smoking drugs in public

[woody69]

No, but why add to the bad outcomes. Both drugs and alcohol are addictive and Cannabis can lead to stronger drugs, and in itself affects people in different ways. And the cannabis in circulation now is a lot different to what was around 50 years ago.
I think that, sadly, it will be legalised. But where do you stop?

Cannabis is no more a "gateway" drug than alcohol or nicotine. That is a myth.

It should be legalised, regulated and properly taxed with estimates saying it could make £1.25bn to £3.5bn from the tax revenues, not to mention the cost saving from not having to police it.

Attitudes to drugs in general need to change. I wish the UK were more like the Portuguese which has seen huge benefits since they decriminalised illicit substances.

 

[Farneyman]

we attended a house fire the other day. in a unaffected room we found a small canabis farm. when we asked for the police they asked "how many pots" . when i answered 4 pots they said they won't send a car until the next day.

A small farm with 4 pots is like saying you are a sheppard with 1 pet lamb lol

 

[Robster59]

Cannabis is no more a "gateway" drug than alcohol or nicotine. That is a myth.

It should be legalised, regulated and properly taxed with estimates saying it could make £1.25bn to £3.5bn from the tax revenues, not to mention the cost saving from not having to police it.

Attitudes to drugs in general need to change. I wish the UK were more like the Portuguese which has seen huge benefits since they decriminalised illicit substances.

I have a close friend who works in drug addiction and they would strongly argue against that statement.

 

[woody69]

I have a close friend who works in drug addiction and they would strongly argue against that statement.

Then I would recommend you tell your friend to read up a little more on the available research and understands that correlation does not mean causation.

Studies show that other factors—including genetic predisposition, environment, and poverty—are highly correlated with and can predict substance use disorders. The misuse of so-called soft drugs are, at most, indicators of some people’s predisposition to misusing other drugs. This more enlightened view of cause and effect in drug use is known as “common liability theory.”
The gateway theory is a misleading explanation of the complicated set of factors that actually lead to substance misuse. Its reductive interpretation distracts from an important public health discussion, and this malignant misunderstanding has resulted in the many harms of cannabis prohibition.

 

[Norrin Radd]

My personal view on weed and to that matter smoking and alcohol should be banned ,full stop.
The cost to the NHS is way too much with regards all three mentioned.
Ban them all and save the nhs

 

[woody69]

My personal view on weed and to that matter smoking and alcohol should be banned ,full stop.
The cost to the NHS is way too much with regards all three mentioned.
Ban them all and save the nhs

You do know that prohibition doesn't work right?

 

[Norrin Radd]

You do know that prohibition doesn't work right?

Only in America.

 

[harpo_72]

My 7 yr old son started singing something about wacky backy. Asked where he had heard that and he stopped.
Definitely picked it up from school, but you cannot shelter them forever.

 

[Backache]

You do know that prohibition doesn't work right?

I think it depends on what you mean by work.

 

[Robster59]

Then I would recommend you tell your friend to read up a little more on the available research and understands that correlation does not mean causation.

Studies show that other factors—including genetic predisposition, environment, and poverty—are highly correlated with and can predict substance use disorders. The misuse of so-called soft drugs are, at most, indicators of some people’s predisposition to misusing other drugs. This more enlightened view of cause and effect in drug use is known as “common liability theory.”
The gateway theory is a misleading explanation of the complicated set of factors that actually lead to substance misuse. Its reductive interpretation distracts from an important public health discussion, and this malignant misunderstanding has resulted in the many harms of cannabis prohibition.

Out of curiosity, are you a cannabis smoker?

 

[woody69]

I think it depends on what you mean by work.

As in stopping people using and taking drugs.

Look at the data from the Netherlands who have a very liberal attitude to cannabis. They are one of the lowest users of marijuana or cannabis in Europe.
Look at the date from Portugal since they decriminalised illicit substances. Reduction in drug related deaths, reduction in HIV diagnosis etc. etc.

 

[woody69]

Out of curiosity, are you a cannabis smoker?

No, I am not. I have smoked it a few times when I was a teenager over 20 years ago, but I didn't particularly enjoy it so haven't done it since.

 

[Dan2501]

Cannabis is no more a "gateway" drug than alcohol or nicotine. That is a myth.

It should be legalised, regulated and properly taxed with estimates saying it could make £1.25bn to £3.5bn from the tax revenues, not to mention the cost saving from not having to police it.

Attitudes to drugs in general need to change. I wish the UK were more like the Portuguese which has seen huge benefits since they decriminalised illicit substances.

Money that could be put towards drug addiction rehabilitation schemes and research to help better understand the possible medicinal benefits cannabis has to offer. I wish government would seriously consider moving towards a model similar to the one adopted by Portugal.

 

[harpo_72]

Money that could be put towards drug addiction rehabilitation schemes and research to help better understand the possible medicinal benefits cannabis has to offer. I wish government would seriously consider moving towards a model similar to the one adopted by Portugal.

Where it’s legalised in the US the profit generation is huge.
Seriously if they legalised and made it state owned I.e all profits go in to funding the welfare state and social services .. we would probably help out society massively and reduce criminal activity as it would be priced out of the market .. but watch the US and see what’s going on.
I don’t believe this should be a private enterprise it’s should be 100% state controlled.

 

[Tashyboy]

We walked past three lads smoking it on the golf course on Saturday! That was at Stockley Park.

There's a road near me that I walk down and I can often smell it, I'm convinced there's a household there actually producing it. It doesn't really bother me that much though, it is an unusual smell, but not as bad as walking behind someone with a cigarette. Plus I actually hate those vape things even more, the smell of cinnamon or some other sickly sweet substance is just bizarre.

Whilst we were in San Francisco I watched a piece on the news on several occasions re vapes and what companies put in them. Cinnamon was one of the worst products. Plus companies were openly courting school kids with sweets flavoured vapes. There's a *** storm just around the corner with vapes. Re cannabis on the streets. It sodding stinks as does any fags. People smoking them, it's like pigs in ***. There used to it, they just don't smell it. Legalise it yes, but open Cannabis cafes like in amester dam so your amongst your own. Raise tax on alcohol, why? 99.9% of the general public are sensible drinkers. Those that are not and the problems they bring every weekend night. Target them. Maybe give them a legal Spliff.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Why legalise cannabis? There is a huge black market in counterfeit cigarettes, none of which is regulated and no benefit to the system. Why do you not think that won’t happen with cannabis?

I saw a program a little while ago on drugs, and strangely enough the view by experts was that long term use of cannabis left the user with a much greater chance of psychosis and other mental issues.

 

[woody69]

Whilst we were in San Francisco I watched a piece on the news on several occasions re vapes and what companies put in them. Cinnamon was one of the worst products. Plus companies were openly courting school kids with sweets flavoured vapes. There's a *** storm just around the corner with vapes. Re cannabis on the streets. It sodding stinks as does any fags. People smoking them, it's like pigs in ***. There used to it, they just don't smell it. Legalise it yes, but open Cannabis cafes like in amester dam so your amongst your own. Raise tax on alcohol, why? 99.9% of the general public are sensible drinkers. Those that are not and the problems they bring every weekend night. Target them. Maybe give them a legal Spliff.

There have been something like 6 confirmed deaths in America relating to vaping and around 500 or so cases relating to lung problems. Pretty much all of those are a consequence of liquids and devices bought off the street and containing THC. There is a distinct lack of regulation in the US on vaping, which is why we are not seeing any of those problems over in the UK and Europe (thanks to those meddling EU un-elected bureaucrats and EU laws).

Compare that to the 1000s that die every day from smoking and it's a bit of a non-story

 

[Dan2501]

There have been something like 6 confirmed deaths in America relating to vaping and around 500 or so cases relating to lung problems. Pretty much all of those are a consequence of liquids and devices bought off the street and containing THC. There is a distinct lack of regulation in the US on vaping, which is why we are not seeing any of those problems over in the UK and Europe (thanks to those meddling EU un-elected bureaucrats and EU laws).

Compare that to the 1000s that die every day from smoking and it's a bit of a non-story

Vape companies don't contribute towards presidential campaigns though, so easy to bury them. Dumb politics and outdated propaganda gets in the way of science. There's no way cigarettes and alcohol should be legal and Weed illegal, makes absolutely zero sense.

 

[woody69]

Why legalise cannabis? There is a huge black market in counterfeit cigarettes, none of which is regulated and no benefit to the system. Why do you not think that won’t happen with cannabis?

I saw a program a little while ago on drugs, and strangely enough the view by experts was that long term use of cannabis left the user with a much greater chance of psychosis and other mental issues.

There is very strong evidence that the black market for cigarettes is actually significantly contributed to by the tobacco industry as they benefit from it, with something like only 1 in 10 cigarettes being counterfeits. There is also evidence that the studies estimating the size of the black market is very much overstated, but there is no sufficiently reliable data about the scale of the black market in tobacco overall.

If cannabis was to be legalised, then I am sure there would be a black market of sorts, but there are ways and means to tackle that.

And yeah, I don't think anyone is saying that cannabis is completely harmless. There are risks with any substance that you put inside your body, like alcohol, sugar, caffeine etc. People are more at risk of getting run over by a bus if they go outside their house, but you weigh up the risks and make a choice as an adult. Legalising it and then regulating it will help reduce those risks.

 

[Tashyboy]

There have been something like 6 confirmed deaths in America relating to vaping and around 500 or so cases relating to lung problems. Pretty much all of those are a consequence of liquids and devices bought off the street and containing THC. There is a distinct lack of regulation in the US on vaping, which is why we are not seeing any of those problems over in the UK and Europe (thanks to those meddling EU un-elected bureaucrats and EU laws).

Compare that to the 1000s that die every day from smoking and it's a bit of a non-story

Is it though, vaping is very much in its infancy as against smoking and cannabis. Yes it has fantastic medicinal properties which far outweigh the disadvantages of a persons medical problems. But leisure use. Do we know the long term problems of smoking cannabis for 40 years.