So, are you in favour of this or not ? The Liberal Democrats are backing a new report calling for the legalised sale of marijuana through licensed outlets, including "cannabis social clubs". Criminalising cannabis use is a waste of police time, they say, and increases health risks by leaving many people in the dark about what they are taking. The party is calling for a "regulated market" to control the pricing, potency and packaging of sales to over-18s. The Conservatives rejected Lib Dem calls to review drug laws in coalition. The Lib Dems' attempts to put the issue on the political agenda while in government were rebuffed by Home Secretary Theresa May, who argued existing laws were proving successful in reducing drug use and the harm associated with it. Cannabis is currently classified as a Class B drug, with possession carrying a maximum sentence of five years in jail or an unlimited fine. Those supplying or producing cannabis face tougher penalties, with up to a maximum of 14 years in jail. 'Untold harm' But the Lib Dems say the existing "war on drugs" has failed, diverting police resources away from tackling organised crime and that people using cannabis should not be "saddled with criminal convictions" for the rest of their lives. The party has endorsed a new study, written by an independent panel of advisers, which calls for: The sale of cannabis to over-18s to be legalised Specialist, licensed stores to be set up, including "single purpose" outlets modelled on pharmacies Cannabis to be available over the counter in plain packaging, containing health warnings Home cultivation of cannabis to be allowed for personal use Small scale cannabis clubs to be licensed A new regulator to be set up to oversee the market The report, whose authors include the government's former chief drugs adviser Sir David Nutt and Mike Barton, the Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary, argues that cannabis should be taxed according to its strength and that doing so could yield up to £1bn a year for the Exchequer. It claims the health risks associated with cannabis use can be more effectively managed and minimised by through a "responsibly regulated market and public health interventions rather than an unregulated criminal market and punitive criminal justice response". The Lib Dems will decide whether to adopt the proposals as party policy at its Spring Conference this weekend.
So long as something like this stays in people's personal lives/time then I've not got much of a problem. Many people do it anyway without a problem. When it starts impacting upon work & colleagues etc. is when it can become a problem.
I think there's a lot of pro's and con's. Medically, I think we could accelerate treatments for many conditions if we could legitimately test patients using strains of Cannabis oils. I also think for the economy, cafe's for weed like Amsterdam and super casinos would be a great boost, especially if we leave the EU. Police wise, I doubt we'd have the resources to police drivers properly, as soon as the first person dies from being hit by a stoned driver then it becomes a huge mistake. In an ideal country, it would be taxed and the tax would pay for additional police training and staff... but we live in a far from ideal country.
I'm not fan of the Liberals, but totally agree with this idea. Of course cannabis isn't harmless, but tobacco is 34,000 times more dangerous and that's legal http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/drugs/survey/
Is it totally illegal or can it be used for medicinal purposes? I heard it is useful for motor neurone type illnesses. No objection to that at all under medical supervision.
Idiots already drive cars stoned now, there are drug driving laws and the police have testing equipment. Smoke dope at home on your own or with mates - fine. Drive a car and expect to lose your licence and get a huge fine, or in extreme cases to be sent down. Same as alcohol. Fine by me.
It's prescribed in a basic form often to smoke for medicinal purposes, but it has been proven to do so much more. The pharma companies are now investing heavily into cannabis strains, as oils that will have their molecular structure altered to remove the part that gets you 'stoned' or 'high' so that the healing properties of the plants can be exploited. For this sort of research to be able to be done properly, it needs to be tested on real patients and that's illegal almost everywhere.
It's nice thought but no body cares what the Lib Dems think and never will. Even though research is proving there's definitely more pros than cons
What I've read is there' huge of potential for cannabis and it's oils to make a marked difference in the curing relieving and treatment of certain cancers and other debilitating illnesses - I also personally believe it should be made legal too, it's is a natural plant at the end of the day! that's been used in various guises for thousands of years - and no I don't smoke or take it - ( OK I ate hash cakes once playing at a festival in my youth and laughed my socks off plus I turned nearly every song into a reggae song with a ****ed up back beat ) -like any thing in life taken with consideration and moderation it should be up to the individual and certainly not criminalised .
Just the countless health benefits. What health benefits does booze have? Apart from cleaning a wound it kills people dead.
But that goes for any drug including the already legal booze. Doesn't mater if it's illegal or legal, DUI remains wrong no matter what.
I've seen examples on paper, research material given to me in my hand of people coming off Fentanyl onto oil-based Cannabinoids. Anybody who knows their painkillers will tell you Fentanyl is a ****ing weapons grade drug. The health benefits of this plant, well, we haven't even scratched the surface. ****ing Lib Dems mind, hardly worth acknowledging these days.
Its not about booze its about pot. Health benefits. If so why have they not already been put to widescale use? Also this is trying to legalise it and have pot clubs etc. Not purely medicine. Why is it only the lib dems pushing for it?
Because the plant was under researched and the pharma companies that control the entire world were pushing their meds first before committing to research. Even pharma companies are admitting the uses now and even investing in it's clinical trials.
It's a Species of plant with 1000s of different strains. Thanks to the wonderful world of micro biology and hybridising Strains can be developed to target health problems, from increasing lung capacity to fighting anxiety and everything in between. The world of Cannabis is so advanced now on a scientific level that those who just think weed is weed are completely in the dark about the scientific advances achieved in this field. It's a super plant, one the world should be embracing and harnessing for all the good it can do. Not just dismissed thoughtlessly as some kind of evil while one reaches for the next can of brain killer which is completely legal despite being one of the biggest killers ever. Yes it's got it's down side, it's side effect and potential long term problems, but so do the synthetic prescription drugs we swallow every day without a second thought. Pros out way the cons imo.
