I think it should... (Should cannabis be legalised?)

Member Name: cathy

Product:	Should cannabis be legalised?
Date:	06/08/00 (1187 review reads)
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Advantages: Many

Disadvantages: Few

Even the Police will admit that the most harmful substance in a joint is the tobacco. A fairly recent survey indicated that around 80% of 15 - 25 year olds in London had tried cannabis. This is not something that is going to go away - however much money we throw at it in the form of police resources.

Cannabis was criminalised fairly recently, Queen Victoria used it regularly to allieviate period pains. The British Medical Profession is broadly in favour of its use in the treatment of some conditions, e.g. multiple sclerosis - where it has been shown to be more effective than conventional drugs. It has also proved useful in palliative care for the terminally ill. I find it quite disgusting that as a society we can countenance the irresponsible, official peddling of drugs - such as tranquillisers, whilst at the same time denying comfort to the dying from a substance that is proven to be both effective and harmless to them.

I am not trying to occupy the moral high ground - I think it should be decriminalised as a recreational drug too. Who would you rather share that last bus home with - a gang of lads, hammered after a night raging round the pubs - or a gang of lads who've been chilling out with a few joints over the Play Station? My vote goes to group B. Cannabis is condusive to relaxation, tolerance, creativity and general feelings of good will to the world. Unlike alcohol - check any local or national newspaper.

The arguements about tobacco and alcohol being legal are a bit speciious as a) too many people want fags & booze and if you made them illegal tomorrow we would opening the doors to a tidal wave of organised crime and b) both industry and government make far too much money out of our addiction to ever want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. So, that's just never going to happen - not in my lifetime anyway.

I don't believe that the use of cannabis leads to the use of harder drugs. Someone who finds can
nabis congenial is not neceassily likely to enjoy the very different experience of amphetamines, for example. However, I think it's true that if you use cannabis, you are more likely to come into contact with the opportunity to try harder drugs - as dealers may sell more than one product. But if cannabis were decriminalised, this would cease to be the case.

Well - that's my two-pennyworth - but there again, I'm just a sad, aging hippy, so I would say that, wouldn't I?

***UPDATE***

TORYS BACK ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY - OR DO THEY?

Nice one Ann! Yet another sad case of political foot-in-mouth disease. Out-ranking even the ludicrous, 'take drunks to the nearest cash machine', wheeze from our Tone.

£100 fine just for having it in your BLOODSTREAM! (And just
exactly when did you lose contact with the Mother-Ship, Ms Widdecome?)

The idea that criminalising a huge percentage of the population or indeed that police don't have more important things to do than arrest people in their own homes, for possession of tiny amounts of cannabis, shows us all just how firmly the tories have their finger on the pulse of the nation - not.

And how nice to see such an inspiring show of solidarity from the rest of your party too.

So there we have it - Obviously NOT USING cannabis CAN lead to the inability to string a logical train of thought together and to talking total tosh on national TV.

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