Cannabis
March 23, 2002 7:09 PM   Subscribe

Cannabis is given health all clear in UK
posted by semmi (27 comments total)
 
It didn't say 'all clear', it just pointed out that:
the dangers are not so great as in the case of other drugs such as amphetamine
The dangers aren't really the issue... after all, if harm to the public's health was all the government cared about, smoking would have been outlawed years ago. It's more down to outmoded political models that treat substance use/abuse as a criminal justice issue rather than a social/moral one.
posted by RokkitNite at 7:21 PM on March 23, 2002


The problems with the moral war on Cannabis are that it has pretty much halted rational discussions and testing of it. The main problem, and the main worry I have with it, is that I think there really are links between Marijuana and schizophrenia. It's rare, and doctors don't know if Marijuana causes the illness or just precipitates an underlying condition, but people should be aware of the link.

Less hysteria, more education and unbiased long term tests would certainly be a good thing.
posted by lucien at 8:02 PM on March 23, 2002


Now if only the U.S. could follow suit.

Instead of giving me guilt trip commercials that point out how if I use marijuana the terrorists have already won, legalize the damn stuff and tax me for it.
posted by tomorama at 9:08 PM on March 23, 2002


I wonder when they'll add alcohol to the drugs list. I'm all for legalising cannabis if they class alcohol as the addictive dangerous drug it is.
posted by wackybrit at 9:14 PM on March 23, 2002


When I was in England last year, the Chief of London Police came forward and pushed for the legalization of marijuana because every year hundreds or thousands of people were put away for marijuana posession, and in prison they were exposed to stronger drugs so that, upon 'rehabilitation' they emerged hard-drug addicts who would steal to keep up their new habit.
posted by kfury at 9:43 PM on March 23, 2002


I'm all for legalising cannabis if they class alcohol as the addictive dangerous drug it is.

Don't forget caffeine and nicotine. </sarcasm>

The whole concept of having legislation to tell me what I may or may not put into my body is inexplicable to me.

I personally don't take drugs any more, other than caffeine and alcohol, in (for me) moderation, so it's somewhat moot, but I refuse to recognize any government's self-proclaimed right to arbitrarily instruct me on what other ones I might or might not use, were I so inclined.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:44 PM on March 23, 2002


What kfury said. Nothing will turn a pothead into a career criminal like a heroin habit and a sore anus.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:55 PM on March 23, 2002


I take amphetamines every day, legally, and they're great. Pot is great too. Two great drugs.
posted by bingo at 12:13 AM on March 24, 2002


well you can possess 5 grams here in belgium. haven't noticed the country collapsing yet. you can't say the same about britain though.
posted by quarsan at 12:42 AM on March 24, 2002


Marijuana is God's way of saying Hi!
posted by Mack Twain at 1:17 AM on March 24, 2002


The only reason marijuana is illegal in the US is because of the cotton growers--they didn't want hemp products (which last longer and are stronger) to compete with their products so they lobbied for its classification as a dangerous drug in the early 1900s. Unfortunately no one's taken the results of these unbiased long term tests seriously--too many funny stoners about, maybe?
posted by lillitot at 3:07 AM on March 24, 2002


As much as I'm pleased to see liberalisation of drug laws, I can't accept that suddenly there are few or no dangers associated with marijuana. First of all, like any drug which is smoked, there must be physical damage to lungs etc. Secondly heavy users will suffer problems, just as they will with alcohol or any other drug.

I went to a party a couple of weeks ago where tobacco smokers were asked to smoke outside on the stairs, but anyone constructing large British-style spliffs out of several cigarettes and hash or grass was welcome to smoke in the living room. Crazy. If people believe that suddenly cannabis somehow wards off the evil of other drugs, they're wrong.
posted by skylar at 3:26 AM on March 24, 2002


You're right Quarsan, but the way is definitely being paved here. There's a test running in Lambeth in London, mentioned briefly in the article, whereby people *found in possession* are sent on their way. I'm not sure what the actual procedure for dealing with them is but arrested they are certainly not. I don't think the official report on that is out yet but the bits of it leaked to the press suggest enough police time is saved each month to be equivalent ot an extra three or four officers on the beat.

For the record, since gange is illegal no one is being forced to sell in metric measures yet. I'd only know how much 5 grams was if I'd been buying it in metric all my life. I'm that age of Englishman (28) who was born imperial but grew up in a metric world (hot days are farenheit, cold days are celsius, that kind of thing). Quarters, eigths, teenths, and halves of ounces. Or a full ounce which for some reason was known as a pint when I was a student. Pubs can get away with still selling imperial measures, I wonder if dealers will be able to?

Skylar, your mates have been doing too much. Stand outside for a fag but skin up on the couch? Stoners, eh?
posted by vbfg at 3:31 AM on March 24, 2002


> If people believe that suddenly cannabis somehow
> wards off the evil of other drugs, they're wrong.

I had a friend who believed that pot undid the harm done by tobacco. I thought he was alone. Do other people believe this?
posted by pracowity at 3:36 AM on March 24, 2002


I know people who smoke pipes because they're scared of the tobacco. I never goit that, it's a carcinogen on it's own.
posted by vbfg at 3:40 AM on March 24, 2002


Hey, if you're worried about lung damage from smoking it, just make some "magic" brownies!
posted by Potsy at 5:23 AM on March 24, 2002


The rule about allowing pot inside but not cigarettes is common. Cigarette smoke penetrates curtains, etc. more easily, or more noticeably, or more unpleasantly at the very least.

I know people who smoke pipes because they're scared of the tobacco. I never got that, it's a carcinogen on it's own.

You must mean that they smoke pot in pipes instead of smoking it in joints where it's rolled up along with tobacco? It's not like that's the only way to smoke it outside of a pipe...but while just about anything on fire is a carcinogen, not all of them contain a mixture of chemicals that are verifiably chemically addictive.
posted by bingo at 6:57 AM on March 24, 2002


vbfg: There are 2.2 pounds to the kilogram. Thus, there are ~454g to the lb, or ~28.4g to the oz. So 5g is roughly 0.17oz, or more roughly, just under 3/16 of an ounce.

How much is that? I don't know.
posted by sachmet at 7:31 AM on March 24, 2002


I really hope marijuana stays illegal. the last thing we need is more intoxicated people at large putting folks that know better at risk.
posted by mcsweetie at 8:56 AM on March 24, 2002


Yah, those stoned folk are reknown for their reckless high-speed driving...
posted by five fresh fish at 9:09 AM on March 24, 2002


Here's a link to the report itself, from the UK government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs:

The Classification of Cannabis Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (PDF)

posted by Owen Boswarva at 9:47 AM on March 24, 2002


"The threat of marijuana lies primarily in its widespread availability and in its popularity."

(First sentence of "The National Drug Threat Assessment 2002.")
posted by sheauga at 9:53 AM on March 24, 2002


I still fail to see how happy people can be a threat.

Alcohol makes many people aggressive or angry. *That* is threatening.

Marijuana, as far as I've ever seen, makes everyone happy and mellow. Where is the threat?

I think marijuana will me made legal in the USA when the government realizes that a stoned population is an easy-to-control population.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:35 AM on March 24, 2002


I'm unclear on how a "stoned population is an easy-to-control population."

Care to expound?
posted by brittney at 2:37 PM on March 24, 2002


Actually, when cannabis was legalised in Holland, usage went down. So you're going to get less stoners rather than more. Who cares? Who's ever got stoned and started a fight? Compare that to who's ever got drunk and started a fight... hello?
posted by RokkitNite at 4:22 PM on March 24, 2002


I'm unclear on how a "stoned population is an easy-to-control population." Maybe it's a perversion of the Gillette model...legalize smoke but initiate severe government controls on all snacks.
posted by Mack Twain at 9:11 PM on March 24, 2002


brittney: Try getting stoned sometime, and then evaluate your capability of mounting an insurrection.
posted by bingo at 4:00 AM on March 27, 2002


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