Yes

But Conor prohibition is working so well..…

When you think about the amount of “grow houses” raided since christmas and the amount of cannabis plants confiscated you would think that someone in the Dail would start making an issue of this. The amount of revenue that could be created from cannabis is mind boggling. I really think that Ming should start campaining for it again. They could either take on the dutch model of coffee shops, which would create employment and help boost the economy and or introduce permits (which has been introduced in some states in the U.S) which would allow people to grow their own.

Oh I agree, Especially with all the grow farms popping up across the country. Just out of Interest at want point did the Irish state criminalise Drug Use? What government thought it was a good Idea? Did we do it because the British have an equally idiotic drugs policy? What are the main Parties Stances on the sensible idea of Legalisation,Regulation,Taxation? we all know what Ming thinks but what does Enda say? Is he aware of the massive potential benifits there is to be had? If the Government wants to promote Tourism Legalise Weed and make Dublin the new Amsterdam. You would get a better crowd that the lager louts that pollute Temple Bar.

I think it would be incredibly hard for the government to decriminalise it let alone legalise it. They have worked so hard on trying to make it look dangerous (and they do have to try!) that it would be extremely hypocritical of them. Basically,it probably won’t happen in our lifetimes. I wish they would open their eyes though. To have a smoke comfortably and without dealing with so called “criminals” would be absolutely lovely at home in our own country. I always enjoyed Amsterdam for that reason. Socialising with the nicest herb in the world and a cuppa :)

Drugs don’t lead to gangland murders, irresponsible drug laws do. It’s not the users killing each other, it’s the sellers.

Mark – It was hardly “users” bringing in that amount, it was for the sellers who see the drugs/murder etc laws of the country as irresponsible to their neat little earners.

Exactly, it’s not the users bringing in this amounts, the users of drugs are your average Joe on the street. Relatively harmless.

We created the demon of the black market seller of drugs by making a black market.
As soon as anything in high demand becomes illegal, there will always be people willing to take the relatively low risk of getting caught to make a lot money.

They may have caught one Ukrainian man, with a large but relatively small amount of cannabis, but the fact is they haven’t (and couldn’t) report the many people they haven’t caught that will keep the country’s sellers and users of drugs ticking over just fine like it always has been.

Gangland murders occur when people owe money to dealers or when people want to take over a territory
It is our irresponsible drugs laws that allow any black market entrepreneur to try and bring anything they like in, contaminate/cut the product until it is much more dangerous than the real thing, and make a fortune. This fortune then goes on the human trafficked sex trade, guns, harder drugs, etc.

All that our drug laws do is make sure drugs are more dangerous, non-violent users lives are ruined with drug convictions and gangsters have profits to kill each other over.
I say we take responsibility, regulate all drugs and any profits made can be put into the rehabilitation and not the imprisonment of addicts.

Making drugs illegal makes them;

1.More available.
Ask a teenager which he could acquire faster, alcohol or cannabis.
Chances are he already knows or knows of someone in his school who either uses or sells cannabis that would never ask for I.D. That cannabis seller most likely knows someone who can get any other illegal drug.

2. More dangerous
Drugs in Ireland are extremely contaminated. At the moment ‘hash’ is heavily contaminated with engine oils, henna ink, glue, plastic, all sorts. The contamination of all drugs is a huge problem. Most addicts of harder drugs die from the contaminants rather than the actual drug. People have been hospitalised in Ireland from smoking contaminated cannabis containing silica beads, covered in industrial gels, etc.

3. Causes gangland feuds and deaths
These guys are fighting over money. If alcohol was made illegal tomorrow the exact same thing would happen. They are all sellers fighting over money in this hugely profitable game the government is handing them. They use guns for protection from each other.

4. Supports a brutal slave trade and trafficking of children
This Asian man in this growhouse is most likely a slave to a gang that would be caught dead anywhere near one of their many grow houses. These people are often kids or young men that have no idea what they are getting into when they get to Ireland. They have left their country in search of a better life to find themselves threatened with death unless they look after this house.
Check out this documentary; Children of the Cannabis trade; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUJZQnil5tM

Aside from all this, it’s absolutely ridiculous and sinister that cancer, glaucoma and MS sufferers can’t get access to high quality, safe, effective medicine that allow them some peace and quality of life they couldn’t experience otherwise.

You want to be able to spread your cancerous, highly addictive habit that you get no enjoyment from to the clean, non-consenting lungs of the rest of the population, children included, while at the same time restrict the rights and freedoms of consenting adults to smoke their herb in a small space that won’t effect the rights or health of anyone else? Seems legit

If you’ve nothing good to say say nothing at all