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Having read quite a few threads on gun control here, I wondered what Dakkites' positions on legalisation of Cannabis where? Do you favour a complete ban, Amsterdam-style 'Tolerance-zones', or complete legalisation? Not looking for anyone to 'out' themselves as weed smokers necessarily - just thought it might be interesting!

For what it's worth, I believe legalistion could generate a large amount of revenue for the UK, and that use is so widespread that it wouldn't have that much of a negative impact on society. Alchohol is FAR more dangerous and causes many more social problems, in addition to costing the NHS an absolute fortune.


Thoughts?

Legalise it, sell it with adequate warnings about any proven side effects and use the money to further investigate the possible side effects. With present information it's no more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco.

The only reason it's not already legal is because the press have a field day every time the class of it is moved up or down the scale.

Legalize it now! We need to tax it and start growing hemp. Hemp can be used in all sorts of things, it really is a wonderful material that we're just ignoring. That and they can also reap the rewards from taxing stoners and taking money out of the pockets of criminals. I recently watched a documentary that claimed tobacco kills more people in the US than guns, alchahol and marijuana combined! I'll have to go check on that statistic however.

Well, I live in the "Weed" capital of Canada. So legalizeing it's going to make the dealer's bitch and whine.

Personally I think smoking's nasty both hemp and cigs, so I won't be affected much.

I belive marijauna should be legal,like alcohol it's "dangers" come from over indulgence.
And,yes legalization could generate a huge ammount of revenue,as well as help in the prevention of deforrestation/polution, as hemp papper products are cleaner and cheaper to produce and yeild a higher output than chopping down trees.

Here it is:
http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30

I've also heard Hemp could be used as biofuel.

Complete legalization, probably without an excise tax as well.

This is an older video,and some of it is meh...but it does make some valid points...it's long,but worth a look.

FITZZ wrote: I belive marijauna should be legal,like alcohol it's "dangers" come from over indulgence.
And,yes legalization could generate a huge ammount of revenue,as well as help in the prevention of deforrestation/polution, as hemp papper products are cleaner and cheaper to produce and yeild a higher output than chopping down trees.

QFT

Also, legalizing it would mean it would be produced and sold by legitimate companies rather than street dealers, who sometimes lace it with cocaine or other "hard drugs" to make it more addictive.

Corvus wrote:

FITZZ wrote: I belive marijauna should be legal,like alcohol it's "dangers" come from over indulgence.
And,yes legalization could generate a huge ammount of revenue,as well as help in the prevention of deforrestation/polution, as hemp papper products are cleaner and cheaper to produce and yeild a higher output than chopping down trees.

QFT

Also, legalizing it would mean it would be produced and sold by legitimate companies rather than street dealers, who sometimes lace it with cocaine or other "hard drugs" to make it more addictive.

I like the idea of our government making money off of legal ganja, but in 10 years of smoking the stuff, and buying it from street dealers, (hell I've been one of those street dealers), I have never bought laced weed. I'ts not very cost effective, hard drugs are waaaay more expensive than weed. Then again I probably don't live in your city and mine is rather small. But in my neck of the woods laced weed is a scary myth teachers use to keep you away.

The problem with legalising it is that it will probably end up more expensive than it is currently on the street.

Just look at how much tax they have on tobacco to see how it will go.

Not to mention that very few places currently produce it legally, meaning that in order to get a legal supply to match current demand (assuming that it is as cheap or cheaper than "illegal" versions), we would need to get busy on building some weed farms. Which would be open to dope scrumping

I think that pot-growers are fine if it's 'medical'.
But, most of the time these 'medical' weed smokers turns into 'stoned'.

It's already the case that cigarettes are being sold by dealers in some places to bypass increasingly excessive taxes. You can't just tax something an infinite amount and expect no black market to offer a more reasonable deal.

Scrumping would then be...dope?

Govt would tax it to the heavens,though. look at VAT on fuel and excise on ciggies.

Norwulf wrote:

Corvus wrote:

FITZZ wrote: I belive marijauna should be legal,like alcohol it's "dangers" come from over indulgence.
And,yes legalization could generate a huge ammount of revenue,as well as help in the prevention of deforrestation/polution, as hemp papper products are cleaner and cheaper to produce and yeild a higher output than chopping down trees.

QFT

Also, legalizing it would mean it would be produced and sold by legitimate companies rather than street dealers, who sometimes lace it with cocaine or other "hard drugs" to make it more addictive.

I like the idea of our government making money off of legal ganja, but in 10 years of smoking the stuff, and buying it from street dealers, (hell I've been one of those street dealers), I have never bought laced weed. I'ts not very cost effective, hard drugs are waaaay more expensive than weed. Then again I probably don't live in your city and mine is rather small. But in my neck of the woods laced weed is a scary myth teachers use to keep you away.

I wouldn't know, I've never smoked it. I'm a military man, we get in huge fcking trouble if we get caught with illegal drugs of any kind.

The cost of tabacco is in many cases regulated by the tabacco companies,just look at the price diffrences in a pack of Mavericks compared to a pack of Marlborros...then the "sin" tax is added,one would hope this sort of nonsense would be avoided with legalised marijauna.
Also,you would expect a certian amount of security to be present at any Marijauna farm,but if some of the product gets "scrumped" so be it,the benifits still outwiegh the loss.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Orkeosaurus wrote:It's already the case that cigarettes are being sold by dealers in some places to bypass increasingly excessive taxes. You can't just tax something an infinite amount and expect no black market to offer a more reasonable deal.

QFT

SilverMK2 wrote:The problem with legalising it is that it will probably end up more expensive than it is currently on the street.

Just look at how much tax they have on tobacco to see how it will go.

Not to mention that very few places currently produce it legally, meaning that in order to get a legal supply to match current demand (assuming that it is as cheap or cheaper than "illegal" versions), we would need to get busy on building some weed farms. Which would be open to dope scrumping

I'd be glad to pay $40 for a dub instead of the usual $20 if it met I could toke when in where I wanted. I'm willing to pay more to lose the fear, paranoia, and social stigma that comes along with my favorite past time, ( cops are scary when your stoned! ). That and it could be put towards schools and roads etc. (although I'm sure plenty of it would be fattening someones pocket).

@ lord of ghosts: why is it just fine for medical users? What's wrong with using mariuana casually? Is it worse than someone drinking alcohol? I'd like to understand your reasoning. As for me I use it casually and I find it evens me out with my bipolar disorder.

Norwulf wrote:I'd be glad to pay $40 for a dub instead of the usual $20 if it met I could toke when in where I wanted.

The thing is that because of the effects of the drug, I doubt very much that you could smoke it in public. Many people would be more than happy if regular smoking was banned from pretty much all public places, so I really don't think you will be welcome smoking weed in the high street

I am pro outright banning.

ShumaGorath wrote:I am pro outright banning.

Would that be banning Marijauna or tabacco smoking?

SilverMK2 wrote:

Norwulf wrote:I'd be glad to pay $40 for a dub instead of the usual $20 if it met I could toke when in where I wanted.

The thing is that because of the effects of the drug, I doubt very much that you could smoke it in public. Many people would be more than happy if regular smoking was banned from pretty much all public places, so I really don't think you will be welcome smoking weed in the high street

I dunno lol. I smoke weed in public all the time. It's just that I have to be careful and pretend it's a ciggarette, you can walk right past a cop with a "sneak-a-toke" as long as your ballsy and careful.

Norwulf wrote:I dunno lol. I smoke weed in public all the time. It's just that I have to be careful and pretend it's a ciggarette, you can walk right past a cop with a "sneak-a-toke" as long as your ballsy and careful.

Do American police have no sense of smell then?

I personally am for the banning of all smokables. The medicinal pain killing properties of weed can be extracted and applied far more reliably (and with less damage to the lungs) than smoking it.

Non-weedlike hemp exists and would be fine for replacing our reliance on chopping down trees for everything.

The people I know must have really low tolerance.

Alcohol is more dangerous arguably than mary jane when you consume vast amounts but everyone I know who started smoking weed were back off their effing asses after a few hits from a bowl but the first time consumers of alcohol still required a 6 pack in them to be intoxicated.

IME marijuana will feth you up faster than alcohol will (not to mention the stoners that we used to get in one of the grocery stores I worked the late shift seemed to have not a single brain cell left. Drunks couldn't walk, the hard core potheads carried on conversations with plants and cereal boxes).

Not to mention alcohol when consumed in small quantities is a lot safer than any joint (a glass of wine a day is a lot healthier than a joint by a long shot).

@ silver MK:
Have you seen these thingies?

http://www.freesmoking.biz/how_does_it_work.html

There are ancient urban legends here in Richmond that Philip Morris is ready to put out a product as soon as they get the green light, if ever.

FITZZ wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:I am pro outright banning.

Would that be banning Marijauna or tabacco smoking?

Both, alcohol as well.

Wow! Sounds like an enchanted world of fun and frolic shuma.

Norwulf wrote:Wow! Sounds like an enchanted world of fun and frolic shuma.

It's a theoretical world where people don't drink two boxes of natty ice then think turning the light switch on and off is the most brilliant thing ever. It's also never going to happen because people are no good at finding happiness in any fashion beyond burning or drinking something that gives it to them free of effort. On a related note I'm probably going to be dead drunk by midnight tonight.

ShumaGorath wrote:

FITZZ wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:I am pro outright banning.

Would that be banning Marijauna or tabacco smoking?

Both, alcohol as well.

Ahhh,I see..well then I suppose I should thank my heidonistic "gods' that you've yet to begin any serious political asperations,and that I will long since have shuffled off this mortal coil,thanks to drink and tabacco,by the time president Shuma is elected.

FITZZ wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:

FITZZ wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:I am pro outright banning.

Would that be banning Marijauna or tabacco smoking?

Both, alcohol as well.

Ahhh,I see..well then I suppose I should thank my heidonistic "gods' that you've yet to begin any serious political asperations,and that I will long since have shuffled off this mortal coil,thanks to drink and tabacco,by the time president Shuma is elected.

I'm unelectable in a democracy. My platform would involve changing too many thing. I'll certainly be there to take advantage during the collapse though.