legalise cannabis?

[DaBeeeenster]

The people who abuse alcohol only damage themselves?

An All-Party Group of MPs investigating alcohol and crime was advised by the British Medical Association that alcohol is a factor in:

* 60-70% of homicides
* 75% of stabbings
* 70% of beatings
* 50% of fights and domestic assaults

The Police Superintendents advised that alcohol is present in half of all crime.

The National Association of Probation Officers advised that 30% of offenders on probation and 58% of prisoners have severe alcohol problems and that alcohol is a factor in their offence or pattern of offending.

http://www.ias.org.uk/factsheets/crime.htm

Slick, can we have evidence of schizophrenia related to smoking?

[Big RICHARD]

Originally posted by DaBeeeenster
The people who abuse alcohol only damage themselves?



http://www.ias.org.uk/factsheets/crime.htm

Slick, can we have evidence of schizophrenia related to smoking?

Hence my comment

Although there are the idiots who get drunk and start fights.......Maybe we should get courts orders against such people saying that they aren't allowed to drink, because they can't handle themselves when they've had a drinnk....

[DaBeeeenster]

Surely on that basis Cannabis should be legalised and alcohol criminalised?

[Big RICHARD]

I didn't mean solely on that basis. Read the post. I said that I don't want to passive smoke cannabis and other illicit substances.

[DaBeeeenster]

Hmm. This is kind of annoying.

YOU DONT NEED TO SMOKE CANNABIS

[Big RICHARD]

No, but if it was legalised I would be forced to passively smoke it, like non-smokers passively smoke tobacco against their will.

[DaBeeeenster]

Why? Who said that legalising cannabis meant legalising smoking it in public? I didn't. I'd like all public smoking abolished. The two are not mutually exclusive.

[Big RICHARD]

So why do you want cannabis legalised?

[DaBeeeenster]

Because I dont think people that smoke it are in any way impacting the lives of others. Quite simply, there is absolutely no reason for it to be classed as illegal.

There are also a whole host of benefits to its legalisation, as mentioned above.

[Big RICHARD]

Why does it seem that most of the smokers of cannabis are unemployed? They seem to be the full time job-dodgers of this world and these people do have an enornous effect on everyone else......

There are also problems with its legislation. Healthcare costs. Kids moving to harder drugs.

[DaBeeeenster]

Most smokers of cannabis are unemployed? LMAO! There are MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of cannabis smokers. Where is your proof that most cannabis smokers are unemployed? Either back that statement up or retract it please.

Healthcare costs? Easily taken care of by taxation. "Gateway Drug"? I say alcohol is the gateway drug. Legalising cannabis removes contact with dealers, and allows the police more time to deal with hard drugs.

[Big RICHARD]

Originally posted by DaBeeeenster
Most smokers of cannabis are unemployed? LMAO! There are MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of cannabis smokers. Where is your proof that most cannabis smokers are unemployed? Either back that statement up or retract it please.

Healthcare costs? Easily taken care of by taxation. "Gateway Drug"? I say alcohol is the gateway drug. Legalising cannabis removes contact with dealers, and allows the police more time to deal with hard drugs.

OK. I said 'Why does it seem that most of the smokers of cannabis are unemployed?' From what I have seen, they are.

I didn't say 'Gateway drug' or imply it. I said 'Kids moving to harder drugs'.

By this I meant:
The legal age is likely to be 18 if cannabis is ever legalised (which I doubt it will). Kids will find it harder to get hold of cannabis and find it easier to get hold of harder drugs. How is alcohol a gateway drug? How many people decide after taking alcohol to take hard drugs? What is this percentage compared to those who take cannabis and decide that they want harder drugs. It would be smaller. Those who take cannabis generally have the mentality to try harder drugs anyways, remember.

Yes legalising cannabis removes dealers. But, this means the dealer have to buy in more and more of the harder drugs, so it becomes even easier to get hold of other harder drugs.

OK MILLIONS and MILLIONS of cannabis takers. Would you like to back that up?

[gilgamesj]

i smoke cannabis........
i know about 60% of the people ive met do too....
a lot of higher industry / firm people smoke it.
The smokers who seem unemployed are usually so because they dont have an education ( just a generalisation off a few m8s )
but they're good people, and a lot are moving into low level employment ( tesco and the like )

[Big RICHARD]

Originally posted by gilgamesj
i smoke cannabis........
i know about 60% of the people ive met do too....
a lot of higher industry / firm people smoke it.
The smokers who seem unemployed are usually so because they dont have an education ( just a generalisation off a few m8s )
but they're good people, and a lot are moving into low level employment ( tesco and the like )

That didn't really make any sense! higher industry / firm people? Who are they?
So cannabis is smoked by those with little or no education?
What do you mean 'good people'? Good in that they fund drug dealers?

[DaBeeeenster]

Originally posted by Big RICHARD
OK. I said 'Why does it seem that most of the smokers of cannabis are unemployed?' From what I have seen, they are.

I didn't say 'Gateway drug' or imply it. I said 'Kids moving to harder drugs'.

By this I meant:
The legal age is likely to be 18 if cannabis is ever legalised (which I doubt it will). Kids will find it harder to get hold of cannabis and find it easier to get hold of harder drugs. How is alcohol a gateway drug? How many people decide after taking alcohol to take hard drugs? What is this percentage compared to those who take cannabis and decide that they want harder drugs. It would be smaller. Those who take cannabis generally have the mentality to try harder drugs anyways, remember.

Yes legalising cannabis removes dealers. But, this means the dealer have to buy in more and more of the harder drugs, so it becomes even easier to get hold of other harder drugs.

OK MILLIONS and MILLIONS of cannabis takers. Would you like to back that up?

Either make a statement and back it up or dont make it at all. Saying stuff like "it seems that all cannabis users yada yada yada" is not adding anything at all to the discussion IMHO. If that were the case all the time, anyone could say whatever they like, and we wont get anywhere.

Do you think cannabis users are layabouts or not. If you do, back it up!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1154996.stm

One in ten British adults use the drug, or have done in the last 12 months, the European Union Drugs Agency figures suggested.

So that's around 3/4 million people.

If kids cannot get hold of cannabis, how is it going to be easier for them to get harder drugs? They won't know any drug dealers, will they? If you remove the cannabis market in the UK, there are going to be LESS DRUG DEALERS. That's simple market economics. Less drug dealers means it will be harder to get hold of hard drugs.

How is alcohol a gateway drug? What's the first drug you tried? What's the first drug 99% of kids in Britain try?

[DaBeeeenster]

Originally posted by Big RICHARD
Good in that they fund drug dealers?

If it was made legal, they would not be funding drug dealers, would they!