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Uruguay legalizes marijuana

Don't really smoke weed much any longer, but seems entirely sensible. Most of Western society will look back on prohibition as pretty curious by the end of my lifetime, I'm sure.
 
Fair point, didn't see that bit. But it's still a step in the right direction.
 
AstroDan said:
Whatever. Legal. Illegal. Doesn't affect me.
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The only way it'll affect you is the increased tax revenues for school, hospitals and everything else if marijuana is legalised and regulated. :)
 
Sam said:
AstroDan said:
Whatever. Legal. Illegal. Doesn't affect me.
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The only way it'll affect you is the increased tax revenues for school, hospitals and everything else if marijuana is legalised and regulated. :)
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Great.

But I cannot stand the smell of it. My main gripe with Cannabis isn't whether it's legal or illegal, if people want to smoke it and risk whatever they are risking then it's their life, but I hate the smell of it. Somebody at Uni used to smoke opposite me, and it used to come under my door. I ended up putting a complaint in. But nothing was done :(

You also get it on the bus, it's just not right.
 
If it was legalised in the UK, the same laws would be in place regarding the smoking ban that are in place now. Smoking marijuana on busses, and in university halls of residence, would be illegal as it is for tobacco now.
 
Sam said:
If it was legalised in the UK, the same laws would be in place regarding the smoking ban that are in place now. Smoking marijuana on busses, and in university halls of residence, would be illegal as it is for tobacco now.
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However, I occasionally am subjected to cigarette smoke, which I do not enjoy. I tolerate it, but it affects my asthma and I generally just don't like it. I am concerned that the increase in exposure to cannabis would also affect my asthma and, seen as I just generally dislike the smell, be something which I am exposed to more and more.
 
I don't smoke, and I'm very much against drugs. However, I'm very much for marijuana being legalised. It's a bit of a no-brainer really; it would save a lot of money, police time and effort if it was legalised, and if it's regulated, it's also safer too. By making it illegal, it's not affecting how many people smoke it at all.
 
Latin America has suffered terribly from the failed war on drugs so I’m not surprised to see attitudes softening there.

I’d love for it to be a sign of things to come but I'm sure the west will continue with there attitude of trying to criminalise mind altering substances as fast as those beautiful Dutch chemists can create them.
 
From being very puritanical on the issue of drugs, I've travelled quite far from my initial views. I knew that when I turned on the TV to see the likes of Peter Hitchens agreeing with me, it was time to seriously review my opinion. :p

But that said, I am fonder of decriminalisation of possession, rather than full out legalisation. Punishing people for using drugs makes no sense as the law is there to establish a moral standard, but it's not morally wrong to take drugs, as you are not inflicting anything on other people (well unless you are smoking it in public, which I've made clear in other topics I feel is wrong whether it be tobacco or anything else). However, I do feel there is something morally questionable about making a profit out of a substance that is harmful to the customers, and because of that I can't quite commit to a full out legalisation policy. Punish the suppliers - not the users.

There is some merit in the idea of a state regulated legalisation where safe use is prioritised over profit, but I find that most who back it can't give me a more detailed insight into how it would work, so I'm a bit sceptical. But who knows, perhaps in another year or so I'll finally come round to it as my views have been rapidly changing since I first did any research into the subject.
 
Meat Pie said:
However, I do feel there is something morally questionable about making a profit out of a substance that is harmful to the customers,
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It has been shown to have many positive health benefits including studies showing compounds within it that kill cancerous cells in laboratory conditions. Of course like anything over consumption has negative effects too, and methods of consumption of course affect that too. However overall, the effects of it on its own are far less negative (particularly in social effect studies) than even Tobacco and Alcohol.

Do you like it or not is a different question. (I am only using this one point as an example Meat as you obviously made your relaxed view quite clear)

I also believe it was mandatory to grow in the USA in the past, as it was used for paper/textiles etc (I seem to recall it even being used as taxation payment), it is a very green solution in this regard. Also, hemp oil has many supposed health benefits.

Of course you also have the black market issue with all drugs, like anything illegal you drive it underground where it becomes harder to control in any form. You also take people who may need help dealing with it broadly out of the system. It is down to no more than others ignorance that criminalise individuals for their choice to use something proven to be less harmful than something they tax the crap out of.

I don't smoke it, but the way g'ments etc go on about it and maintain their stance on keeping it illegal gets on my nerves! Especially as many of them have taken it, although of course, they "never inhaled".

Archaic attitude to something that has only very recently in history become such a taboo, for no good reason.
 
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