Surely the government has to start listening now....

Surely the government has to start listening now....

The Have Your Say section of BBC News website with regards to the drugs debate at the mo has given me a bit of hope. These are the most recommended comments that have been left.

I read the first 2 and gave up

ludicrous viewpoints


especially this comment

free the weed

Here here

how can u say ludicrous viewpoints. these drugs used to be freely available up until the turn of the last century, and there was far less problems and deaths caused by them. now we have more knowledge and understanding of them and they can be regulated a lot better. you're never gonna stop people taking them so it might as well be made as safe as possible.

Didnt realise you were over 107 years old


Legalising drugs = end to all productivity in this country

The problem is that legalisation would also likely result in drug use increasing dramatically. Even with proper control, certain substances will remain inherently dangerous - be it without proper knowledge or just by the nature of the drug.

Take MDMA for example - could be pure as you like, and yes...deaths as a direct result of MDMA usage are very low, but the very nature of the drug (anti-diuretic) will still leave the dangers of overheating if you don't drink enough, or water poisoning if you drink too much (most common cause of E related death is it not?). New users of the drug may not know their limits, or disregard the warnings about water - and work under the false assumption that if it's legal, then it can't hurt them. Take loads of pills..be totally overcome by the effects....panic....start necking pints of water....we all know what happens next. There are also strong arguments for the long term damage caused by ecstasy.

And even with all that, legal developments of certain drugs would likely be weaker meaning that users would take alot more (as brits we have the "keep going til I am absolutely wrecked" mentality" - NHS strain), or source stronger, black market drugs.

Legalization of drugs now, in this country, in my opinion, would not mean the end of drug related crime nor would it see the end of drug related deaths. I think long term, the logic is sound but i'm just not convinced that as a nation we are ready for the legalization of Class A drugs.

Ultimately, ignorance is a killer. We live in a time where the "just say no" mentality no longer cuts it, and that needs to be addressed long before any thought of legalization. We have a big enough problem with alcohol without throwing a mass increase in Class A drug usage into the mix.

Plus...we would become a nation of zombies...

On the other hand, i'm all for dropping the fuss about Cannabis.

i think the uk needs to sort out its cocaine problem before any other drug !!
here in holland we still regard cocaine as a "dirty" drug along the lines of crack,heroin and opium.
the main drugs here in holland are ghb,xtc,weed...

weed is fair enough as long as only the regular strains are legalised.its funny as many people i know over here have back gardens full of weed plants and never even venture into the cafe's for the stronger stuff but the brits seem to aim straight for the strongest strains they can find.
another thing that needs to be brought up is that here in holland the country is very flat and most people travel by tram,bicycle,or train whereas in england most people travel in cars " this is the danger" weed+driving is a no no !!
if the uk made weed legal you can bet a million pound the roads will be full of "high" drivers and people will be killed.
it still makes me laugh when i watch my friends parents "skinning up" at 11pm before they go to bed

My thoughts have always been that if alcohol and nicotine is legal then so should a lot of other drugs. I still believe that better regulation of the illegals will save lives, cut crime and make the drug abuse problems in this country easier to handle.

although people talk about the health implications of drugs, the majority of prescription drugs are far worse than most of the illegal drugs on the streets, even when done in moderation. that also brings it back to tabs and drink.

of course, my main reason for these views is my empathy for cannabis

Which ones?

take ya pick! df's, nefopam hydrochloride, majority of anti depressants, even paracetomol will do more harm, when taken in high doses, than most recreationals.

I heard smoking banana leaves gets you properly off it

i agree that if they use the 'health' card for why these drugs are banned (which there's no doubt they do cause health problems) then if they were REALLY that bothered, alcohol and tabacco should also be banned.

Even in recent studies "Red wine is good for you" has been proved bollocks.

i'm not sure if legalisation is the answer though - no matter how much i love it

my point is that the current legal policy causes more harm than if they were regulated in some way, therefore similiar principal.

By the waym, when i say regulated i dont mean legalised!

If drugs were legalised there would no doubt still be a black market. Just like a lot of people smoke schnide tabs bought from someones house for 3quid a packet.

that is not a good comparison. even 'illegal' tabs are manufactured by legal companies with trading standards inspections. they don't contain unknown stuff. Illegal drugs can contain anything, even weedkiller. given that people want to get off their faces (and I know of no society in human history that has not had some sort of drug for doing that) then it is better we do it with drugs that are licenced and standardised (so you know what you are getting) than to let organised crime do it.
@phil mitchell -do you think the only purpose of life is 'productivity'
@chris uk - why don't you do smack? because you know it's effects and it's addictive properties and you leave it alone. when people get the REAL facts as opposed to government propoganda then they can make up their own minds. (I'm not talking about kids here. in the same way they are not allowed tabs or alcohol)

:clap: well said

For a country to run it needs to have productive occupants. As someone pointed out, this country has a shocking attitude when it comes to substance abuse and unfortunately people will take it too far if substances are readily available to them.

I cant understand how anyone can think that making all drugs legal is a good idea. Its the kind of patter that comes out a junkies mouth.