Ignorance about cannabis

[dinger]

moderation is key.

 

I agree with this.

[Hamilton Saint]

It is a hard drug.

 

You're wrong. That notion originates with the mistaken labelling (probably intentional) of it a such in the U.S. back in the 20s and 30s. [Ever seen the film "Reefer Madness"?] One of the major propaganda "facts" used by the authorities is that marijuana is a "gateway" drug: i.e., that it leads people towards real hard drugs, like heroin. That 'mistake' (lie) has been used to justify decades of foolish social policy and very harsh legal punishments. The war on pot has been an utter failure - primarily because it is based on ignorance and lies.

[Dog]

So which drug is better for you, cannabis or skunk?

 

I did try smoking it once, and I threw up all over the vicar's leg, it made me dizzy and see things I've never seen before, but no long term effects.

[Saint_Donovan]

Skunk is cannabis, it's just the name given to the high grade potent stuff

[pap]

I'm not sure that the short-cutting and labelling actually works too well.

 

I know people who have smoked weed their whole lives, so I've seen the long-term effects. Can definitely agree that it makes people paranoid, can lead to some bad decisions and is obviously hazardous to your health when smoked with tobacco.

 

I even know some people who went a bit mental after doing too much as teenagers. Wouldn't recommend any mind-altering substance when your brain is still in the process of sorting itself out in those final years of adolescence.

 

That all said, the stoners of this world are a lot easier to get on with than the drinkers of this world. If pot were legal, the activities of stoners would take up far less police and hospital time than those of drinkers.

[Lighthouse]

There's a big difference between a drug being legalised and the entirely population going out and getting stoned. How many of you who don't use drugs would go out and buy a bag of weed if it was legalised tomorrow? Probably none of you.

 

The thing about drug use is it's a victimless crime, in the sense that there is nobody to report it to the Police. A bloke in an alley behind a club sells a packet of something to a bloke and that's it. Nobody calls the Police so it's almost impossible to enforce drug laws most of the time.

[Dog]

What happens if you use a tight roach or filter, does it make it better for you?

[pap]

There's a big difference between a drug being legalised and the entirely population going out and getting stoned. How many of you who don't use drugs would go out and buy a bag of weed if it was legalised tomorrow? Probably none of you.

 

The thing about drug use is it's a victimless crime, in the sense that there is nobody to report it to the Police. A bloke in an alley behind a club sells a packet of something to a bloke and that's it. Nobody calls the Police so it's almost impossible to enforce drug laws most of the time.

 

Not only impossible, but prohibition is pointless and costly. The OB like to do the odd press release after seizing a lot of gear, but they're never going to solve it or get on top of it. Why are we spending money on drug enforcement when we could be a little more honest, legalise it and see a feckton of new cash in the tax system?

[tpbury]

Personally speaking, alcohol is very expensive and has screwed up my life - however it is something you can consume in publiic and still behave within socially acceptable norms (so long as you're not a violent cvnt). If dope was legal, I'd have a cheap spliff or two every other night with a cup of tea and be very happy. The paranoia only really kicks in when you're stoned and trying to integrate with drunk/non-stoned people. It suits people who like small groups and meaningless or deep conversation. From my selfish point of view, I'd ban alcohol and make (non-skunk) dope legal. Think this would make the UK and other screwed societies a better place.

 

Agree, however, that the strong stuff can make you mad.

[Saintandy666]

http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/32/3/815.long

 

Interesting piece on the study which caused these headlines.

[ART]

Funny story here on the local news here in Montpellier this morning about this guy caught cultivating a large area of cannabis plants in the countryside. Police said he was well organised with plenty of sun, water supply but lacked electricity. So what did he do, eventually leading to him being caught?

 

Using a long cable, well hidden, he connected up to......................... a speed camera

/radar installed by the regional police

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/32/3/815.long

 

Interesting piece on the study which caused these headlines.

 

You mean the initial study might be slightly exaggerating the impact of an illegal substance? Shock horror.

[pap]

Funny story here on the local news here in Montpellier this morning about this guy caught cultivating a large area of cannabis plants in the countryside. Police said he was well organised with plenty of sun, water supply but lacked electricity. So what did he do, eventually leading to him being caught?

 

Using a long cable, well hidden, he connected up to......................... a speed camera

/radar installed by the regional police

 

You can just imagine the "sacre bleu" when they got the leccy bill.

 

How did the fella deal with his arrest? Surely if his gear was any good a couple of "pure crow" big boys would have settled matters

[Saintandy666]

You mean the initial study might be slightly exaggerating the impact of an illegal substance? Shock horror.

 

Well, and I think something has been lost(as ever) in the study to press reporting. Often, if you look at the study behind the headlines(particularly in certain publications), it isn't always really reported correctly.

[ART]

You can just imagine the "sacre bleu" when they got the leccy bill.

 

How did the fella deal with his arrest? Surely if his gear was any good a couple of "pure crow" big boys would have settled matters

 

The story's appeared online. He was doing well for quite some time, selling his produce in Montpellier itself. Twitter in France has him trending with everyone saying he's a genius and being his biggest fans.

 

http://www.midilibre.fr/2012/06/08/dma-pour-arroser-son-cannabis-il-branche-sa-pompe-a-eau-sur-le-radar-automatique,514040.php

[Jonnyboy]

[Turkish]

http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/32/3/815.long

 

Interesting piece on the study which caused these headlines.

 

Have you ever had a joint Andy?

[Robsk II]

There's never a simple or a single 'solution' to issues such as this. I've worked for a long time in jobs where I've seen the more extreme end of drug use and so on, and if there's one thing I've observed it's that nothing will fix everything. Education might work for some, but it doesn't work for a whole load. Kids have a lot of education around all this now, far more than I ever had, and it's usually more targetted towards the ones at higher risk or already doing it. For very many that makes no difference. As with most people in their youth, culture and peers are more important, and long term consequences don't seriously get taken into consideration. The vast majority understand, on paper, that it is 'bad for you'. Most young people could cite various reasons for this with some accuracy. They also understand the socio-economic impact of it in many cases - yet they still do it, often to what I would consider excess (a place where it has a very immediate and clear damaging impact), and it does affect them. The same problems apply with legality - for some, illegality works, but once more, it's not seen as that important to many, and the reality of things means that kids can essentially at least use it without much fear of consequence. On the other hand, some probably would find less appeal to it if it was legal - but not all. A lot of these things are like being a parent - you know, in the abstract, what it's meant to be like (in the case of cannabis, the potential effects and so on), but even being super-informed can't truly make you learn the lesson just because someone tells you.

 

I think the only way you can do anything is to be practical - it won't be stopped. Accept that fact, and seek to limit damage. The glorification of drugs and violence etc in mass media coupled with poor parenting (ie casual exposure to whatever from whatever age, parents own behaviour and attitude towards the law etc) is a big problem for young people generally, but.. well, what can you say? That's a social problem en masse, and I almost feel we should have parenting licenses before people are allowed kids.. But you can't do anything simple or quick to make culture and youth culture more positive or sensible. Half the adults in this country are utter idiots, so it's hardly surprising their kids go the same way. Most grow up sooner or later, to an extent, and start to make better informed choices, use things more moderately etc... but only once they've found their own way there, once they have responsibilities and so on. The same applies to current kids, and stoppping that cycle is hard. That's where education comes in. If the current lot do it, basically they're ****ed already. But getting them to be a BIT more responsible as parents, be more positive role models and so on - that's how to affect social change. It's very 'creep'.

 

For all those things, there are real advantages of legalisation. You could probably lower associated crime (which DOES happen, even for cannabis), regulate THC levels (which I think is a real issue), take the 'cool' factor away to an extent and recoup some of the money that cannabis abuse (different to use, arguably) costs. That's why there's less problem around alcohol and tobacco. let's keep everything in perspective, also - casual use still doesn't need to be seen as a massive issue (my mate still does quit a lot of it but has a PhD as well as owning, outright, a 3 bed house in central London), and alcohol and tobacco remain the most harmful drugs when looking at socil impact.

[Wade Garrett]

It wasn't the weed that ruined their lives, it was them!!! They are obviously losers that would have had their lives ruined by alcohol/gambling/prescription drugs, it just so happens that weed got there first!!

 

You know nothing about them. F*ck off.