Green Party wanting to legalise drugs.

[YorkieTheRabbit]

Maybe I’m not thinking this through correctly, so could anyone explain to me how legalising heroin would work.

It’s highly addictive, causes physical dependency and can damage to the body.

Then, who is supposed to be paying for the supply? Would it be taxpayers basically paying for people to become addicted then paying to treat the addiction?
I know that people will take drugs regardless but I just can’t get my head around this.
Surely the Greens don’t think that drug dealers will just shrug their shoulders and go and get a proper job 🤷‍♀️

Will they be delivered by deliveroo, along with a KFC?
Or will people be able to buy drugs from dodgy Dom down the road, who’ll pop round in five minutes with whatever you fancy,. Plus Dom will need to fill in a tax return. Or will people need to catch a bus to the nearest dispensary? The mind boggles

Are they planning on charging VAT the same as alcohol or will it be free on prescription?
Please excuse my rambling as I’m sleeping deprived but this really has me pondering.

I think they cause structural and functional changes in regions of the brain associated with regulation of affect and impulse control and reward and motivational functions. I would assume high doses and chronic pose greatest risk but I'm not sure at what dose and duration of use any changes become permanent.

Exactly this. many countries have began to decriminalize drugs. Alcohol is far more damaging to society that drugs yet noone blinks an eye at that. Many drugs could have medical benefit if there could be legal clinical trials done using them.

This.

OP I was also super skeptical until I read an eye opening book

Chasing The Scream by Johann Hari

after reading this I feel I would be pro the decriminalisation of drugs. It takes the power away from the dealers and gangs and opens up the channel of commication to those at risk of taking drugs. Usually serious drug takers are people who’ve had awful childhood and are blanking out their pain. Thats the thing that needs focusing on, ensuring people haven’t got nothing to live for except for drugs.

Shame people can't control themselves and want to poison their bodies to "feel good".

Ummmm alcohol is legal but driving while drunk very much is not.

You can say that about anything even mildly harmful. Do you eat chocolate? Drink coffee?

It's a weird thing to do given what they are doing in other areas.

Stamping down on alcohol use with minimum pricing and increased taxes. Same with cigarettes the cost is going through the roof. Junk food and sugar taxes.

All in the name of "improving public health".

Well if you are going to work on improving public health, surely legalisation of cannabis is just going to lead to worse outcomes. Without the issues to do with psychological problems cannabis can cause, what about the effects from smoking it, ie lung cancer ? And a lot of the time it is cut with tobacco.

They have some mild nutritional benefits. I know what is wrong and what is right.

But in the long term, or large quantities, they’re harmful. Same as drugs and alcohol.

The sharpest increase in recreational drug use lagged slightly behind their being banned.

Greens (and LibDems) have always had a policy of reviewing the UKs drugs laws It was quite amusing seeing Caroline Lucas having to swerve the issue - luckily political reporting in this country is so pisspoor it rarely happened.

The best place to start would be to put the 1971 MDA and the ACMD into alignment and follow the law as it was always intended to be used. It is a very clever and progressive piece of legislation. However that discussions is probably conducted elsewhere. Ideally in a clue factory.

It’s completely different.

We would have to calculate the length of time each person would have to not drive for, according to the strength/quantity of drugs etc - it would be impossible to legislate and for people to interpret.

Alcohol is a poison but it’s a known quantity in society, and the process of drunkenness is slower and isn’t like a bomb of MDMA or similar, that hits all at one. Drugs are more likely to render you unconscious or have a seizure at the wheel.

It would be an absolute nightmare.

But again you’re incorrect. It would just be a blanket ban, like alcohol should be for driving.

And seeing as legalising alcohol hasn’t resulted in lower drink driving, why do you think this would work?

You've made some hefty leaps there. For example, alcohol consumption is legal but drinking and driving isn't, nor is being a public nuisance whilst under the influence (drunk and disorderly). Just because an element of the law regarding the possession or use of substance is changed, doesn't mean you can do whatever you like whilst under the influence of it.

Drugs and alcohol - even minor quantities are damaging. And are intoxicants as well.

Water in large quantities kills.

The intended effect of this legislation isn’t to reduce drug driving, is it?

Alcohol was never expressly illegal in modern history either?

Same as chocolate, palm oil, UPFs.

Ok?

Trust me, truly I know what I’m talking about, I have seen the effects of drugs daily now for many years.

Legalisation would be an absolute disaster, legally a nightmare and would result in far more ramifications than is being discussed here.

I would love to sit down and have a 2/3 hour chat about it but obviously that’s not an option. But for every simple ‘but they’ll do it anyway/it’ll be like alcohol’ there’s very good and extensive reasons why it would NOT be.

If you want drugs to be totally illegal, rather than legalised within limits, you must apply that line of thinking to everything else - including alcohol.

Porn isn't illegal

Lol, where did you get that idea?!!

Alcohol is legal now, but you're not allowed to drive around fine unless you cause a crash for fucks sake.

There is evidence that legalising drugs doesn't result in increased drug use.

What it would do is remove the criminal behaviour associated with the supply and sale of drugs.

Oh yes. I wouldn't mind it drugs and alcohol being banned. But drugs first.

The gulf states and east Asian states are very strict. I would not allow my kids to do drugs, I doubt many others would as well.

Not much critical thinking here, which is a shame.

No one has put forward any vaguely workable proposal for a mission statement for a drugs policy. And without that, any "measures" are a waste of time.

At least we know why the UKs productivity is so low.

"Here's our policy"
"What does it do ?"
"Fuck knows"
"How will we know it's working ?"
"Does that matter ?"
"Good point. Here's an every increasing sum of money to deal with it. See you next year"
"Thanks boss"