Are we being primed for a relaxation in drug laws?

[Yorkshire Blue]

Am I alone in detecting a subtle change in the media narrative regarding drugs?

Instead of stories of how about drug use can damage people's lives we've instead recently had stories about the impurity of cocaine and about Mexico being at threat from turning into 1990s Colombia.

Neither story is promoting drug use, but both stories are highlighting problems surrounding the illegal drugs trade. The implicit message behind the cocaine cutting stories is that mixing in random cutting agents could be a public health issue as people won't know what they are putting into their body. The stories from Mexico highlight always state that this is fueled by the demand for illegal drugs in the US.

The message is that drugs are still ruining millions of lives, but it is not the drugs themselves that are causing this problem but rather the drugs policy being pursued. Now these stories don't get reported for no reason. They get reported because someone wants to get the story out there. Are we being softened up for a softening up of the drugs laws?

 

[EastStandBlue]

Would the Tories risk that after the fuss they kicked up when Labour de-classified cannabis?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Would the Tories risk that after the fuss they kicked up when Labour de-classified cannabis?

Oh, I doubt very much that we'd see anything this Parliament or even the next, but it seems we'll be moving in that direction long term. Public opinion will take a long time to turn sufficiently for there to be the consensus to carry out such a move, but this seems to me to be part of the long-term softening up process. It'll be followed up with more research being commissioned into it, to produce more evidence and headlines supporting this move. We'll start to see more cultural references to the Prohibition Era in the US, so that the parallells can be drawn to that.

It's not necessarily even the politicians behind this (despite the Lib Dem liberal influence), but perhaps the civil service - maybe those in more senior positions in health and the police force - who are angling for this.

 

[steveo]

Why not legalise them all and sell them in chemists?
If people want to use them they know the risks, just the same as smokers and drinkers.
Would rid the country of all drug related crime in an instant and the Government could tax them in the same way as they tax cigarettes an bring in a healthy profit for the chancellor.

 

[Mad Cyril]

I don't know why people bother with illegal drugs when you can have a great night out on a temazepam and a couple of cans of strong lager.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Why not legalise them all and sell them in chemists?
If people want to use them they know the risks, just the same as smokers and drinkers.
Would rid the country of all drug related crime in an instant and the Government could tax them in the same way as they tax cigarettes an bring in a healthy profit for the chancellor.

I think the argument is valid, especially considering the recent state of the NHS due to funding and inevitable budget cuts. The country would reap an extortionate sum if we were to legalise and tax Class C and B drugs, but would that increased "income" be sufficient enough to improve conditions whilst coping with the inevitable strain that certain sectors would be placed under as a result of readily available narcotics?

It's not just the physical implications, either. Mental health, historically shunned by conservative governments in particular, would be placed under enormous strain because of the increase of effects of prolonged drug abuse, such as drug induced psychoses.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

Why not legalise them all and sell them in chemists?
If people want to use them they know the risks, just the same as smokers and drinkers.
Would rid the country of all drug related crime in an instant and the Government could tax them in the same way as they tax cigarettes an bring in a healthy profit for the chancellor.

I was just about to post that myself.
If we legalise ALL drugs, in theory it would stop drug gangs, drug related crime etc..What it probably wouldn't do is get rid of the half life scum that have been taken over by heroin, cocaine and all the rest walking our streets. Just for the record taking drugs doesn't make you a bad person, but it is almost definitely going to ruin your life.
If they where legalised, I wouldn't like to be the poor person who has to serve this stuff up to Big Head Harry, One eyed Pete and Mr Sniff all with knives in their back pockets.

 

[steveo]

I was just about to post that myself.
If we legalise ALL drugs, in theory it would stop drug gangs, drug related crime etc..What it probably wouldn't do is get rid of the half life scum that have been taken over by heroin, cocaine and all the rest walking our streets. Just for the record taking drugs doesn't make you a bad person, but it is almost definitely going to ruin your life.
If they where legalised, I wouldn't like to be the poor person who has to serve this stuff up to Big Head Harry, One eyed Pete and Mr Sniff all with knives in their back pockets.

Would they need the knives? If they were affordable they shouldn't need to seal so shouldn't need the extra money.
Any revenue created in tax should be spent on new prisons and longer custodial sentences. The first law change should be minimum 5 year prison term for anyone caught carrying a knife.

 

[Harold Bishop Killer]

I was just about to post that myself.
If we legalise ALL drugs, in theory it would stop drug gangs, drug related crime etc..What it probably wouldn't do is get rid of the half life scum that have been taken over by heroin, cocaine and all the rest walking our streets. Just for the record taking drugs doesn't make you a bad person, but it is almost definitely going to ruin your life.
If they where legalised, I wouldn't like to be the poor person who has to serve this stuff up to Big Head Harry, One eyed Pete and Mr Sniff all with knives in their back pockets.

Agree Dave. Hate to be the chemist who goes that be £22 please mate only to be shown a nice 12 inch blade in return. I agree with legalise and heavy tax them but they need to be carefully regulated in steady and protected environments. Maybe an actual dedicated drug store with security, metal detectors etc and with built in safe environments where people can inject etc all they want. I think they would be a huge uproar about it but like stated before the dangers of alcohol and smoking are widely known but yet are still sold all over the world just with heavy tax. Drugs would be no different. But on the flip side would it increase crime? The heavy tax could mean you oay £20 instead of paying your old £10 which means less addicts can afford resulting in maybe higher crime. But then I guess this is where the black market comes into play again by maybe lowering the costs through the normal means etc. So maybe there would be no effect at all on society.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Nice to see this one raised it's head again.

All drugs should be legalised. Prohibtion has not, and will not, ever work.

 

[Davros]

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

Agree Dave. Hate to be the chemist who goes that be £22 please mate only to be shown a nice 12 inch blade in return. I agree with legalise and heavy tax them but they need to be carefully regulated in steady and protected environments. Maybe an actual dedicated drug store with security, metal detectors etc and with built in safe environments where people can inject etc all they want. I think they would be a huge uproar about it but like stated before the dangers of alcohol and smoking are widely known but yet are still sold all over the world just with heavy tax. Drugs would be no different. But on the flip side would it increase crime? The heavy tax could mean you oay £20 instead of paying your old £10 which means less addicts can afford resulting in maybe higher crime. But then I guess this is where the black market comes into play again by maybe lowering the costs through the normal means etc. So maybe there would be no effect at all on society.

It's an impossible situation really. It could work. But it is more likely to just make drugs even easier to get hold of and would just add to the problem. If a system that the government put in place was to actually work, I'd be astounded. If they can't sort people TAX codes out, are they going to be able to regulate out of control drug addicts? Probably not. It would be nice, but I just can't see it. I would like to see it happen.

Steveo, I agree with what you say. The knife law should be in place it will be put in place one day, but it's going to seem like it's too late! We will all wonder why it has taken them so long to write this law. Almost exactly the same as school children that are taken out of school for miss behaving, allowing them to stay at home. It just doesn't make sense!

 

[EastStandBlue]

Nice to see this one raised it's head again.

All drugs should be legalised. Prohibtion has not, and will not, ever work.

Out of interest, at what age would you have them legalised?

Imagine the state of Universities if they became legal at 18...

 

[MK Shrimper]

Out of interest, at what age would you have them legalised?

Imagine the state of Universities if they became legal at 18...

Why not? Drinking alcohol is legal at 18 and that destroys far more lives than any illegal drug.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

Why not? Drinking alcohol is legal at 18 and that destroys far more lives than any illegal drug.

Well that is a fair point!

I would like to know how many people drink because they enjoy to drink and how many people drink to get absolutely out of their minds.
I could say with almost complete confidence that 99% of people that take drugs do it to get out of their minds!

 

[Napster]

Why not? Drinking alcohol is legal at 18 and that destroys far more lives than any illegal drug.

Only because it's more readily available. If they start selling crack down my local, then I imagine it will cause more upset.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Why not? Drinking alcohol is legal at 18 and that destroys far more lives than any illegal drug.

As with most things, moderation never killed anybody. If you were to take one ecstacy pill on your weekly night out, I suspect the large majority of us would never see long-term side-effects. The problem occurs when you start mixing drugs, predominately with alcohol, and take them to excessive amounts. If you take the recent cases of legal highs using mephedrone and other assorted cleaning agents/plant food/bath soaps that people choose to ingest, the deaths attributed to it were almost entirely down to people mixing them with alcohol and/or other drugs.

If you were to legalise both alcohol and select drugs at the same age, then you're asking for trouble.

And if you made cannabis as readily available as alcohol, then you'd see a considerable increase in mental health issues and I dare say that, within 10 years, it would be seen to be just as damaging as prolonged alcohol abuse.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

As with most things, moderation never killed anybody. If you were to take one ecstacy pill on your weekly night out, I suspect the large majority of us would never see long-term side-effects. The problem occurs when you start mixing drugs, predominately with alcohol, and take them to excessive amounts. If you take the recent cases of legal highs using mephedrone and other assorted cleaning agents/plant food/bath soaps that people choose to ingest, the deaths attributed to it were almost entirely down to people mixing them with alcohol and/or other drugs.

If you were to legalise both alcohol and select drugs at the same age, then you're asking for trouble.

And if you made cannabis as readily available as alcohol, then you'd see a considerable increase in mental health issues and I dare say that, within 10 years, it would be seen to be just as damaging as prolonged alcohol abuse.

If I wanted to get my hands on some cannabis I'm fairly certain I could get it within two hours max. The good thing is that I don't sign up to that, I'd prefer to drink a bottle of Vodka that I could get in 5 minutes. ;)

ESB I agree with everything you are saying!, I'm not to sure if you took 1 ecstacy pill what would happen to you. I imagine it would increase mental health problems by a fair amount. If you start having one shot of smack every week I imagine you'd **** yourself up pretty quickly. The thing is with all of these things ,including alcohol, if you have an addictive personality there is no way that you could just take one of anything.

 

[MK Shrimper]

I could say with almost complete confidence that 99% of people that take drugs do it to get out of their minds!

I disagree. In my 20's when I smoked dope, I had one spliff after work to relax then carried on my normal evening. I knew of plenty of people who did the same.

Only because it's more readily available. If they start selling crack down my local, then I imagine it will cause more upset.

It's already freely available and prohibition hasn't stopped this.

As with most things, moderation never killed anybody. If you were to take one ecstacy pill on your weekly night out, I suspect the large majority of us would never see long-term side-effects. The problem occurs when you start mixing drugs, predominately with alcohol, and take them to excessive amounts. If you take the recent cases of legal highs using mephedrone and other assorted cleaning agents/plant food/bath soaps that people choose to ingest, the deaths attributed to it were almost entirely down to people mixing them with alcohol and/or other drugs.

If you were to legalise both alcohol and select drugs at the same age, then you're asking for trouble.

And if you made cannabis as readily available as alcohol, then you'd see a considerable increase in mental health issues and I dare say that, within 10 years, it would be seen to be just as damaging as prolonged alcohol abuse.

As I understand it, not one death of the "legal" drugs were attributed to them - there were other factors involved. And why would I see more mental health issues? Again, I smoked a ton of dope in my 20's and drunk fairly heavily - I have no mental health issues (I hope!).

 

[EastStandBlue]

As I understand it, not one death of the "legal" drugs were attributed to them - there were other factors involved. And why would I see more mental health issues? Again, I smoked a ton of dope in my 20's and drunk fairly heavily - I have no mental health issues (I hope!).

I have a relative who smoked 40 a day and lived till she was 88, yet others have died in their 40's as a result of lung cancer, having never smoked routinely.

I'm probably more anti-legalisation as both parents work in mental health within the NHS and have seen first hand what prolonged cannabis abuse can lead to and cause. As OBD stated earlier, whereas you were able to limit yourself to a single joint a day to relax, others with an addictive personality wouldn't and would soon lapse into an addiction that would leave them open to a number of cannabis-related mental health issues.

It's swings and roundabouts. I personally would be open to the legalisation of Class C and B drugs, but would leave Class A drugs restricted with severe penalties for those who choose to peddle them.