."

"Hey what..."

...

End of argument

Classic Bill Hicks.

 

[Scooba Da Bass]

Originally posted by Penry
anyway - whats wrong with eating the stuff !

Nothing, it's just nice to be able to function at some point 2 days after you've eaten it heh

 

[Sar]

Well I personally think it's a good move. All these scare-mongerers who say "Oh but think of the children" can fuck off. If the children were that at risk, and people really actually gave a flying fuck, then alcohol and tobacco (2 easily stronger and more dangerous drugs) would've been banned years ago.


And no, I don't smoke it.

 

[Cod]

Originally posted by Scooba Da Bass


Nothing, it's just nice to be able to function at some point 2 days after you've eaten it heh

Everyone goes on a whitey

 

[Cod]

Originally posted by caLLous
I have never seen people on pot get in a fight, because... it is fucking impossible.

"Hey buddy..."

"Hey what..."

...

End of argument

Always thought it was the same with pills..

I've never seen anyone in a violent way with them

 

[Damini]

I've got nothing against people smoking pot if they want to, but I'd hate to see it Legalised. Pisses me off enough seeing little scraps of kids smoking Bennies on the corners, but having to step over chavvie kiddies whiting out? And regardless of what it's PC to say, I've never known a heroin addict yet that didn't start drugs with pot, and trust me, I've known quite a few heroin addicts. Because I started off doing drugs with all of them at the same time, and just luckily tangented off the path.

Drugs have well and truly fucked over my old group of friends. Cooper has schizophrenia and has been at stages institutionalised, as has Graham, Suwan, Grahams brother, Dominic... these names don't mean anything to you but to me these are people I saw every day. Chris "nice Touch" is dead of a heroin OD, Piers died from tazzies and cider, my eighteenth birthday got in papers because someone screwed up so badly pilling that he had seven odd heart attacks. I had the police round the next day telling me to say goodbye before he died. Lots of the other guys I know that went onto Heroin just disappeared, and I have no idea whether they are alive or dead.

Smoking pot is all very well, and I know there are people out there that just smoke pot, never do anything else, don't get overly caught up with the whole pot to the extent that it dominates their life... But for every person that is like that there are people that progress onto harder drugs, and not by this insipid Government portrayal of the shady dealer offering them a harder hit, but because they actually want to. Access level three... access level four.... I know thats what I was like. Those people that want to drugs will go out there and find them. I did. But making them easier to do, easier to get just seems daft to me.


Well, thats my tuppence. Flame away

 

[Scooba Da Bass]

Your arguing yourself into circles, people that want to do drugs will do them, regardless of the legality of it, the sort of person who will end up gravitating towards Heroin will do so regardless of the illegality of cannabis or the availability. Cannabis isn't a stepping stone to harder drugs anymore than Cigarettes are. It's the mindset and character of the individual, not what drugs they do.

 

[Damini]

My point is rambley, but drugs are bad mmmmkay, so it shouldn't be made easier to do them or easier to get them. I actively went out to get drugs and to do drugs, but I had friends that just did them because they were there, and probably wouldn't have tried them had they not been within arms reach. And I'm not trying to say I came out this all wise monkey, it wasn't some biblical style revelation that stopped me doing drugs, it was the fact that they started to freak me out.

I know its a very Governmental thing to say "pot leads to harder drugs" and I don't believe its as cut and dry as that, but having seen what happenned to alot of people I knew and know, pot was where we all started.




Maybe its too emotive for me to make a good argument on.

 

[old.frankie]

true... true

saying that though... you could say that you started at ciggies, but peeps who dont smoke and try weed, prolly shoke, cough, think they is dieing and say fuck this shit and dont bother... smoking would make it easier... alcohol would also in some sort of way i aint figured out yet

 

[Damini]

I didn't start with ciggies. I smoked ciggies eventually, because I used to smoke so much pot and I got used to the nicotine. Then I gave up the pot, and the ciggies lingered.

 

[*Exor*]

I think everyone should take pills. Pills are good. Then come to Code with me!

 

[throdgrain]

2o years ago I smoked cannabis all the way through heroin withdrawal and hepatitus. Fact.
I continued to smoke for another 15 years, as i have said, without rushing back to skag. Its all the individual Damini, theres not certain route for anyone.
And theres no doubt that if dope hads been legal I might never have encountered gear in the first place. Obviously I cant prove that, but it seems fairly obvious to me.

 

[Damini]

Yeah, I did say it was down to the individual, I said that for every person that sticks with pot there's a person that goes on to harder drugs, and visa versa... I'm not some walking slogan, I'm not saying This Is The Way It Is, I'm saying this is how it can happen and this is how I've seen it happen.

I'm not saying theres any cut and fast rules but from my experience I've lost a hell of a lot of friends because of drugs, and any one little thing, no matter how dinky, that can try to minimise this for other people has got to be a good thing. Surely thats something you can relate to? I'm not saying don't do drugs, or even that I regret doing drugs, it's just harrowing when at 23 pretty much all my old circle seem to dead, on the streets begging, in mental homes or in prison. Of course not every single one of my friends became a heroin addict, of course not every single one of them developed schizophrenia, but a worryingly high percentage did.


Anyway, too much drudging. You guys don't agree, thats fair enough, my opinion is it would be a mistake to make these things more accessable. I don't want to play anymore so I'll leave this topic to you lot.

 

[throdgrain]

Yeah I wasnt having a dig at you Damini, sorry if it seemed i was. Just pointing out my experiences thats all

 

[bigbb]

What comes to mind with this ever-raging debate is what I read not so long ago about the NYPD. Just a few years ago there was apparently a raging crime scene in New York and surrounding areas to the point where Police were being completely overrun. They embarked on a radical new strategy, which focused on targeting small-time crime, such as shop lifting, muggings and alike. They diverted resources from hard crime and pumped it into the streets, hitting hard on newbie criminals. This controversial strategy proved a complete success within a few years. Criminals were being stopped at a much earlier stage, it was thwarting the criminal culture before it got too big and there were significant drops in major crime.

I can't help but think it's the same idea with drugs that will work, and what this proposal complete contradicts. Less harmful drugs, if still illegal, will inevitably lead to harder drugs, because they're amongst an illegal drug mentality. In the way of, 'I'm already doing illegal drugs, one more step on the ladder won't make it any worse." However, I do believe if Cannabis was completely legalised it would allow the drug to differentiate itself from the illegal drug stepladder and its deadly path. Unfortunately, this proposal goes in no such direction and if anything could worsen the situation.

 

[Cod]

Originally posted by *Exor*
I think everyone should take pills. Pills are good. Then come to Code with me!

Amen!

 

[old.frankie]

pills aint good when they are mixed with rat poisen and then you die like what happened to a lot of clubbers a few years back. legelly yeah they would be ok... but if booze was illegal and some guy came up to u in a club and said "ere, av' some of this" and it was green with floating bits and smelt like gone off shit, would you drink it? no, just caus pills are smaller, dont smell and seem good does not mean they are not a pure death trip to hell and death. if u dont know whats in that little round tablet with a nice 3 triangle logo contains, dont have it. if ya intent of taking it, least do a simple test on it.

 

[bigbb]

...look after yourselves, and each other.

 

[Will]

OK, a few points - I've been away.

Dam, I see where you are coming from, I've seen people go that way myself, but as Throd said, some people will go that way anyway, it's not the drugs, it's the personalities involved.

Actually, the very illegality of soft drugs may add to the problem, as it gives people access to harder drugs when purchasing soft drugs, and also being educated at school that all drugs are bad, then finding that cannabis is actually not as bad as it was made out to be destroys some of the caution about other drugs.

 

[old.charliealpha]

about fucking time.

 

[Cod]

Originally posted by old.frankie
pills aint good when they are mixed with rat poisen and then you die like what happened to a lot of clubbers a few years back. legelly yeah they would be ok... but if booze was illegal and some guy came up to u in a club and said "ere, av' some of this" and it was green with floating bits and smelt like gone off shit, would you drink it? no, just caus pills are smaller, dont smell and seem good does not mean they are not a pure death trip to hell and death. if u dont know whats in that little round tablet with a nice 3 triangle logo contains, dont have it. if ya intent of taking it, least do a simple test on it.

Or .. only buy off people you know and trust?

 

[lecter]

Actually, the very illegality of soft drugs may add to the problem, as it gives people access to harder drugs when purchasing soft drugs, and also being educated at school that all drugs are bad, then finding that cannabis is actually not as bad as it was made out to be destroys some of the caution about other drugs.

I made the point that the government should sell it and take away the profits from the drug dealers. The government shops wouldnt sell hard drugs, and dealers would only be able to sell stuff like cocaine. All the ppl that think weed is 'good' would be appeased, a substantial part of the electorate.

I ask you what is worse.
a) some geezer getting fucked on cocaine/weed/e or whatever in his own house.
b) someone smoking in their own house with children.

Its pretty obvious to me which is worse. The child has NO choice in whether he inhales cigarette smoke.