You’re so right it hurts.

It would do more for tourism than the Gathering.

Should decriminalise marijuana, and all drugs, rather than legalising them. We should do what Portugal has done: http://www.businessinsider.com/portugal-drug-policy-decriminalization-works-2012-7

well said robbie needs to be done it’s a no brainer

Intelligent, well expressed common sense!!!

decriminalising leaves criminals in control, like in holland

Legalising & regulating is the only way to go!

One thing that’s clear to me. There’s no bailout for the working man.

Decriminalising is even more an insane policy than prohibition is. It recognises a market but does not provide any legal framework with which to supply that market. Decriminalisation would be a massive boost for organised crime.

FACT!!!… allowing the police to focus on tackling actual drugs instead of plants. Cannabis is not illegal because a loving government doesn’t want us to become addicted and lead us into the “drug scene”, If cannabis wasn’t classed as a drug in the first place this would not be an issue. The only reason its associated with other drugs and is termed a “gateway drug” is because of its own legal status and association with crime and profiteering funding other branches of illegal activities among higher up criminal gangs. If it was decriminalized and made legally available then this wouldn’t be an issue either. You wouldn’t have to go to a drug dealer or be in the kind of environment where your inclined/offered/tempted to try other things. Cigarettes and Alcohol are distributed all over the country and are far more addictive and detrimental to health. If they cared so much about our health and addictive tendencies then why don’t they criminalize cigarettes and alcohol. I cant go 5 minutes without a cigarette yet i haven’t smoked weed in months. Are they worried about things that alter or mood or behavior? HA!! You look at someone under the influence of alcohol and contrast it against someone under the influence of cannabis. It should at least be legalized for medical reasons, particularly Cancer patients

before any proper vote there has to be more information for the non believers . otherwise any ” no” campaign here in ireland would be one driven by fear and ignorance.

For instance i only discovered recently that the first doctor credited with using cannabis as a medicinal substance was in fact an Irishman from limerick. dr. william brooke o’shaughnessy back in the 1800’s. why havent we heard of this great pioneer.

in 2003 the american government patented the use of cannaboids for medical use for treatment of parkinsons, alzheimers, MS, encephalitis. they state it is a neuro protective. i.e it heals the brain and helps with re growth of damaged brain cells.

How come the irish government has never mentioned the link between crime and prohibition. since the 1970’s and the introduction of the misuse of drugs laws the crime rate in ireland jumped 500%. drug gangs are making over half a billion euro’s profit every year. yet in a dail report from 2006 we have 40% of irish teenagers having tried cannabis.( highest in europe). 40% of the same teenagers say they can easily get cannabis in school.

so prohibition has failed the most vulnerable in our society, it make criminals out of innocent normal people and earns the criminal gangs millions of euro not to mention all the murders due to gang wars and the big money involved. these are the facts, unlike our politicians that believe in the fiction of what might happen if legalized.

*drug

Agreed

Great comment. You should write to the government with that comment.

Great Comment. The government should see that comment.

zoltar thankyou for posting that comment, you saved me a lot of trouble :)

Excellent reasoned comment. However our politicians are currently involved in screwing up another pointless referendum. They would be far too busy to understand the reasoned logic of your piece. Keep up the good work.

Excellent reasoned comment. However our politicians are currently involved in screwing up another pointless referendum. They would be far too busy to understand the reasoned logic of your piece. Keep up the good work.

Nice work , this comment should be read by all the doom sayers . Gateway theory my arse .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVaHE9yDh_A

Agree on everything you say there..
One good thing about time though, it tends to kill all the elderly.

Give the elderly some weed scones at one of their meeting when they realize than their arthritis is almost not paining them anymore they might change their mind

Oh, clever of them.

Of course what we’d do is put it up for contract and then give the contract to D Desmond !

i could not imagine a worse solution to the problem. try and visualise the muppets running the state controlling the cultivation and distribution of cannabis. i would rather grow and consume it illeagaly

I went through a period of depression some years back and there was no way I wanted to go down the antidepressant route after seeing my mother on them for 29 years so although I wouldn’t have many hippy leanings I used weed instead and I was back on my feet in a matter of months. That’s not to say it would work for everyone but it did the trick for me

i was amazed to see in Spain, when i was there people are aloud, to have 2 plants , no more than that or you will
have the law at your door , seen it growing on balconies everywhere ,
but you don’t sell it or buy it , why would you

drink and fags are a lot more harm to people, but the drug company’s would not like or the government , why would they , do like they do in Spain , this country is poisoned with prescribed drugs for years , iv seen what it has done to people and they are feeding drugs to kids that don’t need them but its money , all the way ,they cant be bothered , about them just give them a pill, in some cases maybe , but not all. i’m not saying that all meds are bad
or that kids go on dope no way , but let grown ups make there own mind up , and that goes for most things , stop
the dictatorship, we don’t need it

Have they, you know, done away with, full stops, and, question marks, too?????

once again, why should i be taxed for growing for my own consumption? if i was growing i would have already forked out for lights,fans, filters, nutrients etc. , not to mind the increase in my electric bill. the state will already get vat on all those things

why should it be taxed if i grow it for my own consumption? why not a clamour to tax those brewing their own beer or growing their own vegetables for their own consumption ?

The point of the tax is when buying ‘ready to smoke’ cannabis instead of growing your own, just like buying a six pack of beer is taxed but not the beer you grow yourself, etc.

AMEN

Yeah, you’d attract every pot head in Europe

Europe and the world over actually. But feck it Ted, we can’t be having visitors from all over the world now can we, that would be outrageous. Besides, pot heads are only trouble with all their fighting and whatnot.

Oh no, not those horrible ‘pot heads’. They’d come over here with their giggles and ‘munchies’ and eat all our food so we’d starve to death. Not to mention how violent they are.

Yeah, but it could get out of control so easily, what would happen if they all started ordering cappuccino’s with their choice of herb, what would we do then?? Seriously, it’s hard to believe the ignorance expressed in some of comments left by people who oppose cannabis legalisation.

Comment I replied to was removed….

I’m all for legalisation but I’m wondering if it would further damage our pub image… People would go to hash cafe’s to smoke rather than go for a social drink… You can’t smoke in a pub anymore… If it were to be legalised the Irish Government would have to tax it. Should it be taxed at a rate much tougher than alcohol in order to preserve the pub industry?

@Dean

I am actually not sure if I should give your comment an up or down vote.
I’ll take some of your item in a different order.

“- Everyone who wishes to consume at home must undergo a medical and obtain a clearance card.”
Really?. I have to register to be allowed to consume in my own house? You also want me to register that I sometimes take a Paracetamol or have a glass of wine. (down vote)

“- Everyone who wishes to grow purchases plant tags via their local guard station.”
Why? Please expand a bit more on this, as I fail to see the logic in this. (no vote)

“- End product can be purchased via pharmacies for home consumption.”
Don’t agree, normal shops would be a good place to put this (as per cigarettes).
Don’t see why we should give pharmacies another monopoly. Now if there was special medicinal strains then yes this would the logical place to sell it. (no vote)

“- Tourists can consume but only in cafes and only on premises, they cannot leave with the product.”
And you plan to enforce this how? (no vote)

In general I think you mean well, I just fail to see the logic in those statements.
I would be totally against any registration of consumers, as quite frankly it is none of your (or anybody else’s) business what I choose to consume in my own home.
This is providing it does not harm anybody else.

Cannabis is not a harmful drug if taken in moderation like all other substances, and even then a lot less harmful than 99% of all the other drugs out there.

It would create a whole new industry, not everyone wants to go to the pub and drink alcohol. If we had Amsterdam style coffee shops in Ireland we’d see a significant drop in anti social behaviour, which is mainly fuelled by alcohol. Moving away from our binge drinking culture shouldn’t be seen as a negative point.

@ Brian,

Cheers for some proper grown up debate, it’s few and far between these days. To answer your points:

- Everyone who wishes to consume at home must undergo a medical and obtain a clearance card.
This is not like a medical card ala america, the medical and clearance card would be to confirm that you have been screened for possible medical issues, think of it in the same way you get an eye test for a license. This is basically the same idea. I think the whole medical cannabis carry on is just political waffle, it needs to be fully legal not pseudo legal if you fake back pain.

- Everyone who wishes to grow purchases plant tags via their local guard station.
This one is actually more about tax than anything else. The best way to get something legalized is to tax it. I would rather pay a two or three euro tag tax and have it legal than not have it legal at all.

- End product can be purchased via pharmacies for home consumption.
This is solely to appease the Joe Duffy types. I bet most would just grow it instead but we need a way to distribute to “the parish” that is not seen as a “head shop” or “death dealer”. Look at the knee jerk reaction to head shops. If I thought we could get away with it I would put it solely in post offices.. Old people trust post offices.

- Tourists can consume but only in cafes and only on premises, they cannot leave with the product.
It fairly stinks. I bet dragging a tourist over to store street would allow you to quickly find out were it was purchased. We have to be realistic in that there are a percentage of people who would be offended by tourists stoned on the streets, they have rights too. At the moment we are not allowed to consume period, as people become more accepting we can review but for now these places would serve as bubbles that allow people to consume in private with like minded people and not be called hippies and stoners, it also allows joe public to continue on as if the law was never implemented.

I am completely in the yes camp, I actually think all drugs should be legal with varying degrees of availability / restrictions. I also understand that there is a perception issue. The only way cannabis will be legalized will be if it is tightly controlled. Further down the line we can relax certain aspects of the law but for now, at the very least my suggestions would ease a lot of fears people have. Baby steps and all that.

Im thinking Micheal Collins not De Valera :)

Joe,

As Brian R says, more than likely the two would not be linked. Of all the people I know who do consume, very few are drinks, they seem to be one or the other. That is not to say that they don’t drink, it is usually they will be in the mood to do one or the other.

Of course there are people that like both but I do think you will find enough people that would rather just consume cannabis instead of having a few pints.

Jo,

As Brian R says, more than likely the two would not be linked. Of all the people I know who do consume, very few are drinks, they seem to be one or the other. That is not to say that they don’t drink, it is usually they will be in the mood to do one or the other.

Of course there are people that like both but I do think you will find enough people that would rather just consume cannabis instead of having a few pints.

@Dean

Some very good points Dean. And yes I totally agree, this is ALL about easing the “Joe Duffy types” into the logical way of thinking about this issue.
Too much brainwashing out there for the last 70 years about Reefer Madness and all drugs kills.

And for people saying availability will go up I have this little story.

A couple of weeks ago, I talked to my 16 year old daughter about these issues and was told that “I can get it within 30min no problem”. (We live in a medium size town)
She explained that it was quite common and she did not even have to approach dangerous people (She used another word I will not say here)
I said bullcrap and just to prove the point gave her 25 euro.

Exactly 21 minutes later she stood there with a bag of weed. It is everywhere. Anybody who says differently don’t have a clue.

You sent your daughter out to buy weed?

What did you do with the weed?

Well I hardly thought she was going to be able to get it, but she got it alright.

Had a good long chat with her afterwards talking about my experiences with cannabis, and how its generally a bad idea to use it when you are young as she is.
She in turn told me how it’s used within her circle of friends and acquaintances of theirs.
Good talk and in general I am pretty sure she walked away from it with some good knowledge going forward.
I am under no illusion that she will not do it again (Like most others in her age group), but she might just limit it a bit.

In general I have found that a certain type of people will get stuck in substance abuse no matter what you do for whatever reason.
Most of us have a bit of fun/madness and then move on with life while having the occasional beer/glass of wine / joint / .

As for the bag of weed, I confiscated it for ermmm scientific purposes.

And you tested the quality … in the name of science.

Are you posting under your real name and is it entirely wise to be saying online that you sent your daughter out to score drugs for you?

I’m not judging you, I’m just asking.

Well let me ask you.. What do you think?

Well I’m not judging you but I know some people would and if you are posting under your real name then there are those who might think that sending out a minor to score drugs for you is irresponsible and maybe under legislation to be brought in under the upcoming referendum then, if the more hysterical wing of the No campaign are to be believed, it could be pretty bad for you.

So I’d hope you aren’t posting under your real name.

In fact even not under that legislation. I’d expect.

Well my point was not to “score drugs”, but to really see if it was so freely available that she could get it fast.
It was. Do I plan to do it again? No, as I have no problem getting access to it myself should I want some.

Fact is, all kids have easy access to it already. And anybody trying to tell you otherwise is delusional.
Meaning the whole “But think of the kids” argument is moot

We should be able to consume cannabis at home like we do tea or coffee. We should be able to grow it like we grow fuschias and sycamores.

That kind of stringent regulation is perverse. Will I need a clearance card to go rock climbing? How about toast eating? Maybe there should be a meter installed in our homes to monitor our cannabis consumption, alerting the Gardai if we consume ‘too much’.

No, cannabis should be legal because we deserve freedom. That’s why all drugs should be legal. Cannabis is such a docile chemical that this debate is a farce.

some very interesting and well thought out comments here. i dont neccesarily agree with them all though… i personaly would be vehemently opposed to any kind of registering, plant tagging or carding etc. what i do in my own home is my own business and if it was legalised the only restriction should be age ( personaly i think 20 is about right), and the amount grown ( to deter the criminal element), there are plenty of models globaly to reference and best practice should be followed. i also disagree with “special” cafes unless there is a general feeling that cannabis tourism is what we are after.
i believe james reilly is already looking into the use of sativex, made by gw in the uk, and while many medical users may benifit from this i think it is a retrograde step. once big pharma gets their hands on this the lobbyists will ensure that the public will be forced to pay top dollar for a product they can easily grow themselves *all for our own good, you understand*
on a side note @ ferdia o brien, cannabis is not a chemical and wile i’m sure your intentions were good this kind of language plays into the hands of the naysayers

@Boomer Petway You’re right. Cannabis is a plant which contains psychoactive chemicals, but it is not itself a chemical. That was a slip.
I’m not certain what you meant about the naysayers, so I will say this. I don’t recognise the significance of the ‘it’s not even a drug, it’s a plant’ argument. I don’t think the argument for drug legalisation is to somehow prove that drugs are not drugs. There’s nothing shameful in identifying cannabis as containing psychoactive compounds. Any naysayer who said ‘You said it was a chemical, gotcha! Drug prohibition is now justified!’ would be off the wall.
This might not be relevant to your comment, but it is a sound point in of itself.

Crucifixion is a really negative way to kill yourself man, I’ve tried it before loads of times, there’s no way you can hammer in the last nail.

Yes, that’s why we’re running a deficit of €16 billion a year. Not taxing weed. Why didn’t we think of it sooner?

Ah but our corrupt politicians are getting so many brown envelops from the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries, it will never change. Or maybe stoners could get a collection together and pay off @DrJamesReilly!! He can get anything done for the right price

It should be legal because people do it? People run red lights, should that be legal too?

Damocles – why? What would you propose we do?

I’m saying that “People do it anyway” is not a cover all reason for legalisation.

Cannabis is a lot less harmful than alcohol or tobacco.

That’s not what I asked you. Though you are right, it isn’t a reason on it’s own but when you compare your example to that of cannabis it doesn’t hold up to logic. Running red lights has the very real potential to harm people, but we don’t make cars illegal only the irresponsible use of them. The same should apply to recreational drugs. Smoking weed is ok in moderation by a responsible adult, while smoking weed whilst driving your kids to school should be illegal.

Have to agree with Damocles, just because people do it is not a valid reason to make something legal.

People speed…should we now remove all speed limits?
People take cocaine should this also be legal?
People assault other people….should this be legal?

Smoking weed causes mental illness

“Running red lights has the very real potential to harm people,”

So does Cannabis.

There’s a very good article on the interweb (that I can’t find) that lists out the issues to be tackled should legalisation be considered, it’s actually an article about project management but it covers all the points. Might be worth reading. Bear with and I’ll track it down.

Running red lights harms other people or risks harming them, putting chemicals into your own body doesn’t harm anyone else, that’s the difference (if it harms the person who is putting chemicals into their body, then it is a medical problem not a legal one!).

Really I would have thought this difference was obvious???

@Ian Martin: perhaps this is because it is illegal and therefore less people partake of it. It is certainly not less harmful per se.

“putting chemicals into your own body doesn’t harm anyone else”

Not strictly true.

Its mostly true.

So putting drugs into your system that impact your mortality only affect you in the main, they don’t affect your entire family in the main?

putting chemicals into your own body doesn’t harm anyone else?? It does! apparently you have no idea about expenditure on treatment of mental health and other problems caused by addiction, alcoholism etc… and no need to talk about cost of anti-social behaviours.

Whereas the criminalisation of millions of people and the constant erosion of civil liberties in the name of a set of laws based solely on racism and social exclusion is a better option because it “may” cause harm to “some” people?? Damocles, there a lots of good articles on the inter-web from both sides of the argument as to whether cannabis causes mental illness. However when you consider the huge rise in numbers of cannabis users in both the UK and here we haven’t seen anything nearly resembling the type mental health pandemic that opponents have been predicting. Some of the most accomplished experts in the field of psychopharmacology have even suggested that smoking cannabis is good for schizophrenics based on accounts by the patients themselves.

When the cure is more damaging to society than the disease then it is time to rethink the strategy.

Ross, you miunderstand, I’m relatively on the fence about whether it should or be shouldn’t done. But you asked “how” we should proceed, not “why” we should proceed. So that’s where I’m going, “if” we proceed, “how” should we proceed. What are the issues that should be addressed and resolved? Just going, “Oh yeah, let’s like do it man …” isn’t enough.

@long living in this country caused mental illness!!

Then ban alcohol and cigarettes, because all the deaths from all illegal drugs combined don’t come close to the deaths caused by legal drugs?

far from it Damocles, I already know “why” we should proceed, the problem IS “how” should we proceed. The rhetoric is well worn out now. Drugs are bad. But prohibition is worse. The report by the Global Commission on Drugs released recently suggested a decriminalization of ALL drugs. Personally I don’t think even this is enough. Issues of purity, dose and safety require a properly regulated market shielded from the laissez-faire treatment of tobacco and alcohol. Promotion of drugs is not the goal here, people make that choice for themselves. Studies have shown that there is no perceptible increase in usage when criminal penalties are removed or reduced (Alex Stevens, Drugs, Crime and Public Health:2011). What is interesting is the way governments the world over have not once shown that harsher and more punitive punishments have any impact on the consumption of drugs. So if there is no rational reason for criminalizing drugs there must be another reason political, economic or simply moral.

“the problem IS “how” should we proceed.”

Long excerpt of an article below that, unsurprisingly, no one is prepared to read.

“So putting drugs into your system that impact your mortality”

Do they impact on your mortality? It is different for different drugs. Scientists (David Nutt for instance) ranks Alcohol and cigarettes to be far more dangerous than most illegal drugs (though the illegality may result in dangerous impurities).

Also the report that every newspaper went mad about that apparently claimed that cannabis causes metal illness, said nothing of the sort. What it said was that if you smoked cannabis and had metal illness in the past, then it may contribute to a relapse.

Obviously this doesn’t make great scare headlines, so journalists changed it to simply say that cannabis causes mental illness, which the report never claimed, but morons have been repeating the claim ad nauseum ever since.

“Do they impact on your mortality?”

Yes. To varying extents. Longevity is achieved by mitigating these impacts.

Now you are accusing me of plagerism? I’m a criminology masters student and my area of research is drug policy. I have been studying it for a number of years Damocles. If you are not prepared to engage in debate with me fine but don’t question my integrity.

like murder

“Now you are accusing me of plagiarism?”

What? Where did I do that? I agree that the issue is “how”. That’s why I copied those questions below, I was just pointing you towards them.

Sorry Damocles, just saw what you were on about, that is a long article. You should maybe phrase your posts better I thought you were having a go, my apologies.

Whatever you like, Ross.

I won’t say anything because no one ever listens to me anyway. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record.

@ long schlong – Adult consumption of cannabis does not cause mental illness, studies have found that problems may arise with underage use (under developed brains), but this should only strengthen the case for legalisation & regulation, I’ve never heard of a drug dealer asking for I.D. and cannabis is currently easier for a teenager to obtain than alcohol. If cannabis was legalised it could be regulated in a similar way to alcohol, with consumers having to show proof of age before they can purchase it from licensed premises.

It’s time to take this valuable cash crop out of the hands of the criminal underworld and make it work for the Irish economy.

Just because you claim it’s not as dangerous as alcohol or Tobacco doesn’t mean it should be legal. Cannibis causes an array of mental health issues and even small recreational use has caused the triggering of dormant psychosis and causes depression.

500,000 stolen from shops last year, people do it so should you be allowed to walk into a shop and take what you want?
This country needs less mind altering drugs not more.

People rape anyway so let’s make it legal by your logic?

It’s very interesting reading the views of those who seem to be against it! Let me ask you’s a question! Along with politicians who have come out against the legalisation of cannabis and the harmful effects etc , How many of you’s have actually smoked cannabis? And may I ask why are you so narrow minded on this topic? What next? Are you going to tell us it’s a gateway drug? Who said weed gives you the giggles? Your pathetic arguments are good enough for me!

@Chris Mcdonnell ‘This country needs less mind altering drugs not more.’ – Nope! The converse is precisely the case.

The Irish people would be better off if there was a greater diversity of psychoactive substances consumed. For instance, ketamine, psilocybin (‘magic mushrooms’), LSD, and MDMA are very effective remedies for depression. They increase one’s empathy for other beings, give a different perspective on one’s situation and the world.

If the ayahuasca (active ingredient DMT) rituals of the Amazon were prevalent in Ireland, communities would be much more tightly bonded, the environment would be respected more, people would be more contemplative.

Psychedelics, in particular, are wondrous chemicals which allow humans to reach their potential and live more fully. Almost everyone who experiences them agrees. If you disagree, you are either in the small minority of users, or in the ignorant majority of non-users (which is like a blind person complaining about the colour red).

Perhaps if more people experienced LSD, psilocybin, DMT, 2C-B, etc., the parasitic political and industrial classes wouldn’t be tolerated as they are today.

We most certainly need more ‘mind altering drugs’.

Rebecca
Marijuana is not safer than paracetamol when you include the driving of cars or the use of machinery.

Same can be said of alcohol Garry but that’s legal and has little benefit to anyone.

Garry,

Stilts are not safe when walking on a tightrope…

Stop being obtuse, nobody claimed it is safe to drive cars or use machinery after consuming cannabis. It is also not safe to drive when you have taken to many paracetamol either..

Exactly Garry. You can O.D on paracetomol. You cannot while eating or smoking marijuana. That is what I’m basing my argument on… Not getting driving while under the influence of them.

*Going

Sorry to have to correct you Rebecca, but in theory you can actually overdose on cannabis, apparently if you go through 700kg in one sitting you can die from it, haha! Over it’s 5000 year history cannabis is resposible for zero deaths.

That’s not saying much. I doubt paracetamol would be licensed if it were invented today.

Garry don’t be a fool. That’s a pretty stupid statement. If you took a sleeping tablet would ya get into a car and drive?You cannot put car accidents down to pot use. Marijuana is safer than a lot of prescription meds. Getting into your car after a joint is a choice that individuals make and not a direct cause of smoking it you pleb.

Really, buy a car and see what they really do

Or go horse riding and see what happens, eh Mike!

Does that apply to all drugs – so we get rid of the licensing regime for prescription drugs and let adults take whatever they like – or just stuff you get high on? Serious question.

Too much tax and people turn to the black market, as huge numbers are doing with cigarettes now. Unless it is taxed fairly, people will just seek it elsewhere and it will completely destroy the reasons why it should be legalised (revenue, quality control, etc).

While I fully support the legalisation of marijuana here, I have no confidence in our government made up of late middle aged ex-teachers to implement it properly.

@Richard You left out very very corrupt

@Richard. There is talk of a 100% tax in Colorado which is fine because its around $300 an oz as opposed to around 30 or 40 in Amsterdam. So the price will plummet when the shops open in CO and WA. So people are fine with paying 50 an oz with half going to schools and education.

Cannabis has been criminalized and stigmatized due to it’s competition to most of the major lobbying forces around the world.

It is the strongest soft fibre know to man, that means strongest paper, strongest clothing. An acre of hemp can produce 4 times the amount of paper than trees with minimal chemical process, and 2-3 times a year instead of 20+years. They say up to 50,000 products could be made out of this renewable clean resource.

You can build with hempcrete, super insulating and turns to rock that is breathable.

Most nutritious plant, seed includes all essential amino acids, and has perfect ratio omega 3:6, good fats and loads of other vitamins and minerals (self pollenating) chemical free.

Sustainable alternative fuel source that replenishes soil, Henry Ford ran the first model T car with a hemp ethanol mix, the bodywork was made from a type of hemp fibre glass that was stronger but much lighter than steel.

After alcohol prohibition in the states ended the law enforcement industry left behind needed a new target to sustain itself, this has turned into a massive prison industrial machine that includes private prisons that profit off people being in prison.

Despite being the third biggest cause of death in the US the medical pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest, it is estimated that cannabis could replace up to 80% of the toxic addictive drugs they provide including chemotherapy.
BIOCHEMIST DENNIS HILL INTERVIEWED ABOUT CANNABIS OIL AND PROSTATE CANCER
http://www.cannabisnationradio.com/dennis-hill

Safer non addictive alternative to alcohol or tobacco. Big alcohol and tobacco actual fund Partnership for a Drug Free America, ha

At the end of the day prohibition helps to inflate elitist industries and the illegal money ends up in banks anyway at an inflated price win win for them.

this is the peoples plant and you can’t patent a plant

Economy would still be f**ked – we just wouldn’t give a s**t!!

Pass the dutchie on the left hand side…

Yeah that is the real issue. It does screw with the brain. I agree for medical reasons to smoke it. But not make it available to buy for smoke outside the pub. We shouls be moving closer to outlawing all types of smoking

Cannabis chemical curbs psychotic symptoms, study finds
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/may/01/drugsandalcohol.drugs

Wasn’t it safer than paracetamol??
Yes, but only medical reasons… BUT people know how to exploit it…

What about the other health issues? My girlfriend was diagnosed with MS 2 years ago and cannabis is the only medication that has had any effect on the spasticity, depression and insomnia. If some experience mental issues with weed then they shouldn’t use it, simple as. Why should the thousands of people around the country who’s quality of life is drastically improved with cannabis be denied a pain free existence? Every drug on the planet has side effects for some people but this has never been a reason to deny help to everyone before so why is this the case with Cannabis? There are people allergic to penicillin, should that be banned too?

They would need to be considered. Anybody who says this is a non issue is fooling themselves but legislation is akin to just sweeping it under the rug. I would propose mandatory screening for all people who wanted to consume at home.

Eye see all:
That is your opinion, it is not fair to the people that do consume to brand them as law breakers because you don’t agree to their consumption. Cannabis is far less damaging than alcohol or tobacco smoke and can be consumed in far more ways than combustion. It needs to be legalized otherwise we are just kicking the can down the road.

It’s safer in the fact that there’s no known lethal dose, try taking half a bottle of paracetamol, it might be your last headache…

Forget the economics of it, any kind of reduction in alcohol intake would be huge Net benefit to society.

A former government adviser on drugs has told MPs that alcohol consumption would fall by as much as 25% if Dutch-style cannabis “coffee shops” were introduced in Britain.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jun/19/david-nutt-alcohol-cannabis-cafes

‘If we reduced alcohol-related harms by 30%, we would save 30 lives per month and 600
overnight hospital admissions per day’
Chief Medical Officer of Ireland, Dr. Tony Holohan

A small minority do react badly to it, so this has to be taken into consideration. I personally know of two people who developed schizophrenia as a result of smoking it. It would be interesting to see the statistics for psychiatric admissions due to smoking marijuana in places like Holland

ok it causes mental health issues in people with pre existing mental health issues….. but again so does alcohol and that kills 2.5 million people every year…….

medical cannabis strains with low thc levels and high cbd levels are available to those who are experiencing mental issues. the development of these strains is ongoing and are of massive benifit to those who may well be prescribed disgracefull legal drugs such as oxycontin. googling (is that a word?) cbd crew may be a good starting point for anyone interested or for anyone affected by such issues and would like a safe alternative

@ gary power What about physical health issues? Particularly those that are caused by high fat/salt/sugar processed foods with excessive additives that in truth we know very little about. I’d hazard a guess that you don’t believe there should be tighter legislation on that. If you want to consider from an economy point of view and the burden on our health system in particular, unfortunately what we are eating and the culture of binge drinking are key factors. Some mental health issues stem from these sources as well.
There is so much bullshit legislation with so little true education about cannabis in this country. Someone made an earlier point about ‘dole spongers’ getting it free on the medical card – easy answer, encourage and teach them how to grow it! We talk about self-help for other nations but at times, we really should look at ourselves to understand the basic skills we have lost over the years.

Your friend is lazy and unreliable, that’s why he smokes all day everyday, not the other way round.

i hope you are being sarcastic.

I’m certain of one thing, Jimmy Saville never smoked a joint in his life, and look at what an upstanding member of society he turned out to be.

We’d have to play Slayer CD’s, hippies hate Death Metal

We could end up looking at a full-blown hippie jamfest the size of which we’ve never seen.

We all know that, what’s your point?

A great many people seem to be suggesting that inhaling some particulate matter into your lungs is positive.

How these effects outweigh any benefits associated with which substance you’re smoking is up to the individual to find out and decide. I sure as hell am not going to tell you what you should and should not inhale, and I’d expect the same from you.

Particulate matter refers specifically to solid or liquid matter suspended in the Earths atmosphere. So I assume you meant aerosolized matter, which would be a more general term for solid or liquid matter suspended in a gas.

As for it not being good for you, it really depends on the type and size of the matter being inhaled, aerosolized medicine is usually used in the treatment of asthma, for example.

I wasn’t telling anyone what to do, I was making a comment. You don’t have to assume that any comment is an attack on your lifestyle. Unless you want to.

Then I’m sure you’d vote in favour of marijuana legalisation if its terms were well-defined and well-regulated, Damocles?

How do you feel about Alcohol, Damocles?

Drinks and cigarettes are drugs also. So how come they are legal?

Stupid comment jimbo. Have you not bothered to read the above comments??

I think Jimbo was doing Mr Mackey

should have put an “OK” at the end of comment.

mmm-Kay

Dont feed this troll

it is also used in the treatment of anorexia

The reason it failed in Oregon was down to the campaign to legalise was a shamble. Nothing else.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/oregon-marijuana-legalization_n_1937162.html

You clearly know nothing about cannabis. I suggest you go and read up on it with a logical mindset instead of watching Reefer Madness on repeat.

Your assertions are fallacious. they appeal to fear, it ends with treating each substance individually with practices that have been shown to work in other countries and a science and research.
Paranoia mostly comes from illegality and the realisation that your a meat sack with consciousness flying through space.
Cannabinoids protects cells and kills tumorous cells.
http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2011/08/31/government-study-thc-from-cannabis-kills-cancer-cells/

a society tilted towards more introspection and heightened sensitivity over numbness and aggression would be a massive net benefit to society.

Your assumption that any use of one of the controlled drugs is not beneficial for anybody is ignorant and it’s keeping medicine away from patients amongst other things.

If it’s good for a society then why is it illegal?

Gay marriage is good for society and that’s not legal, George. You’re assuming that everyone actions logically all the time which is absolutely incorrect.

The Misuse of Drugs act was created in 1977, a time where divorce was not legal, only 4 years after the public service ended the horrendous behaviour of removing women once they were married … are you to say that these people knew best, back then?

Are we to ignore advances in science because they contradict opinions we held previously? Is that how you envision society as working well?

Richard – how is gay marriage good for a society?

Gay marriage is good for society as it grants equal civil rights to a sizable minority in a society’s population.

George L Rockwell, cannabis does not damage brain cells or cause cancer, it is the opposite.

Marijuana derivatives could even have a positive effect on the brain:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/highdose-cannabis-stimulates-growth-of-brain-cells-in-rats-510869.html

Marijuana May Fight Lung Tumors:
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500368_162-2696726.html

Casual marijuana smoking not harmful, users have stronger lungs than non smokers: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240146.php

Time to grow up and actually take control of this situation.
Why punish gangs and drug dealers when you can just fire them?
Prohibition is what’s giving them any business and cannabis is their no.1 money maker.

Cannabis prohibition is causing exploitation of illegal immigrants who are being used as fall guys for their grow houses. Here is a very recent case of this in Cork: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/1020/1224325506071.html

A good documentary here on the subject called ‘Children of the Cannabis Trade’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUJZQnil5tM

George L. Rockwell – Ignorant and a bigot. Your parents must be proud.

Where do you get this shit?

we tackle the ‘impaired driving’ the same way we are tackling drink driving.

studies have shown that it is only considered a ‘gateway drug’ because it is the most readily available and least harmful of illegal substances.

TL: DR

Nobody is going to read that..!

Surely we could just examine the laws in Canada etc. and copy and paste?

Nobody is going to read that..!

If we want to have an adult conversation about this topic, we ought to have an adult conversation about these sorts of questions too.

My hopes weren’t high.

A lot if those questions are answered already by the Dutch example

Damocles, bit of a jumble of an article, most of what he says is pretty silly though. Water bongs in shopping centres?? There is a very good policy paper released by Transform – Blueprint for Regulation.

http://www.tdpf.org.uk/blueprint%20download.htm

Long read but if you are interested in an adult view this is the best place to start. AFAIK this is the only serious attempt at a project like this.

A lot of stupid questions in that, most of which do not even apply to Ireland. Can u smoke it on a plane?

He admits he’s coming from a background of ignorance and those are just some of the questions off the top of his head, but you agree that like any project it’s not as simple as just going, “Just do it”, it’s a heck of a lot more complicated than that and most people aren’t going to even consider that.

I’ll have a wee read of Transform, thanks.

@Colman “most of which do not even apply to Ireland. Can u smoke it on a plane?”

Have they shut down the airports? How am I going to get the Amsterdam next month?

You can’t smoke anything on a plane. It’s a stupid none question just like most of them. I wish people wound read it, but is too long and any reasonable question gets lost in with the crazy one.

You can’t smoke tobacco on a plane. There’s legislation about it, but does it say all smoking or does it refer explicitly to tobacco? Would a loophole be formed? Would that have to be resolved? Would that have to be by new legislation or by amending existing legislation?

Take the Dutch. They brought in legislation against tobacco smoking and the whole thing had to be scrutinised to cover how marijuana smoking would be affected. Does the existing smoking legislation cover a substance that is currently illegal? What about mixed joints? What about pure joints? What about brownies?

Question upon question upon question.

“Yeah, man, just kinda like make it happen.”

I agree it is a complicated undertaking but there are examples like Johnny Reynolds here has already said.

So the prefered path isn’t legalisation? It’s semi-decriminalisation under the “tolerance” approach?

You can smoke tobacco in the coffee shops as I did after the ban came

That’s their view, like I said a fully legal regulated market would be better because it removes criminals from the equation and the motive of profit. A fully legal market would supply pharmaceutical grade drugs to people who would be safe in the knowledge they were taking MDMA or amphetamine in its purest form helping them judge their limits and tolerance. I was just pointing you in the direction of something that might help you make up your own mind about the “how”.

You’re not a very good writer, are you? Don’t quit the day job.

Max, alcohol causes way too many problems, which is more reason why cannabis should be legalised, it’s a much safer alternative:
Total amount of deaths contrubuted to Cannabis (Worldwide) – ZERO
Total amounts of deaths contributed to Alcohol (Ireland 2004 – 2008) – 672

Also, I’ve never heard of a cannabis user getting rowdy after smoking a few joints, unfortunately I can’t say the same amount people who consume alcohol.

Brian. You add a recreational drug to a society and there will be suffering as a result. Alcohol is a great example. Now imagine how many idiots out there that WILL drive with it in their system. If your relatives or friends are hurt or killed as a result you will change your tune. Just because I’m looking down the line doesn’t make me wrong. Forwards thinking has been agonisingly lacking in this country. Health wise the dangers of smoking ANYTHING are clearly evident. It’s a lesser drug than alcohol but drinking a pint in a crowd won’t alter the crowds state. Either way I’m not suggesting that if introduced it will be legal so smoke it anywhere you like, I’m just making an example.

@Max Dear lord where do we start? For starters, calling people who happen to hold an opposing view to you morons is hardly a good debating tactic, you’ve lost before you even start.

OK, your second comments. I have to say you really need to do some creditable research before commenting on an issue that you blatantly know very ilttle about.

Firstly, you are not introducing anything to society it has been there for generations and will continue to be so ragardless of its legality. Legalising does not mean that consumption will increase. Take a look at the Netherlands, consumption there actualy went down after de-criminalisation. They currently have much lower levels of cannabis usage than the majority of countries where the tubthumping prohibitionists hold sway.

You do not have to smoke cannabis there are many other methods of ingestion and there are also numerours health benefits. Just try doing a little research instead of believing anything the populous media throw at you.

“drinking a pint in a crowd won’t alter the crowds state”….What the hell are you on about? Please educate yourself before making such ridiculous statements. You can not get high from passive smoking or fail a drugs test from passive smoking (even in extreme circumstances) as the levels of THC absorbed are so miniscule as to be irrelevant, but don’t take my word for. Try doing some research, start with the link below:

http://www.ohgonline.org/pdf/Passive%20Inhalation%20of%20Marijuana%20Smoke%20103106.pdf

It is ignorance and misinformation that causes many of the problems with drugs in today’s society. The mantra of “all drugs are bad” is trotted out to children, who later find out that a lot of what they were taught is untrue….how does the thniking go next? Well, if that was untrue, maybe all of it is untrue…dangerous territory.

If we are to have a discussion on this it has to be frank and honest and not based on hearsay, myth and media scaremongering. Facts people, facts.

Except it’s already been introduced, Max. It’s being used already. Therefore you’re going to have to come up with a better argument.

Max you’re not looking down the line, you’re ignoring what’s right in front of your face. There are people suffering hugely all over the country right now and Cannabis can ease that suffering. Now I know that you dismiss this immediately because it obviously doesn’t effect you personally and because those conditions that cannabis can help with are ‘invisible’ for want of a better word. I’m talking about MS, cancer, osteoporosis et al.

It’s you that is the moron, ignorantly repeating the line that you’ve been given. You see Cannabis only as a recreational drug and ignore the medical uses. I wonder if it would change your mind at all if you had to watch a loved one in tears for hours almost every night from the pain and know that there is nothing you can do and no treatment for the symptoms of their condition other than cannabis.

Max. With regards to driving, isn’t it truer to say that if it were legal, fewer people would drive under it’s influence as it would be possible to control strength and have an advertising campaign about safe driving limits. As things stand, more responsible consumers of this product would struggle to ascertain what constitutes a safe period of time to wait before driving.

Professor David Nutt says the the legalisation of cannabis would bring around a 25% decrease in consumption of alcohol, as it has in other places.

Seeing as there is no solid evidence that cannabis does any real harm to fully developed adults, surely this is a decrease you would like to see?

Ban drink then…Sure ya said so yourself, its done enough damage….Is it just me or does anyone else get the feeling that the anti-weed people are just a tiny bit hypocritical and cant see the forest for the trees?

Also don’t forget people who use cannabis are twice as likely to experience mental health problems, check out the link

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/10/08/cannabis-use-increases-risk-for-mental-health-issues-2/19425.html

“Mounting evidence shows ‘cannabinoids’ in marijuana slow cancer growth, inhibit formation of new blood cells that feed a tumor, and help manage pain, fatigue, nausea, and other side effects.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/06/marijuana-fights-cancer-and-helps-manage-side-effects-researchers-find.html

Study: Cannabis Agonists Produce Anti-Cancer Effects In Human Liver Cancer Cells
http://norml.org/news/2012/10/11/study-cannabis-agonists-produce-anti-cancer-effects-in-human-liver-cancer-cells

“Marijuana, already shown to reduce pain and nausea in cancer patients, may be promising as a cancer-fighting agent against some of the most aggressive forms of cancer”
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Pot-compound-seen-as-tool-against-cancer-3875562.php#page-1