Comments on: Scientific Drugs Adviser Sacked For Advising On Drugs. Scientifically

By: norma

norma — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:30:44 +0000

To be totally practical, if cannabis was legalised there would be massive revenue potential, There would also be the potential to bring certain underground elements into the open but thats a bit tricky because you would be left with all the other drugs, cocaine, heroin, illegal cigarettes etc. It just might create better access for drug dealers to reach their audience, if they could legally set up shop, pay rent, rates, vat, tax etc, could’nt they also just set it up to sell other more dangerous drugs much easier ? i don’t know, just a thought.
I doubt that legalising cannabis would make any difference to its use, except to make it easier for those afficted with life long illness for who it has been a benefit, I don’t think it would suddenly become most peoples relaxation choice.
Its a very fine line between addiction and habit forming, both produce extreme difficulty when navigating the abandonment of any substance, sedatives, cannabis, painkillers alcohol etc, the physical and the psychological are inextricably linked.
With regard ecstacy, it is an extremly dangerous drug and should never ever be legalised, it is completly unregulated and it’s effects are entirly dependent on the individuals brain chemistry, one single ecstacy tablet can destroy and disable certain brain function.

By: unstranger

unstranger — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:01:57 +0000

Excellent post BOCK, very well expressed.
I have been in favour of legalizing all banned drugs for quite some time.

And for your commenter Al, cannabis was made illegal first in the US by the passing of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 ( http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/mjtaxact.htm ) organised by William Randolph Hearst Jnr. in an act of organized revenge against Mexico for the loss he suffered years earlier when the Mexican General Pancho Villa invaded Texas and ’stole’ 800,000 acres under trees which belonged to Hearst. The trees were for his paper mills which fed his massive newspaper publishing empire. Hemp is of course a better material for producing paper. Hearst invested in wood pulp treated with chemicals from his partners Dupont which wasn’t a great blend; hence his yellow journalism as the papers very quickly yellowed.
Only recently, 2007 in fact, did the idiots of the US DEA relent and allow the growing again on American farms of the non-canabis variety Industrial Hemp.
http://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2007/01/15/finally-the-us-can-again-grow-industrial-hemp/

I hope the good doctor writes about the law and drugs and political interference, could be interesting.

By: Al

Al — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:40:51 +0000

One reason that cannabis should be legalised – To take millions of euro away from criminal scum, tax it and let it help the economy. People are going to use it no matter what the laws so it might as well be accepted and put to use.

By: Bock

Bock — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:38:01 +0000

Audrey — Stay with the programme. At the moment we’re dealing with the addictiveness of the substance and we’re establishing that neither cannabis nor ecstasy are inherently physically addictive. What you’re talking about is psychological dependency on the part of some people, which is an entirely different discussion.

By: Audrey

Audrey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:51:04 +0000

Nevin, I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s the problem that those compulsions cause that is the issue.
However I don’t agree with legalizing cannabis.. just because it’s less harmful than some prescribed drugs or other illegal drugs doesn’t mean it’s not harmful when excessively used. Why legalize a mind altering drug that would cause a lot of problems for some addictive type people.. there’s enough problems already with the legal drugs – e.g. alcohol.

By: Nevin

Nevin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:36:53 +0000

Audrey, by your logic many things in our lives are addictive. TV is addictive, coffee is addictive, salt is addictive, chocolate is addictive…. We have strong compulsions for all the above listed items… It is not the compulsion to do something or wish for something that should be under the microscope but rather the damage it causes for our bodies and the level of damage that should be closely analyzed.

There is no evidence of Cannabis being as dangerous as (lets say) Opiate based drugs…. Let us also not forget those legal drugs which doctors prescribe that are highly addictive such anti-depressant pills….

Making Cannabis illegal is hypocritical…

By: Audrey

Audrey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:56:39 +0000

It’s hardly irrational to say they are addictive. For some people those drugs can become psychologically addictive.. as opposed to physically addictive. Even gambling is addictive for some. I’d hardly call that a habit when someone has a compulsion to do something that is damaging to their lives.

By: Bock

Bock — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:35:47 +0000

They can be habit-forming, which can cause problems for some people but they are not physically addictive. It’s important to get this accurate for a rational discussion.

Did you actually read that link before you sent it in? It looks like a private profit-making clinic, and the information given for each drug listed is word-for-word the same. It’s not a reputable source.

By: Audrey

Audrey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:33:28 +0000

Cannabis and ecstasy a can be addictive.. have a read if you want –
http://www.drug-rehabs.org/drugs/marijuana.php
http://www.drug-rehabs.org/drugs/ecstasy.php

By: Bock

Bock — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:42:19 +0000

Neither cannabis nor ecstasy are addictive. Perhaps you meant habit-forming?

Can you be more explicit about what social, behavioural, financial and health problems you’re talking about?