To think cannabis should be legal?

[RainbowsAndCrystals]

Just came back from a week in Amsterdam.

I very occasionally smoke weed. It was just so nice to be able to sit outside, drink coffee and smoke with no judgment.

I saw hardly any police the entire time I wasn't there. Never felt unsafe.

I would be very surprised if anyone who works in psychiatric services came on here and claimed that cannabis does little harm

Even if it is legalised there are still going to be dealers undercutting prices skunk will still be sold it isn't going to take money from drug dealers they will find another way to make money that argument has been over simplified

The most import issue is the impact it has on people especially their mental health in mh services there are so many young people coming through the services that smoke weed and it has seriously impacted them will they get better will their mh issues disappear when they no longer smoke will they have to take anti psychotic drugs for the rest of their lives it's not known and that is the really worrying part is that it's only become apparent in recent years how damaging even in relatively small amounts smoking weed has on many young people

In response to the people saying everyone they know who smoked cannabis when young has mental health problems - I know many people who smoked it when young, and none of them have serious mental health problems. But then the plural of anecdote is not data. 😉

Aside from that, I don't think anyone is saying teenagers should take it even if it is legalised? Legal for adults - 18, or even 21.

There is really unclear evidence from the MH / cannabis correlation.

For sure, if you have poor mental health smoking cannabis is not a good thing. However the evidence is not clear cut on cause. Do teenagers who have poor MH smoke cannabis to self medicate?

Anyway teenagers would have no business buying weed if it were legalised. I'd want to see a 21 year old age limit I think.

I haven't read the thread.

I've consumed my fair share of smokable drugs over the years, stopped when I got engaged and didn't start again after I got divorced.

My opinion is that if we were to make it legal then it should be for over 21s only. I know this would be impossible but the fact is is that weed is far, far too strong these days, in fact and I firmly believe it could be extremely negative for someone young already in possession of a delicate mind.

A major advantage of legalisation (for drugs in general, not just marijuana) is that legal products are produced in standardised ways and have to be sold with clear content labels. Colorado's new regulations for example specify that the cannabinoid profile (including THC) is described, limits sales to over 21s (like alcohol in that state) and also all packaging has to be childproof. They have experienced some issues and there are definitely some things to be resolved (developing an equivalent roadside test to the breathaliser being one of them). Where I live legalisation is a fairly obvious harm reduction measure.

YANBU OP - and I don't even use it occasionally, but it would be far more sensible to legalise.

As far as the mental health anecdotes go - these are based on people who are using it anyway = banning it hasn't helped them much.

Genuine question to the people saying legalise it - so would you make all drugs uncontrolled, because if not people will still be going to the ‘gangstas’. If you dont make them controlled, does that mean everyone and anyone can go and get some heroine?

Im not for/against it, i find your arguments for legalising it interesting but i’m on the fence now with my own views and how it could work.

I agree it isnt working now and i’d love the money/power to be taken away from the dealers, but i cant see how it would work without putting rules in place that stop people getting the drugs, therefore sending them back to the dealers, or just letting anyone have a kilo or heroine.

If you was only talking about cannabis - ignore my post entirely!

Everyone I know who has smoked or currently smokes weed would much rather be able to go to a shop or dispensary to purchase it, rather than deal with a street dealer. It’s an uncomfortable experience.

Yes there may be a few who will still go to their dealer but I doubt that would be the majority when there’s a perfectly legal and above board way of purchasing it from a place where you may even get to choose what type of strain you want. With a dealer it’s very much a case of you get what you’re given.

xqwertyx well that's the other thing - I know a lot of people who like the odd bit of cannabis, but won't touch other, harder things. But because they have to go to a dealer to get it, they're offered other things; the availability is right there. (And yet the vast majority still don't want them). If you legalise, & regulate (i.e. the dispensary system as in the US) cannabis ( & I still think for over 18s, or even over 21s), then it stops people coming into contact with harder things.

Fwiw, the ideological part of me thinks that self-determination and autonomy over ones body is a right, and as such you should be able to put into it whatever you want, being in full possession of unbiased facts. However, UK drug education is certainly not unbiased atm, which I personally believe leads to problems itself.

@xqwertyx

I would legalise all drugs because

Firstly, ideologically I am liberal.

Secondly, I'm a pragmatist (as opposed to an idealist) and what that means in real terms is that I am able to hold the view that legalised drugs will be better overall while simultaneously accepting that the legalised drugs will still harm people and society.

Thirdly, there's evidence it works. Drugs have effectively been legal in Portugal for almost 20 years, but imo they sacrificed the economic opportunities for archaic morality.

Also @xqwertyx there is no way to totally eliminate gangsters making money. There's probably gangsters selling daffodils right now.

Cigarettes are a good example they are legal but there is still an illegal market for those, the major difference is that the majority of the revenue from cigarettes is directed by the criminals we elect into Whitehall to be able to put some of that cigarette money into the NHS. I don't see many Gangstas dipping into their funds for Great Ormond Street any time soon.

I have 2 issues with this:

I know someone who has serious mental health issues, several of their medical professionals cite their cannabis use as directly responsible for either causing it/or exasperating it.
They were a very placid person who became very violent, they aren't the same person anymore.

Legalising smoking seems at odds with what we have decided as a society. We don't want people smoking tobacco and cannabis goes hand in hand with that. Small packs of tobacco are going. Am I right that they are wanting to make it impossible for the next generation to smoke at all?

I don't care what people smoke, because they shouldn't smoke! The NHS can't afford smokers (or drinkers)

All drugs should be legalised. Tax them, regulate them, make them safer , drive away the underworld. What's not to agree with that?

Rudedog Smoking is by far the only way to take cannabis though. Other than smoking, you can vape it, eat it, use a tincture, apply it topically, or I believe you can even get oils, even in capsule form.

Ffs. By far not the only way. 🙄

Thanks for clearing that up.

One thing i agree on is that if alcohol is ok why isnt anything else. I havent seen the fall out of a drug (e.g. class A) addict in a family home but i have certainly seen the fallout of alcohol addiction, and i cant see why there would be much difference between the two, so why has one been classed as acceptable and not the other.

I have never even tried cannabis (i dont think i can even spell it right), or any drugs other than alcohol for that matter, but i find it bizarre that cannabis is ‘banned’ but alcohol isnt. The effects of alcohol addiction is much more devastating for the user and their family, so that certainly makes no sense at all to me.

I lie, i had diamorphine before and it made me feel absolutely horrendous. It was like being on a merry go round that i couldnt get off

qwertyx I think what you've just said is a good example of why it's not a good thing to legalise these drugs. Alcohol is a problem, the reason being that it is legal, socially acceptable and readily available. Surely by legalising all drugs you will make them easier to purchase (just go to a shop), and more socially acceptable hence you will start to see the effects of them far more frequently in everyday life. This is why I think it's good that they aren't legal, despite the fact that it allows criminals to benefit from them rather than legitimate business.

YANBU. If alcohol & tobacco are legal, I don’t see why cannabis isn’t.

remain I smoked it then stopped for ten months while pregnant and continued to stop whilst baby was breastfeeding, then started again, wanted another baby so I stopped again. It’s better than your six months right?

We don't want people smoking tobacco and cannabis goes hand in hand with that

In the UK, very much so- in many (most? Not sure) other places, not at all.

www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/cannabis.aspx

'A study following 1600 Australian school-children, aged 14 to 15 for seven years, found that while children who use cannabis regularly have a significantly higher risk of depression, the opposite was not the case - children who already suffered from depression were not more likely than anyone else to use cannabis. However, adolescents who used cannabis daily were five times more likely to develop depression and anxiety in later life.'

It's enough to convince me that legalisation would likely result in increased mental illness.

I suspect that if alcohol and tobacco weren't already legal, they would not be legalised.

Hereward That study, and indeed an awful lot of studies, is about teenagers/adolescents though. I think the vast majority of people who would like legalisation mean from age 18, or even 21, upwards.

If it's legalized it would be a lot more accessible for young people though...