Should cannabis be legalised?

[chrisfinch]

i mean this as a serious question. with all the discussion and labour having won the election would it be a good time to legalise it?

i think not, as it would destroy a lot of the teenage population in the uk both mentally and physically. if it was legal, the argument is that less people would smoke it, with it not being as cool as if it was illegal.

in my eyes it shouldn't be although the government have a decision to make.

deaths and a lot of money for themselves or keep it as it is, with very few people smoking it. it would not surprise me, based on previous decisions that the government legalise it.

it would be good to hear the views of everyone on this subject.

[Sonny]

there's no point in legalising it because those that want to smoke it regularly do it anyway

[Marge]

It should be legalised for medical use only (if current medical trials show it is effective).

[hoover]

As long as alcohol is a legal drug, I see no reason why Cannabis shouldn't be. It's less addictive, less damaging in the long term (unless you are a heavy smoker of course, but there are "alternative" forms of Cannabis consumption available), and doesn't give you a hangover.

I have yet to read of someone enjoying cannabis, go home and beat up the family. Happens all the time with people on the booze, right?

YMMV, but really if you handle drugs reponsibly there really should not be a problem with legalization of cannabis.

cheers, uwe

[stoichen]

Well said Uwe.

I'm for the legalisation (and very strict control) of all drugs. I believe that this would remove the criminals from the game, giving them one less source of income. One of the major arguments against the legalisation of cannabis is that it leads to harder drugs. Is this not just as strong an argument FOR legalisation? The way things stand just now, people who just want the occasional spliff are forced to associate with people whom they may not want to be involved with, leading to possible pressure to try other things. This IMHO is what leads to addiction, to far more harmful substances than cannabis, in many cases.
It has also been proven that black market cannabis is likely to be mixed with other substances (legal or not). So the damage caused may well be as a result of these impurities.
Chris, as things stand, there is nothing to stop teenagers (and even young children) from purchasing cannabis. If the government were to legalise the drug, there is no way on Earth that it would be legal to sell it to under 18's and I imagine there would be very harsh penalties for anyone who attempted to do so (Harsher than exist at the moment for possesion with intent to supply anyway).
I don't indulge in weed myself btw nor am I denying that it CAN be harmful to certain individuals. Nevertheless, I believe that the current situation could be vastly improved on.

Stu

[Templeton Peck]

That's a compelling argument you present Stoichen. The only way the drug problem can be beaten is to remove the criminal element, so that would at least involve decriminalisation of some form - whether that extends to full legalisation like cigarettes or restricting it to prescription.

If you did decrimalise it, the stuff could be sold at cost. Something that costs £5 to grow, can have a street value of £50, which ends up as £500 worth of damage as theft as a junky burgles your house or mugs an old lady in the street. At least that would take the innocent victims of drug abuse out of the equation because junkies would then be able to afford their hits on benefits so would have no cause to commit a crime. Crime rates would drop by at least 50%. Drug dealers would go out of business if heroin and cocaine was sold at production cost to addicts.

[chrisfinch]

after hearing these arguments, i change my mind, perhaps it should be legalised