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[Gorjo MacGrymm]

After reading this thread, I just wanted to say for anyone who needs help:

As a recovered alcoholic/addict I would gladly help anyone.  PM me.

[Wiles]

I saw an article today about the legalisation of marijuana is Canada. Should be interesting to see how far it flies with a Conservative government.

The lawyer explained that he is organizing a court challenge this summer on behalf of a number of people in Ontario facing marijuana trafficking charges, and has asked that all charges be dismissed.

If he is successful, it would effectively mean that there is no prohibition on possessing or producing marijuana, for medical or recreational use.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=1650107

[Mohreb el Yasim]

Here's something for you to stew over.

First, I don't do drugs and I never have.

Recently here in Ireland a mild altermative to hash, whose name escsapes me, has been banned. There was no real justification behind the ban other than "It's a drug!!! OH SHIT!!!"

Now, on the subject on drugs as a whole, I think it's ridiculious that a government can ban any kind of drug. Banning a drug only gives it a "forbidden fruit" kind of appeal, that many will fall victim to. I think that it is an infringement on our liberal rights that the government can remove one drug and keep another, for reason other than a link to a more dangerous drug or a bad reputation.Cigarettes remain legal because of their heavy taxation that brings government profit, so why not follow suit with other drugs?

My idea for drugs is:
1:Make all recreational drugs legal. Heavily tax them.
2:Use additional funds to setup helplines for any who become addicted. It's easier to admit to an addiction when the substance is legal. Ads to help quit smoking are broadcast on television, for example.
3:PROFIT!

I wait for your opinions.

i would even go further, legalize all stuff, with big taxes, wich means less crime around, more tax income from it ... and if it mess people up, well you should have known it is toxic,if you are dump enougth to kill yourself, go for it and human evolution will mercy you ... (whoever i speak from experiance, but i do in a hard and slow way ... slowly killing myself with cigarets ...)
Opignons?

[Fishersalwaysdie]

Maybe media is slowly preparing us for the step of legalization, the only thing preventing the goverment to do it now is the outrage the public would cause.

[Leafsnail]

Maybe some drugs should be legalised, or decriminalised.  While I avoid taking any drugs, I believe some of them do not cause a huge amount of damage to addicts, and legalisation could help.  However, for drugs with serious risks attached (such as heroin or cocaine), it might be more problematic.  You may say "Lol, that person deserved to die, they were stupid".  Well, maybe, but they may have also been vulnerable and pressured into taking the drug.

[LegoLord]

You may say "Lol, that person deserved to die, they were stupid".  Well, maybe, but they may have also been vulnerable and pressured into taking the drug.

Or they could have had their first dose slipped into their drink and found out about it later (without the latter, may get addicted to the drink).  There are really all kinds of ways people get hooked to drugs.  Plus, with legalization, it all depends on how harmful and how addictive the drug is.  For example, marijuana is low-risk (even if smoked) and is non-addictive, so the government has a logical justification for allowing it.  LSD, while not very addictive, has high potential for harm, due to how long it stays in the body, and so is unlikely to ever be legalized.  Cocaine and heroin, now, don't even bother suggesting their legalization.  Any public official who tried that would probably be sent to a psychologist, possibly asked what he knew about the drugs before going to the guy's office.

[Mr Tk]

Ah drugs. The other can of worms. I'll throw in my two cents I think.

LSD - This is quite a major hallucinogenic. If legal you could limit the potency of it, but what's to stop people taking a whole heap at once? In NZ when we had party pills (BZP based) the recommended dose was something like 2 a night. People would take 20 in one go.

Also because LSD is a hallucinogenic, people under the influence can be quite unpredictable. You can't see what they're currently tripping balls to. LSD experiences can range from mild (no hallucinations but impairment of judgment, sense of direction, memory and decision making) to extreme (hallucinations of all five senses, extreme impairment of judgment and decision making). Nothing quite like dealing with someone who things everyone are devils out to get them.

Marijuana -  No active addictive ingredients, however THC can trigger mental health problems such as Schizophrenia in a small number of people through either a predisposed genetic conidition or even regular use.

However given that the effects when under the influence of marijuana are no more profound than alcohol, then with reasonable controls in place marijuana should be at the very least decriminalized. (When I say controls I mean that you shouldn't just be able to walk down the street smoking a joint.)

As a historical fact there is some evidence that marijuana was an authorized alternative to alcohol because it mean that the soldiers could get off their face but not have a hang over the next day.

However with marijuana you still have to think about the effects of smoking it and the damage it can cause through ingesting smoking into the lungs (throat cancer, lung cancer, even rotting teeth.) Things like vaporizers a recommended because then you are mostly inhaling the THC not all the other crap as well.

Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and other derivatives - These are highly dangerous due to the addictive and sometimes personality changing properties of these substances. While I agree that people should have the choice to take what they want, it's hard to defend that view point when what they are taking can dramatically change someone's behavior.

Some of these things I can speak from personal experience, others I have seen first hand happen to friends and I'm also interested into the research of all these drugs. So um. Go drugs?

[Leafsnail]

You may say "Lol, that person deserved to die, they were stupid".  Well, maybe, but they may have also been vulnerable and pressured into taking the drug.

Or they could have had their first dose slipped into their drink and found out about it later (without the latter, may get addicted to the drink).  There are really all kinds of ways people get hooked to drugs.  Plus, with legalization, it all depends on how harmful and how addictive the drug is.  For example, marijuana is low-risk (even if smoked) and is non-addictive, so the government has a logical justification for allowing it.  LSD, while not very addictive, has high potential for harm, due to how long it stays in the body, and so is unlikely to ever be legalized.  Cocaine and heroin, now, don't even bother suggesting their legalization.  Any public official who tried that would probably be sent to a psychologist, possibly asked what he knew about the drugs before going to the guy's office.

Yep, pretty much my views.  There is research into the damage of Marijuana on mental health - it can cause mental problems, but if the research is done and it turns out the risks are not very great, then legalization/ decriminalisation is an option.  Of course, it needs to be done carefully (ie not having everyone allowed to take it into the country, sell it on the streets and smoke a lot on the street).  Actually, the main health risks of Marijuana are similar to the risks associated with tobacco smoking, such as lung problems and throat problems.

[Yanlin]

Cigarettes. Very damaging to health.

Isn't there a way to just inject nicotine by now? Same effect as cigarettes, lasts longer and no health damage from all the other toxic crap that apparently goes into cigarettes for no good reason.

Can't we just do the same with marijuana? Find a way to manufacture THC without the plant or isolate them somehow?

[Leafsnail]

Cigarettes. Very damaging to health.

Isn't there a way to just inject nicotine by now? Same effect as cigarettes, lasts longer and no health damage from all the other toxic crap that apparently goes into cigarettes for no good reason.

Can't we just do the same with marijuana? Find a way to manufacture THC without the plant or isolate them somehow?

You're not just addicted to the nicotine, you're addicted to smoking.  You have to keep lighting up something and moving your hands, otherwise you get cravings anyway.  Injections can cause problems of their own, anyway.

[Yanlin]

That is a psychological condition. Your body is giving you positive reinforcement. Doing the smoking action gives you a rush of dopamine.

That can be repaired.

Besides, the injection problems on their own are far less than the health issues you get from smoking the normal way.

Besides, why injection? Why not use pills or something?

[LegoLord]

I believe Yanlin is thinking of some sort of vaporizer, some forms known as "electric cigarrettes."  They are indeed real and are used to help people quit and would most likely be available for marijuana.  They work by vaporizing the desired chemicals without burning the other stuff.

[Sergius]

Seriously, marijuana is the odd man out as far as illegal recreational drugs go.  It's the only one that doesn't screw with you too badly.  At worst (which is when it is smoked), it gives you the same toxins as cigarettes and messes with your short term memory, if you smoke it with great frequency, which you wouldn't because it has no chemicals that are addictive by nature.

Fun fact: there was a study that some medical institute performed to ascertain the extent of the damage to short memory in long-term frequent users of marijuana (potheads), in which said users stopped using marijuana. None of them experienced withdrawal symptoms, or a great urgency to go back to weed, and their short term memory pretty much went back to normal after a couple of weeks (after years and years of pretty much non-stop stoning, no permanent damage). Then of course after the study was over they went back to smoking pot because they like it so damn much.

[Yanlin]

I like how people use the defense "You just want to smoke weed!" defense against me when I say I think it should be legalized.

Completely ignoring the fact that I really don't want to.

[LegoLord]

Completely ignoring the fact that I really don't want to.

Me neither.  I think it'd be a waste of time, but eh, other people want it so badly, and it's not that harmful.  Less so than alcohol.