On that note I would say it is legal in Britain because it has been accepted for thousands of years by the vast bulk of the population, and from a pragmatic point of view, few people would accept it being banned as the failed Prohibition laws of the US from 1920 to 1933 proved, whatever the negative issues around it . Apart from a Temperance movement in the Victorian/Edwardian period which was largely (though not exclusively religiously based) and a move by Govt's in the 18th century to wean the population onto Beer rather than hard spirits the view in Britain has prevailed that alcohol is an acceptable social norm and is made , regulated and taxed as such. My view is it is not helpful to legalise yet another mind altering product unless exclusively for legitimate medical purposes.
Prohibition of marijuana, ecstasy, lsd, and all other recreational drugs, all of which are considered to be less damaging than alcohol and tobacco, has also been a complete disaster. From keeping production and distribution in the hands of criminal gangs to the fact that people cannot be sure of what they are buying (adulterated / exceptionally strong / completely fake product), banning recreational drugs hasn't worked for exactly the same reasons as banning alcohol didn't work. Wherever there is a demand, there will be a supply chain. Better for it to be legal and regulated than not. The current situation is a complete farce.
I'm going to sound all American here but alcohol isn't the problem, people are. I've drank and drank and drank in the past until I physically couldn't drink anymore. I didn't start a fight, I got home safely, and I remembered everything that had happened the morning after. I suppose it's a case of knowing your limits. In terms of the OP, I'm on the fence. I've never felt the urge to try it, but I can see both sides to it. I feel by legalising it, there could be a spike in the use of other rightly banned substances. Still, I think that people who want to smoke weed will do so regardless of the legality of it.
Ironically, by prohibiting relatively less harmful substances, this has led to the rise if "legal highs", a lot of which have turned out to be far more harmful than the things they're used as a substitute for.
Objectively, yes. Codeine is completely legal. From Codeine it's extremely easy to make a very nasty heroin substitute called Krokodil. It doesn't mean that most people are going to start doing it. Neither would the ones who already do it stop if Codeine were suddenly prohibited. Alcohol - legal. Cocaine - illegal. Tobacco - legal. Marijuana - illegal. Magic mushrooms, which grow wild everywhere - illegal. It's completely arbitrary from what I can see.
100%. I work hard, I’m fit and healthy - why the hell can’t I skin my usual fat one and tan a load of Haribo on a Friday night?
I would argue that all drugs should be legal - from a number of perspectives: Freedom of Choice - doesn't punish people for choosing to partake "Purity" of drugs - stops people dying from dealers cutting the drugs with various impurities that are just as likely to kill Economical - If the government imported enough drugs to cover the market and sold them at cost, it would destroy the illegal drugs industry overnight. This would save billions in prison sentences, hospital treatments, policing costs, etc and make those who see it as an easy way to make money find a more legal career path. Adding tax to the more acceptable social drugs, such as ecstasy, marijuana and cocaine could give a significant boost to the NHS too. Health - if the drugs were distributed from a clinic it would give users access to clean paraphernalia and training medical staff who could get them the help they need when they want/need it I've lost at least two friends to drugs in the past and this has just reinforced my opinion that the current "war on drugs" is not working and can never work.
In my opinion they should legalise all drugs, and here's a few reasons why. 1. If drugs were legalised then they could be taxed. The tax revenue could be used to improve the support available to deal with drug addiction (and much more). 2. Legal drugs would lead to regulation. This would equal safer drugs (similar to they way alcohol is safe to drink). 3. Legalising drugs removes some of the glamour associated with them and they immediately become less cool. 4. New mind-bending substances are being produced on a daily basis - the law simply can't keep up. Why is it OK to take a drug until it's made illegal? 5. It would prevent the criminalisation of people who are vulnerable and suffering from addiction. 6. The black market would be destroyed and Police could spend more time focusing on other crimes. I genuinely believe that future governments will need to have a laisez faire attitude to the people they serve. No longer will traditional methods of control work - they need to let people do things that are bad for their health (legally) but also make them pay for their own actions (e.g. potentially overdose or damage to their health) by using the tax system to pay for the outcome. To add, I've never taken a drug in my life but I see no need to criminalise people who do take them in their own time.
The question you're asking is too basic. If you are asking if anyone should be able to take it whenever they want and so government can tax it then no. If you're saying people in constant daily pain can get a medical prescription off their doctor for it in a regulated environment to make their life more comfortable, then yes.
Why not? Why criminalise a huge section of the population who are otherwise law-abiding, because they choose to unwind with a spliff on a Friday night rather than a pint of good ale or a large glass of wine? I personally like my pint of craft ale to see in the weekend, but I know others who choose something different. Just like me, they're completely functioning, successful members of society, with families and well-paid jobs or their own business. Criminalising them is absolutely loopy.
Doing what people do to most posts, I'm going to go off at a tangent...... is Williams banned for the game on Tuesday?
If you smoked less of the evil weed, you'd know that there was a separate thread about this! PS yes, I think he is