Like I’ve said Bren, I don’t care about them or what happens to them. I work in a prison 95% full of drug related crimes who keep coming back. People can’t get it into their heads that they still need money to acquire the drugs even if made legal and that’s where the crime starts.

So all people who use drugs are scum and thieves, glad we cleared that up, it's like the dark ages on here sometimes, what a load of tosh, I have 4 people that I know of in my close friends who have taken recreational drugs for years marijuana, speed, coke, ecstasy, acid and mushrooms, they are all in their 40's all successful in their chosen professions, not one of them has ever had the sack or been in any trouble whatsoever and lead normal life's but they chose drugs to be their escape on a weekend rather than alcohol. Just because something is illegal doesn't make it wrong. We will eventually catch up and decriminalise marijuana at the very least and rightly so, the health benefits that it brings will guarantee that I believe, the propaganda that drugs has suffered over the years is criminal in my mind.

A friend of mine is epileptic and until about 4 years ago probably averaged around 5/6 fits per year, constantly in and out of hospital every time he injured himself, since finding a potent concentrate of marijuana and smoking it he has had one fit in 4 years and that was just 2 weeks ago, could be a coincidence but as he lost his supply 2 months ago I doubt it very much. Why are people out their suffering chronic pain when there is an endless supply of a free natural drug which could halo millions around the world? Stinks to high heaven. Pun intended.

Always exceptions to a rule

Just on that, one of the most remarkable things I've seen, is a 20 year long Parkisnson's sufferer who couldn't control his shakes at all. He then had some marijuana oil, this was over in the US and wthin 5 minutes or so after he was told to just lay down and relax, it was like he had siuddenly got rid of the disease, unreal to see that. All at the fraction of the cost of the medicine he was taking and not doing anything.
Anyone interested in watching the video put in utube 'Man with Parkinson’s uses marijuana for the first time — and the results are amazing'. There's loads of similar videos on the subject as well.

That's all part of the wider problem though imo. plenty wouldn't come back if most drugs were decriminalised, that's not to make them completely legal. Just where people get caught with possession amounts, rather than supply amounts of drugs, you don't go straight to jail. I will say I agree there are those particularly with the Heroin and Crack problems, that are going to do almost anything to get the drug, that's where you're going to get constant offenders, due to burglaries and shoplifting. This is where for me Drug help, support & treatment isn't nowhere near as good as it could be in this Country. Ateotd what's cheaper, treament for a user for month, or sticking someone away again for being caugght with a gram of smack and doing a 1/2 year stretch. Obviously there's going to be those that don't want to get clean, or feel they're mentally not equipped to kick the drug.

Anyway each to their own.

You don't get to pick and choose the laws that suit you. It doesn't matter how morally superior you think your mates are.

They may be all the things you say they are but that's absolutely no excuse - who gives them the right.

I happen to agree as regards your point on Canabis as medication. It's a scam by drugs companies. So sort it through the ballot box if you feel that strongly, that's what it's for.

Sorry but what your calling the dark ages is actually the opposite. The law should be blind and implemented without regard to the perpetrators 'niceness' or 'popularity. The law must be above personality, when it's used selectively you end up with anarchy or worse.

Vasty, myself and most others on these forums care very little what you think. Have a great day you amazing person.

Correct - but thankfully, at least for now, it's perfectly acceptable to talk about those laws which you think are wrong.

Personally, after decades of the so-called war on drugs, which has patently and clearly had no positive impact on any of the things it purports to deal with, I think it's time for a new approach; other countries have tried it, with good results, and there's now enough empirical data to cherry pick the best ideas from around the world, to create a UK solution.

There are many reasons why that won't happen for the foreseeable future of course, not least the frothing, Daily Mail attitude that all drugs are bad; and since we're in an age where some people believe that their opinions trump facts, it's very hard to get past. I hope we do though. I like this, from Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance in the USThe true challenge is learning to live with drugs so that they cause the least harm. An effective strategy needs to establish realistic objectives and criteria for evaluating success or failure, and must focus on reducing the death, disease, crime and suffering associated with both drug use and drug policies.'"

Some sense Drugs and some of the e peddled about them is ridiculous. Like any chemical substance will be abused and used inappropriately by a lot of people. I think sometimes people just think people take drugs and then the drugs ruin that person. Usually there are deep rooted problems in that person's mentality or life/lifestyle long before the drugs come into it. The drugs are the symptom and not the cause. Most addicts will tell you that.

But that's only representative of a small minority of drug users overall. Millions of people take drugs every week/weekend without ending up robbing a granny's handbag to fund their habit or living in a filthy squat with teeth missing. Yes there are problem users of social drugs in the same way there are problem users of prescription drugs and alcohol and tobacco. Most people are perfectly able to fund their drug use through legitimate means (just like most drinkers) and will never commit any other crime to obtain or use drugs, other than the socially constructed and in my opinion arbitrary laws around drug possession and supply. The vast majority of drug users are able to moderate their use they are not junkies, which is often the depiction of drug use in the media and which is the image many people associate with it.

Couldn't agree more, it riles me when people have the image of "he's on drugs so he is just like something out of trainspotting" Just think of the revenue that can be raised from taxes on such a cheap crop, the health benefits, stoping people who just want a bit of weed from having to visit a dealer, the business's popping up to produce it all paying rates. It's an absolute no brainer for me, only the big pharma companies are stopping this happening.

Not to mention that legitimising the production and supply breaks the crims stranglehold, and stops much of the well publicised harm that occurs in the supply chain.

Also it would take away the bad stuff they put in it to make it go further, which in itself is a danger