Is it time to legalise the low-risk drugs such as cannabis and ecstacy?

madhusudan

let's get rid of black markets and mafias. legalize weed and all other drugs. use the tax money to help society. send addicts to rehab. let the prisons house violent criminals.

most intelligent people will agree with this. many police agree with this. many doctors agree as well. unfortunately, until people speak up in large numbers, it will never happen. our governments use the money they make off selling drugs on the black market to fund secret operations off the budget that is reported to the people.

Ian H

Didn't I just answer this one? Maybe it's because dope shags your short term memory...

Legalise dope:

it will free up police time so they can focus on other crimes
it will mean people can buy it legally and there will be quality control (so you will know what you are buying)
it will mean the Govt can tax it, and use the revenue on targetting other crimes
it will break the link between other drugs ("sorry mate, haven't got any dope at the moment, how about this heroin instead")

This has been the editorial stand of "The Economist" for many years. Of course, the Americans hate it, because everyone knows that a single joint will turn you into a crazed killer, beyond redemption, who will never be able to work again. I got that from the Reader's Digest (or, as my father used to call it, "that fascist rag").

Oh, did I mention it shags your short term memory?

Old Cynic

Legalising all drugs is the answer. it would remove all the (non elected) criminals out of the equation. No more zillions in blackmarket money, no more zillions on DEA budget no more zillions on prison placements. As for the druggies, they would have access to decent quality and price. Such a concept is far too simple for most governments to understand

tui

it's funny hey
How the government is giveing heroin users shooting rooms on main streets...And pot smokers and other recreational drug users are being sent to prison.

island_laddie

Who cares, if you want them have them, but they're hardly essential.

billisitch125

not sure about the Ecstasy but definite yes on the cannabis, it is a great help to many people for a variety of medical conditions (MS, glaucoma etc)

fathead

No. It is clear these drugs cause side effects such as entering the same question multiple times.

johnsmom326

ok Ecstacy should not be made legal. But legalizing marijuanna for medicinal use I'm all for (of course if it was OTC even better) But when I was 19 my dad was dying. He had cancer. He couldn't eat for the therapy he was taking and he was in a lot of pain. I finally talked him into my getting some for him to help ease his pain. Unfortuanatly before I was supposed to go and get it he went into the hospital never to come out again. One of the causes of his death was malnutrition. So yeah I"m all for this medicinal use of marijuana. ecstasy tho? NOT a "low-risk drug" therefore should remain illigal since it's harmful.

Lisa P

Ecstasy?!! Low risk?!! Anything that people produce and can cut with lethal ingredients is never low risk.

Caveman

XTC is pure chemical sh*t and is hazardous. The criminals that make it don't care what they put in, as long as it makes you feel weird. In the process of manufacturing amphetamines and XTC for example, they use benzene, and a lot of it stays inside in the sniffs and pills.
But cannabis is not really bad for your health and can be used recreational (like once a week at max). That's the same for alcohol. But cannabis can invoke latent psychosis, and social disorders. If you start smoking cannabis when you're adolescent, it can influence brain development in a bad way, and this can never be "fixed". It's also very bad for your lungs, much worse than normal smoking. It slows your thinking down, so you can't use it when you're on school, at work or when you drive a car. Some employers do cannabis tests on their employees. Cannabis stays detectable in your urine for about 2 weeks after smoking only once (in your blood even longer I think), but if you're overweight it can be longer because the substances they look for are stored in your body fat and is only secreted gradually. The more body fat you have, and especially if you are losing weight at times of testing, the longer it will be detectable. It stays detectable in your hair for even much longer. This is something to think about, because if you like to smoke, it can have consequences for your job.
I think cannabis should be legalized, but it should be sold in qualified shops (e.g. information about health risks must be directly available) and only to adults. The cannabis must be grown in a controlled environment that complies with hygienic standards, and only legal fertilizers may be used and that sort of things.
Legalization would take a lot of strain from the police that could start focusing on real criminals.

no nickname

No, no, no

wishing4theweekend

Ecstacy low risk drug?!!!

Barry G

No, as you say we have enough problems with alcohol without adding to the problem by legalising low risk drugs so that a percentage of takers would go on to hard drugs. All drugs, and alcohol I agree, have harmful side effects but we need to cultivate a society that really cares and has common sense not to abuse their bodies and be a burden on others. Its too easy as it is now, lets keep some sensible laws in place.

Perseus

Personal preferences. Legalise them all or have a miscellaneous arbitary classification system.

Of course, LSD should be available on the sweet counter next to the gnomic jelly babies at Tescos. Anything else is is religious discrimination against adherents of the peyote consuming ethnic Americans.

Katie

Lets get the Ecstacy out of the way first, it ain't a low class drug although it is catagorizied as such, ecstacy is mised with some letal ingerdients and unless it's legal form is going to come with an ingerdients list, it cannot be safe.
Cannabis is another story, if alcohol (which kills hundreds of thousands of people a year) is legal then I see no reason why Cannabis is not. we've all bene out on a Saturday and seen the distasteful and basically disgraceful behaviour of people who have had too much to drink. When has anybody who's had a few joints to many gone out and cause harm or disturbances anywhere.... they don't. Cannabis is the most peaceful drug of all, and it's side affects aren't even as harsh as some anitbiotics you are prescribed. it absolutely befuddles me as to how it is still illegal and how people are actually in jail for smoking it, not even dealing!!!

I say Free the Weed and make alcohol illegal... then lets see the road deaths down to nothing while Cannabis users (and can finally enjoy a peaceful and relaxing night on the tiles without worrying about being beaten up by some drunk who doesn't even know his own name!!!

BLUE

I believe Cannabis should be legalised but not ecstacy. I heard about lot more deaths from ecstacy and none from weed.

old_rocker2001

maybe its time they did legalise all drugs but i don't understand why ppl need to take something to make them have a good time if i am out then the music i am listing to makes me have a gd time

robabard

It should be legalized ONLY under strict supervision. Users must be registered so that they do not become another set of leeches on society. Users should automatically have auto insurance rates that are 10 times that of non-users. Users should also be prevented from any social welfare benefits within a year of their last use. If people want to destroy their lives with recreational drugs, hard working responsible people should not have to support them.

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citta_uk

Yes I agree alcohol has far more dangers than cannabis does. Yet we can freely buy alcohol. There was a news story on the BBC the other day saying that every 6 hours someone dies from alcohol related problems in Scotland. You don't hear of that with weed. The mental problems caused by addiction to alcohol far outreach the ones they say are caused by cannabis. It makes no sense that it is still illegal yet alcohol isnt.
Governments need to wake up.

Bont11

Cannabis SHOULD be legalised asap, it's not more pernicious than alcohol, and yet the latter screws-up and kills more lives than dope. Another thing, we'd be alot more chilled-out if we had a good spliff rather than eight pints of pissy lager and a fight!
Have you read Ben Eltons - High Society? if not you must.

Joni B

ecstacy low risk are you out of your freaking mind?
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

pleonna

I believe Cannabis should be legalised for medical reasons, Ecstacy no way, Its very dangerous and addictive unlike Cannabis (its only the nicotine in the tobacco smoked with Cannabis thats addictive) Alcohol is just a way of life now so why legalise Cannabis and make more problems in this s***** world.

K-9

I think that it would be better to re-class. I'm all for legalising the lower class drugs, as long as there is still some stucture of their uses. Definitely for medicinal.

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