šŸŒæ ā“ Legalise it?

As Iā€™ve eluded to a bit previously, Iā€™m not exactly a straight kind of guy. Iā€™ve dabbled with various things, and will more likely than not do so again in the future.

My views on legality are a bit more confused. I strongly believe that ā€˜the war on drugsā€™ has been an utter fucking failure. One that has caused damage that far outweighs any ā€˜benefitsā€™ it may have done. Iā€™m unsure whether Iā€™d argue all drugs should be ā€˜Legalisedā€™, but perhaps fall more on the side of Decriminalised.

That said, Iā€™m not a huge believer in a lot of the scare stories around legalisation. I donā€™t really believe that it will lead to a mass rush of people suddenly becoming compulsive abusers of various narcotics. The obvious point, is that there are a number of drugs that are legal, and people choose not to indulge in those. Also, there are a number of articles doing the rounds at the moment discussing how younger generations are actually shunning drink & drugs in larger numbers than previous generations.

I donā€™t believe that it will see a massive increase in ā€˜kidsā€™ taking drugs, if anything I think it will see a decrease. The reason kids (read teens) take drugs, is that itā€™s a lot harder to get alcohol underage now than it was previously - even compared to when I was a teen.

Are there potential health concerns related to the use of narcotics? Well yes, of course. Itā€™d be daft to ignore this. However, there are plenty of other things legally available that cause health issues, be that cigarettes, booze or even unhealthy foods. We havenā€™t, yet, banned those. A regulated industry could, imo, work to alleviate the worst parts of this. Firstly, people will actually know what they are getting. The more dangerous strains of things can be phased out. And heck, itā€™s not as if making these things illegal is stopping people from taking them. So right now, all that money is going straight into crime, so there is no public compensation for the health issues that the NHS has to deal with. Tax revenue could help with this.

And, as I touched on above, it will absolutely kick the legs out from underneath the criminal/gang aspects of the drugs trade. If big companies do get involved, there is absolutely no way 99% of drug lords would be able to compete.

Just to clarify, I am not and do not encourage other people to take drugs. I donā€™t think it is particularly big or clever. It can be fun, but it can be a fucking nightmare. I just want to mitigate the harm as much as possible, in the most sensible way.

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Would definitely second this @Cobham-Saint. Itā€™s only in the past year through talking to my GP/Counsellor that it isnā€™t normal to be so fucking paralysed by anxiety that every minor decision is gut wrenching, or that itā€™s not normal to be utterly crippled by self-loathing and self-doubt. Itā€™s been a huge relief to learn that, actually, this is the warped form a pretty severe form of anxiety can take, but most of all it is something you can learn to manage and in time control.

As @dinger said, it may just be a bit of a glum spell. Without wanting to sound horrible, I hope that is the case, and it passes soon. But itā€™s definitely worth the conversation with your GP. If it is something else, itā€™s not the end of the world. There is help out there, in all sorts of forms. And with time, and a bit of effort, you can get through it.

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Hey krg, what age group do you sit in? Iā€™m nearly 50, fwiw.

The scare here in oz is meth/ice, whatever, Iā€™m no expert. Iā€™ve seen it in teens /neighbours and I see craziness, but no benefits.

Iā€™m 29.

I donā€™t really know too much about meth, itā€™s not such a big issue here. I only really know what Iā€™ve seen on telly, such as the Louis Theroux doc.

Iā€™ve no doubt itā€™s pretty ruinous, similar to something like Heroin or crack. Again, Iā€™m not sure if Iā€™m hugely in favour of legalisation, but certainly breaking the cycle of criminalisation. I think the issues created from drug abuse should be a matter of public health, not crime.

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If the Govenment legalised drugs they would eventually get 100% of the money you earned as opposed to the 98% that they already get.

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Portugalā€™s decriminalization and itā€™s affects.

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Some powerful stuff here and I appreciate the honesty and openness that has been sharedā€¦ all helpful. I did a bit of weed at uniā€¦ but it became quickly obvious that whilst not ā€˜addictiveā€™ it became a way of lifeā€¦ instead of heading out in th evenings for a few beers and chatting to fine looking ladiesā€¦ we would sit in a room, smoke and do fuck allā€¦ we became chilled out, boring twatsā€¦

I am no expert, but in my job in healthcare we do a lot on new medicines being developed relieve symptoms for those with various neurological diseases, bi-polar, schizophrenia, depression etc. What has become apparent form reading a shed load of research papers on these diseases is that the human brain is a delicate thing and so anything that messes with it should be treated with cautionā€¦ Most who have smoked will know a ā€˜stonerā€™ the guy who has always smoked for 20 years, slurred speech, probably a nice bloke, chilled, but no motivation to do anything but ā€˜hang outā€™ ā€¦ they are the lucky ones. Sadly for some that are predisposed or likely to develop mental health problems, there is strong clinical evidence to suggest that smoking cannabis can be a catalyst or accelerant towards its onset or progressionā€¦ and that is the issue I have with legalisation. (excluding medial use obviously)

95% of folks who smoke dope will just get pleasure from it, enjoy it - I did including some interesting naked chilling with several young ladies :wink: - but its the 5% who never escape or for whom it triggers more neurological problems that we need to be more considerate ofā€¦ legality and freedom vs protecting the vulnerable ? not an easy choice.

ā€˜Ourā€™ stonerā€¦ the guy in the student union permanently stoned and always available for a scoreā€¦ was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1992 and spent 15 years in a mental hospital in Strathedenā€¦ and died there aged 42 in 2005. How much of an impact his smoking was I dont know, but it will not have helped.

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Agree with all of that. But i would contend that it is no different to alcohol, i take issue with those experts who say that cannabis smoking will lead to heroin, cocaine and other class As. Of course it will.For a few. But far more young people will go to the pub for a few pints of beer as soon as they can get away with it, but it isnā€™t argued that they will inevitably progress to drinking a bottle of scotch a day. Some will of course. I will declare an interest here, i sometimes have a little puff even though i have reached my 70th decade, just to be sociable you understand! Sometimes i have beer as well. Although i have learned that puff should be taken after beer, not before, i learnt that lesson the hard way!

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Cor, are you an old?

Had you down for say, ā€˜30ā€™s

Mind you, on the match day meet ups Iā€™ve been to my Teenage Mutant & @Saint-CDā€™s own @SimplySaint has dragged the average age* of attendees down to about 40+ or more. Apart from @lifeintheslowlane who has a picture in the attic obvs

*mental age = 12

Edit: not mental age of Teenage Mutant or @SimplySaint btw

I agree re alcohol - in reality causes more death, grief, violence than all the illegal drugs combined - but I donā€™t think there is any doubt about the issues of alcohol, no ambiguity as to what it does to you and so maybe itā€™s an easier vice to let us fuck our own lives up with

The Way other drugs mess with our heads is not fully understood - especially in those we or existing or as yet undiagnosed or pre-symptomatic neuro-degenerative disorders etc so should we protect them from them selves?

I donā€™t know. Legalisation can only properly work if the criminals are removed from manufacture and distribution and that is where it becomes more challenging

Are you the Highlander?! :lou_lol:

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Bloody hellā€¦your username should be ā€œMethuselahā€ā€¦Iā€™m only in my 7th decade. :laughing:

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He is not ā€˜mefoosalaaaaaahā€™ he is the Highlander.

ā€¦and a very naughty boy.

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My experience is very different to this, it usually leads to a room spinning rather fast and then me throwing up on myself.

Always gear before beer.

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It just doesnā€™t mix. I missed out on a night with my mate and three girls cos I passed out in the loo. He also missed out thanks to my 3 hour disappearing act.

Treatment not punishment, is it a good call :man_shrugging:

Cant see that being good for the sport. Your team needs a home run to win, the ā€˜batterā€™ connects beautifully, starts to run, then stops half way around as he needs a pastie and milkshakeā€¦

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Take an Opiate for severe pain relief or take CBD?
Weed based meds stay in the system longer.