To be a bit dubious about cannabis being legalised

[LeahJack]

William Hague called for legalisation today. And there is the discussion about legalisation for medical reasons, which is obviously great for people like Billy Caldwell, but has been used in the US as a back door for recreational legalisation as certificates are given out like confetti for everything.

I worry about this as DH used to smoke it. And like most users thought it was harmless but it made him absent minded and empty headed even when he wasn’t smoking it to the point where I was frightened to leave the children with him because he wouldn’t be able to react quickly if they did things like run into the road. Plus he was grumpy, irritable and short tempered when he wasn’t smoking it.

Another friend of mine who is a bit vulnerable had a complete breakdown into psychosis smoking it and lost her marriage and wasn’t allowed her children unsupervised for a long time as a result of cannabis smoking.

I also know someone who is currently smoking it claiming it is curing his depression, but it is quite obviously making his already poor mental health worse and tipping him into paranoia.

I know some people say it should be treated like alcohol, but if alcohol was discovered now, it would probably be banned too.

I think smoking it is a selfish act, and the price for recreational users legally getting stoned will be paid by their partners and children and vulnerable people who are made ill by it.

I hate that it’s effectively been decriminalised anyway and my children have to walk through clouds of stinking smoke on our high street.

[Domino20]

I agree with you totally OP. Some people are badly affected by smoking cannabis. At its least harmful it turns people into insufferable bores.

[PretABoire]

We already have a very useful model from the US. If legalised it would also be capitalised and the choice in the market would explode. In the USA you can choose weed by potency of both or either TBC or CBD - both having different effects. There is also a wide range of edible products so it doesn’t all need to be smoked.

This choice in the market will allow people to control and avoid addictions and side effects in a way they can’t currently and would take cash from the pockets of dealers and traffickers.

While I can definitely see the negative side of drugs, history has proven time and time again that you can’t keep them away from the people that want them, and a regulated market is our best way forward.

[Yokatsu]

Totally agree OP! It's absolutely not harmless and I'm horrified that William Hague can even suggest it.

[flapjackfairy]

I have a severely disabled child with an aggressive life threatening epilepsy syndrome. I think it is disgusting that medical cannibis is banned in the uk esp as we are one of the major exporters of medical cannibis to other countries. I see parents in america on support groups for this rare syndrome saying what a difference it has made to their childs quality of life and even kept them alive in some cases and my blood boils with the hypocrisy of it all. No doubt the gov are happy to take the taxes of these uk companies exporting it !
BUT I am firmly against legalising it completely as i have see the damage it has done to some peoples mental health.
I think the gov needs to stop pratting about and legalise it to save children like mine endless seizures and suffering.

[Deshasafraisy]

Alcohol is legal and causes way more problems than cannabis. Tobacco too. I think legalising it is a good move to put drug dealers out of business

[BarbiesPinkCar]

Smoking is not good full stop.

However cannabis oil is a whole different thing. I know someone that has a spray she puts under her tongue to relieve pain, it works, she is not stoned in the slightest, but she is without pain.

[user1484247439]

Can't stand the stuff, living in a flat underneath someone who smoked it on their balcony was enough to make me hate it. Couldn't hang my washing out to dry or leave the kids bedroom window open incase it was time for him to light up.

[YoYotheclown]

Don’t know but I can’t wait till it’s legalised. My dd has severe epilepsy not being controlled well by other meds. Would love to give her this. It would be literally life changing for her. She has sn so her quality of life will be amazing too.

[HighwayDragon1]

I have MS, cannabis oil will literally change my life.

[Moonkissedlegs]

Cant they just make the CBD cannabis oil legal in all potencies, and keep the mind affecting stuff that you smoke illegal? They are totally different anyway aren't they?

[Fatted]

There are a number of other illegal drugs which are legal for medical use in this country already as morphine and tramadol which are opiate based. They are also only available on prescription for certain conditions and illnesses. I think if the UK were to legalise it for medical use, a very different system to the US one would operate.

[flapjackfairy]

Yoyo i am with you. But i am a foster carer and if i broke the law i would lose my licence and the longterm foster child with complex needs who has lived with us his whole life. It would kill us and him.
My child is doing well on the ketogenic diet on the whole but recently his seizures have been completely out of control. If that continues we could lose him so yes i would have to take drastic action to try and save him.
My only hope is that the powers that be see sense as this gains momentum and that common sense prevails.

[Limpopobongo]

I really couldnt care less whether they legalise it or not.

What i will say is;

I choose not to socialise with anyone who smokes it because i dont like it

I do not want to be assailed by its noxious fumes everywhere i go in public.

I do not want to fund NHS treatment for those who choose to take it and for whatever reason find that their mind/body/life is fucked up by it.

[Mousefunky]

Cannabis oil isn’t like the cannabis you smoke. The psychoactive elements have been removed so it has literally no adverse effects. I agree that actual cannabis shouldn’t be legalised as I have witnessed the huge ramifications cannabis addiction can have more times than I care to mention but I’m all for the legalisation of cannabis oil.

[LeahJack]

*I do not want to fund NHS treatment for those who choose to take it and for whatever reason find that their mind/body/life is fucked up by it.

The problem is that we don’t have much choice because the way cannabis most frequently fucks people up also makes them a danger to others with psychosis and paranoia.

[Limpopobongo]

Well bang them up in a secure facility then. With freedom comes responsibility.

[mostdays]

Has he called for full legalisation? I thought they'd only been talking about legalising for medical purposes?

I support legalisation. I do understand that there are negative effects and a lot of risks, but I also think that legalising is the right way to go. I would like to see it taken out of the hands of criminal gangs, to have tax paid on it, for the taxes raised to go to fund mental health, for people to be able to buy from regulated suppliers who can give them good information on exactly what they are buying, for the police not to have to spend so much time dealing with offences around cannabis, etc.

I don't think anyone credible claims that cannabis is harmless. But neither are many other things which are legal, and there is a good argument to make that allowing the legal, regulated sale of cannabis products would reduce harm, rather than increase it. I do understand people's concerns though, and think that if we ever did move to full legalisation, those concerns would need to be taken seriously and measure put in place to allay them as far as possible.

[AmyLou14]

As someone who has seen first hand the benefits of cannabis oil I can 100% say this has to be legalised.
It just has to be for medical reasons only.
Family member was given just 8 weeks to live at diagnosis, 8 weeks from a fit healthy man who thought he pulled a muscle at the gym.
Doctor said no treatment we went with cannabis oil thinking it would at very least dull the pain, keep him chilled in himself and encourage a good appetite. 2 years later he is still with us and well, cancer has completely cleared in lungs, adrenal glands and spine. There is still spotting in bowel and liver and for all intents he is still terminal but 2 happy years so far and he’s not slowing down. He’s booked to go to Florida with his family, that’s how well physically he is and he ran the dads race at sports day last year. Yes things were ropey at first when no-one in the family knew anything about manufacturing and doses and he spent a fair few days on the couch totally out of it eating Nutella from the jar, but tolerance builds. Please research how amazing these treatments can be before writing them off. It would be so much easier if you could get it prescribed instead of having to duck and dive to give a loved one a chance when conventional treatments won’t work.

[ICantCopeAnymore]

The type of people who would want to smoke cannabis for pleasure are already doing it.

My brother in law was sectioned because it changed his brain chemistry and he had severe bipolar disorder as a result. He still smokes it.

It needs to be legal for medicinal use. It's life changing for some.

[mustbemad17]

I would love to see medical cannabis legalised here, having had a few friends with different chronic conditions see good effects from using. For public consumption however? No thanks. I have a neighbour who smokes it, it is disgusting. And he walks around like a zombie on it with this spaced out look on his face. He definitely isn't fully compus mentus when smoking it!

[AllyMcBeagle]

I really worry about an increase in drug driving if it is legalised.

DH has a relative who smokes dope and drives. He insists it makes him a better driver. He makes me absolutely livid and I don't know what to do.

[Limpopobongo]

Presumably anyone using it for medicinal purposes would be banned from driving as are the current recreational pot heads.

[BeckettsandChapel]

Cannabis oil is not smoked !! No one is saying smoked cannabis should be legal.
OIL only to be legalised !!

[DeShausanay]

Does anyone have a problem with cannabis oil being used medically? I am not talking about smokers and stoners, I'm talking about medically used and controlled oil that could prevent pain and help control seizures.

People seem to be getting confused between stoners/smokers and those that medically need it.

[mustbemad17]

If the call for legalisation is ONLY for the oil under medical supervision, i'm all for it. Anything else then no chance