On the subject of softdrugs

[Lugubrum]

I always wondered how non-Dutch people thought about our softdrug policy in The Netherlands. (if it's not allowed to talk about it on this forum for some reason then remove this thread...) At the moment it is actually not completly legalized in The Netherlands, as it's not allowed to build your own weedplants in big groups, but it IS allowed to sell it, but I think the deliverance at coffeeshops (the shops where they sell weed) is illegal. So you see the rules are really vague. And there is a lot of bad quality softdrugs with chemicals and stuff in it, which could be controlled if it would be legalized.

So, discuss if you think it should be legalized.

[lonelyjew]

I think that policy is fine, hell it would save lots of money for law enforcement here in the states. Some of the biggest proponents of legalization of marijuana are police officers for this very reason.

I did research for a speach on medicinal marijuana recently and basically the only large problems associated with marijuana are the risk of cancer when it is smoked and the cognitive imparement associated with longterm heavy use. However, marijuana does not have to be smoked and like any other drug, long term heavy use is not reccomended. More importantly though, marijuana is not very addictive and thus it is never a large problem for the user to quit their habbit. I am by no meens saying that marijuana is healthy just that in this day and age nothing really is and why should we not be able to choose what kills us and what doesn't.

[.:iGi:. Eggenberg4Ever]

Thumbs up from me.

[Dukemeister]

Gotta agree.

You have to ask yourself, how can alcohol and cigarettes be legal when they causes such a huge number of deaths around the world, and marijuana isnt because it *might* cause schizophrenia in old age.

AFAIK there have been no deaths attributable to marijuana itsself ever recorded.

[[R-CON]MrD]

Death is preferable to madness though. There are most likely a lot of people out there only just keeping some sort of sanity, uniknowing of any problems beneath the surface of their daily lives. Weed can break through that barrier and give rise to psychological problems.

That said, I believe weed should be declassified to seperate drug use involving crime and social life.

[dunkellic]

well, seeing as how cigarettes and alcohol are legal (especially last one is much more dangerous if abused) i don´t see why it should be illegal

[Lugubrum]

Lonelyjew, I also heard somewhere that most people that are in prison in the USA are because they where caught with softdrugs.

Originally Posted by [R-MOD]DukeMeister

Gotta agree.

You have to ask yourself, how can alcohol and cigarettes be legal when they causes such a huge number of deaths around the world, and marijuana isnt because it *might* cause schizophrenia in old age.

Yes I had read that somewhere too, but the diagnosis of schizophrenia is vague anyway. There also isn't a cure for schizophrenia (yet?).

[Ferocious_Imbecile]

Pot and really even LSD should be legalized. I smoked my last joint in 78, and I'll never do drugs again but what do I care what somebody else does. Go shoot some smack, whatever...just don't try to get heavy with me to get money to pay for your high...

[lonelyjew]

Here is my main, and best, source from my speech: http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed/

It's a book by Dr. John A. Benson, Jr. Former Dean and Professor of Medicine of the Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine as well as many other medical researchers. From what I read it was a very bipartisan study on medicinal marijuana.

edit*
I don't know about shrooms and lsd, my brother personally knew one kid who ruined his brain and his talent in skateboarding in only a few years of using shrooms and he knew another kid that went into permanent psychosis from lsd(he's on a permanent trip in the looneybin now).

[Sandy_Beret]

The USA's largest cash crop is Marijuana - more than corn and wheat combined @ US $35 Billion annually.

Alcohol is by far the most damaging drug and it would be surely more attributable to mental health problems. I do work for a drug and alcohol information (rehab, education etc) service at the moment.

Cannabis in the city I live in (Canberra, Australia) is decriminalised - which basically means you get a slap on the wrist for a small possession offence and for a couple of plants but if you are trafficking or cultivating large quantities you'll almost certainly go to the 'big house". Decriminalising the drug (largely) removes many of the connections between this "soft" drug and the harder drugs (and people) they are likely to encounter through engaging in illegal activity or through enduring incarceration. Many young people experiment - there's no point in ruining their lives with a period of incarceration or a criminal record. We have a "Harm Minimisation" policy.

Originally Posted by Lugubrum

Lonelyjew, I also heard somewhere that most people that are in prison in the USA are because they where caught with softdrugs.

This is probably true... I imagine... and incredibly tragic when you consider a young white male (or for that matter and in some cases relevant to this - female) sent to a US prison is very likely to be raped, probably gang-raped and in many cases with HIV as prevalent as it is, this is a death-sentence. US jails are amongst the most rapine in the world (www.spr.org).

"The horrors experienced by many young inmates, particularly those who are convicted of nonviolent offenses, border on the unimaginable. Prison rape not only threatens the lives of those who fall prey to their aggressors, but it is potentially devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and a shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual terror the victim thereafter must endure." - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun

I am not US bashing - I am quite happy to bash any other countries' drug and justice systems and policies. No, deterrence doesn't work (people always have and always will use drugs, alcohol is just one among many) and no it never has just like the reform prison was known not to work when it was first introduced in the 19th Century. In Australian jails about 1 in 4 men are sexually assaulted. The largest proportion of Aussie inmates are there for drug or drug-related offences.

The best anti-drug campaign I have ever seen is the "Face of Meth" one... Crystal meth is a large and growing problem here in Australia... did you know that there are entire prisons in the US devoted to "Ice" prisoners... http://www.facesofmeth.us/main.htm (roll your mouse over the images) - that is frightening.

back to the topic: Yes I think it should be legalised and it should be baked into cookies/food to stop the repiratory illnesses associated with it, not least because pot smokers tend on average to be heavy cigarette smokers too.

Cheers