Makes perfect sence, make it legal and tax it like tobacco. Not as harmful to users and would rake in a fortune.
Not good enough, in fact, that makes things worse. It has to be full legalisation if that’s the route they want to go down.
Decriminalise means you won't be prossecuted for using, fully legal means you will be able to buy safe good quality gear in shops.
As Diego has just said… Decriminalisation plays into the hands of the drug dealers. For the user to buy weed, they would still need to get it from the dealers. The dealers can be a lot more open knowing that they don’t have to hide it as carrying it on them is no longer a crime. The consumer feels a lot more confident about buying it and carrying it on them, as again, the police aren’t going to do anything if they’re seen to be carrying it around with them. If we go fully legal, consumers can go to a shop and won’t have to deal with these dodgy street dealers. They can also guarantee that they aren’t going to be ripped off. As long as the prices aren’t ridiculously high by legal businesses, most users will use them making it difficult for the street dealer to sell their stuff.
Decriminalisation is a half arsed measure. It's basically we still disagree with it but cannot be arsed policing it anymore at a user level. Will still be using public money to try and stop it from being produced and sold etc. As @Saf and @Diego full legalisation is the only viable solution.
Whilst I support legalisation I don't think it'll stop people using street dealers. Ultimately it'll probably be cheaper that way and potentially stronger / more chemically.
Would be quite nice to have Amsterdam-style cafes here. Spotty youths being able to smoke their **** weed more openly outside McDonald’s sounds crap.
Heroin is a bit complicated, most get sucked in by other addicts trying to fund their own habits. Also a lot of burglaries and low level crime are smack addict related. There was a lot of talk years ago about giving it to addicts for free, taking away the incentive to become a pusher and go out robbing. Good idea but a vote loser for sure. Coke, hmm, alcohol is just as bad imo.
Alcohol is as bad as any drug, if you’re unlucky enough to be inclined towards alcoholism. And there is no substance more addictive than tobacco.
Yeah alcohol is but there's no way they're ever gonna restrict that further than what it is. If it was invented today it'd be class A for sure but it's been a part of our social make up for millennia. Cocaine is imo the worst of the lot. Never used to believe that but in recent years I've come round to that way of thinking. Re heroin weren't they talking about giving it our instead of methadone? Logic in that as otherwise you're just swapping one addiction for another.
Cocaine is a nightmare because there are so many people using it as a regular go to drug. Imo it turns normal people into dickheads and it turns dickheads into raging dickheads. As for Heroin, users need to be taken out of the criminal system and treated as a health issue. I think they should introduce more of those safe spaces where addicts can use Herion, whilst getting support to come off of it. Punishing it as a criminal offence, just turns people into petty thieves to pay for their next fix and before you know it, they have a criminal record, have lost their accommodation and you have a multi faceted problem of drug abuse, homelessness, criminal charges and more often than not mental health problems.
If you look at the stats of all countries that have decriminalsied or regulated and taxed drugs the benefits are there for all to see, less crime, massive tax revenue from it. It's a no brainier, the war on drugs has never worked, prohibition does not work. Simple as. but it will never happen in the UK. Not while I'm alive. For what reason I don't know but it won't. Not even cannabis
While I don't disagree with anything you've said, I don't trust government, that's any government, I've got to the mindset that we are being turned into a Tolitarian state, where everything is controlled by the government. Take cigarettes, used to be so cheap when I was a kid, now you pay so much tax on them it's criminal in itself. Then they start with bans, example, you can't smoke in pubs. Then it becomes they want to ban it outside, so it's criminalisation via the back door. The government will argue it's perfectly legal to smoke, IF you can afford it, and only in the places we designate. The same applies to alcohol, tax the **** out of it, bung up the minimum wage, add in NI increases, it;s legal but you'll likely close down due to all the overheads. Has anyone noticed the way 0% alcohol is being marketed more and more, it's a way round the tax for sure, but how long before we start having bans on the strength of alcohol, although they can ban strengths through pricing and a lot of alcohol has reduced in strength off the back of it. People in this country need to ****ing wake up, they are slowly eroding our freedoms to do what we want, through pricing and various other regulations. Often all sanctioned under the umbrella of health. Your drugs would go the same way in time, decades, but it would go the same way eventually.
Yeah mate I can't argue with that at all. And Yeh I've definitely noticed the recent zero alcohol drinks being advertised massively. Thing is tho the government can't do any of that with drugs apart from alcohol so it's definitely a trick missed. The police time and prison space it would free up alone Is a good reason to do it but as I said it will never happen here while I'm alive I'm certain of it.
