to wonder if this will have any effect on the legality of cannabis in the UK?

[ophelia275]

From 2014 in Washington and Colorado states in the USA, the recreational use of cannabis will be legal. It will also become legal in Uruguay, the first country to make recreational use legal. This has not been done lightly and legalisation will be tightly controlled and regulated after a lot of research was done on the impact in all 3 places.

It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the future legality of cannabis in the UK. I think in the next few years more and more places will be making it legal to use recreationally, especially as there are potentially huge income streams associated with taxes/licensing of legal cannabis sellers.

Do people think it should be legalised in the UK if properly regulated/controlled in the same way as tobacco/alcohol is?

[ivykaty44]

Lazy
When a substances does irreversible damage to the brain

[ivykaty44]

Piglet
The message on smoking being legal is awful, but slowly this is being addressed and we have a far lower rate of smokers than the rest of Europe.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Discredited scientist? When did that happen? I know he stood down from his job because of gvt refusal to enact evidence-based legislation, did something happen after that?

[Lazysuzanne]

I smoked cannabis daily for about 10 years, I dont have any signs of brain damage.

Brain damage from car accidents or extreme sports is quite common, you presumably believe that should that be made illegal?

[Lazysuzanne]

David Nutt was discredited by the govt because he disagreed with their policy on drugs, are you not up to speed with the debacle?
Have you read his book?

[Lazysuzanne]

why am I bothering
no one is going to change their mind on something as emotive as drugs, we all just cling on the more strongly to our pre existing beliefs

[complexnumber]

Discredited scientist? When did that happen
OldLadyKnowsNothing

Sorry, my lazy reading of the article. Nowhere does it state that the scientist was discredited.

[ivykaty44]

How do you know you haven't changed your brain and created mental health problems yet to come?

I don't think banning smoking or dangerous sport is the answer to preventing issues with drugs.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Right, re Nutt, he was sacked because he couldn't be both a gvt advisor and a campaigner against gvt policy. Then several of his colleagues resigned in protest. He's still working in drug research and is not discredited in any way.

I agree arguments rarely change minds, some folk are just of the "drugs are baaaad, m'kay" mindset without ever considering how and why some plants became illegal, and whether it might be worth another look.

[CoteDAzur]

complexnumber - re "mild/moderate use heightened some of my sensory perceptions.. I really don't think it would act as a pain killer for me, it could possibly make the pain seem worse!"

Different kind of perception. Yes, music sounds better when under the influence, you pick up the fine details in everything etc.

And yet, it also provides effective pain relief.

"So, does it actually relieve the pain? or just zonk you out so you can't feel anything?"

My experience isn't extensive, but no, it is not because you are zonked out.

I was in terrible pain from really bad UTI once, crying on the toilet and peeing blood (sorry TMI). A friend came with my medication (from a pharmacy) and also brought a joint, saying it will help with the pain.

Within seconds of starting to smoke it, I felt no pain whatsoever. It was like magic.

[ByTheSea]

It is known by science to be far less dangerous and damaging than alcohol. It should be legal, taxed and regulated.

[CoteDAzur]

"There are large swathes of the world where alcohol is illegal. Perhaps if is as likely UK would emulate them as go the other way."

Oh yes. Beacons of rational scientific thought and democracy, such as:

Brunei
Iran (Available for purchase for religious minorities)
Kuwait
Libya
Mauritania
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Yemen
Qatar
United Arab Emirates

UK should follow their religious rule example, you say?

[Lazysuzanne]

Ranking 20 Drugs and Alcohol by Overall Harm
The British peer-reviewed journal Lancet published a study titled "Drug Harms in the UK: A Multicriteria Decision Analysis" on Nov. 1, 2010 which ranked 20 drugs from alcohol to marijuana to tobacco based on harm factors.
Individual harm (such as dependence, mortality, and impairment of mental functioning) was considered under "harm to users," while "harm to others" (such as crime, environmental damage, and international damage) took into account the number and extent of others harmed by individual drug use. The two charts below illustrate the study’s conclusions using a 100 point scale where 100 is the maximum harm and zero indicates no harm. The first chart broadly illustrates all 20 drugs by "harm to users” and harm to others” while the second chart illustrates those drugs on 16 criteria from drug-specific mortality to dependence to family adversities.

The study concluded that alcohol was the most harmful drug overall (72 out of 100), followed by heroin (55 out of 100), and crack cocaine (54 out of 100). The most harmful drugs to users were crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine (scores 37, 34, and 32, respectively), whereas alcohol, heroin, and crack cocaine were the most harmful to others (46, 21, and 17, respectively). Cannabis (aka marijuana) had an overall harm score of 20, putting it in eighth place behind amphetamine (aka speed) and before GHB (aka liquid ecstasy)

here's the link with graphs:

medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004477

(yes I know it's a pro cannabis website, but presumably we are willing to give credibility to a peer-reviewed study published by the Lancet )

[Dawndonnaagain]

Ivy, whatever happens its still best to remove it from the dealers. Oh and I would far rather be on the end of a discussion with a stoner than a drunk.
Interestingly, the man that wrote the bulk of the medicines act (1968) said on more than one occasion that had the research been available, cannabis wouldn't be on the list, and that it was a political decision rather than medical to include it.

[Lazysuzanne]

I think sometimes when people are against drugs it is (at root) because they are making a moral judgement, they disapprove of the desire for intoxication or they disapprove of illegality.
Or they dont like stoners, psychonauts or the types of people who go to raves and take whatever substances those people take.

We all free to approve or disapprove of anything but personal likes and dislikes are not a rational basis for legislation.

[sykadelic15]

Re the mental health stuff - schizophrenia is a big one. A relative has it now because of it.

I don't believe smoking it should EVER be legal. However I do believe that alternative versions of it (tablets/gels etc) should be permitted for pain control. Remove the "high" effect and leave just the other stuff and it'd be great :)

[PigletJohn]

I base my view on only two major questions

1. Can and should we prevent people from doing harmful and dangerous things?
   
   
2. Is it preferable for harmful or dangerous activities to be managed in a way that minimises harm and danger, especially to others?
   
   My answers are No and Yes.
   
   Hence a regime which promotes organised crime and adulterated products or increases risk of harm (illegal drugs or gambling dens or backstreet abortionists) is even worse than one where a licences and controlled trade exists (e.g. the National Lottery or pubs).
   
   I see no point in pretending that outlawing something prevents it from happening.

[Lazysuzanne]

I agree Piglet, although I wonder if you would argue that other drugs which are perceived as more harmful (crack cocaine etc)should be legal.

Mostly I think it is ridiculously paternalistic for the govt to decided that we may use intoxicants but only certain ones.

There is much talk these days of the possible psychotherapeutic benefits of hallucinogens (psilocybin, ayahuasca etc) and I think that's an interesting area.

Personally I don't do drugs, except coffee :o

[PigletJohn]

Not just drugs.

If people want to do dangerous and harmful things such as smoke cigarettes, ride horses, take heroin, climb mountains, get legless drunk, or ride motorcycles, do we try to prevent them and do we criminalise their activity?

The effects of prohibition on the rest of us are awful - organised crime to run the supply chain, and housebreaking or mugging to enable the buyers.

[Rachelx92]

I think it should be legalised for a few reasons. One being I've never had someone high off it try and pick a fight but I've had many drunk people become aggressive and violent and another reason being prisons and policing. I'd rather read that a rapist or murderer has been sentenced to life rather than someone getting a lengthy term for smoking some weed. I'm not saying everyone who uses cannabis is angelic btw

[Lazysuzanne]

I suppose the debate then moves to the question of whether the person wishing to do the dangerous thing is only harming him or herself.
Obviously it's not clear cut!

[PigletJohn]

people who fall off mountains or linger on with lung and throat cancer do their families no good. However AFAIK they do not usually promote organised crime, or burgle to support their habit.

[ComposHat]

Can you honestly see this being legalised in the uk?

Of course I can red because attitudes change and eventually the law changes to reflect that.

If you told people 60 years ago (at a time when sesex between consenting adults of the same sex was illegal) that within their lifetime that gay people would be granted equal marriage rights they wouldn't have believed you.

If ypu told women 100 years ago that by the end of the 1960s they'd be able to control their own fertility with a tablet and access safe and legal abortions they wouldn't have have believed you.

Compared to these changes in thought patterns and behaviour and law, the idea that packets of Cannabis might sit next to the King size Rizlas on the newsagent's shelf is tiny.

[Lazysuzanne]

Yer but
Worrabout all that illegal base jumping

[Lazysuzanne]

Very true Compos! It's also worth remembering that drugs were legal not all that long ago (50's / 60's? )