I bet they would tax it heavy too, it's probably the only reason why that the idea is even on the table for legalising.
I have no doubt that smoking pot is less harmful than say, drinking a bottle of vodka, but as for the others, like cocaine, heroine, LSD, speed, well I think it will be a long time before that idea would be even considered.
I'm the sort of person that wouldn't knock something unless I have tried it, but I do draw the line at one point with what I will do, and that is driven Grange Hill and all those adverts on TV with people lying in the gutter all messed up.....

I'd just like to say i've ever tried and never will try cocaine, heroine, LSD or speed. like i said before hash isnt any worse than getting pissed on alcohol.

Thanks meg

this person I'm not so sure about.......

http://www.flirtbox.co.uk/dating/tiffanylondontv.html

I have smoked hash (not heavily) since i was 17, and i dont think it's harmed me at all. If anything its made me more accepting of peoples 'crutches', cos we all have a 'crutch' of some sort...eg. you wouldn't criticise someone who has trouble walking properly, so why criticise drug-users, as it's thier 'crutch' to get through life.
Also, although I recognise that there are always extremes that people can quote to support the 'bad idea' side (alcohol is legal, most of us like a drink, but show e.g. pictures of fights at turning-out time in a newcastle dockers pub), I think it's a good idea to legalise ALL drugs, as this would take them out of the hands of profiteering criminals, increase the tax revenue, and improve quality, therefore leading to less deaths etc through people using drugs 'cut' with noxious stuff.
Also it would mean people wouldnt turn to crime to fund an expensive addiction.
Also it wold mean that we dont have prisons overcrowded with people banged-up for drug use, or the crimes they commit to fund that use.
Also it would mean that it could be honestly monitored with clear figures to show use, and undoubtedly there are people out there that need help, so they wouldn't be criminalised but helped to cope with their addiction, in the same way that someone with a disease is treated to help them.
And you are never going to be able to stop drug use by legislation and enforcement, most of this stuff is available worldwide at affordable prices (or free, seeing as hash grows wild, it is a weed)
(And also remember, the UK made its money from hash (hemp) for hundreds of years as one of the worlds biggest rope-makers, until the invention of synthetic materials in the 1930s.)

Yeah legalise it IMO

But it does mess your head up, smoking it on a daily basis... as Mega has already mentioned.

I used to smoke it and depend on it far too regularly and now that I can take it or leave it.... all is good with the world again
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I've never taken drugs except beer. But I think we should seriously think about legalising all drugs. The problem has been getting worse for 40 years, and it will only get worse. We all know that most crime is due to drug problems. If we legalise it I think it will probably reduce crime, reduce the murder rate and we should find it easier to control drug problems and help people.

You are right about the crime issue, anyone who has had their car stereo nicked should find out where the nearest dealer is and give him a friendly knock, cos the chances are, that he has it.
If you removed the dealer from the streets, it would be a lot harder for people to sell their knicked gear. Obviously someone will come along to fill the void, cos where there is easy money to be made someone will make it.
But looking at it from the thieving little gits point of view, it is easy, you break the window, steal the stereo, and take it directly to your dealer who treats it as cash. If there was no dealer then the robbing git would have to run around to find someone to buy their 'wares' for a tiny amount of it's value, then go where-ever you would go to buy some pot if it were legal.
So, looking at it that way it would then be a lot easier and productive if the tea-leaf went out and got a job to pay for his drugs............. (hence less crime!)

I don't agree that legalizing drugs would reduce crime. Legalizing drugs would put its price up (through taxing it) and the people that are addicts would just have to steal more to get enough money to feed their habit. I also don't think that legalizing drugs would mean an end to dealers, lets face it, if you can get a gram of coke for £30 off your dealer but £50 off some legit outlet that is of similar quality then i think alot of addicts would still use a dealer. People want to pay less for their entertainment but still have the same amount of 'fun'.

For alot of people crime is a means to an end, and drugs are not always that end that they seek. Some people just steal for the thrill or because they want something then when they have nicked it they realize they didnt really want it. I tried several drugs, as i mentioned on here before in other topics, but i wont touch any now, apart from a joint when i feel like it every now and then so i would support legalization of that. Hard drugs i am not so sure about, making it legal and thus socially acceptable to take MDMA could lead to alot of deaths/mental problems as it seems its effects both short term and long term are not really well known yet.

I am working in an adult learning centre and i work with adults who need extra support in the classroom, including those with mental health issues. I have met so many people who lived good active and happy lives until they took hard drugs, and then developed serious mental health problems, it has made me think quite differently about drugs now.

I understand the argument about government trying to control drugs and creating other problems in the process of that, but i think you open a whole new can or worms by legalizing drugs, and i feel it doesn't necessarily mean the world would be a better place or people would be any better off or any free-er if drugs were legalized.

I wouldn't want pills to be legalised, imagine all those muppets off their heads out on the streets and having to actually hold a conversation with them.
It's very similar to being stone cold sober and having to talk to someone who is pissed right up, not my idea of fun,,,,,,,,,,

I've given this so so so much thought and *still* can't decide if I'm 'for' or 'against' legalising cannabis (won't bring any other drugs into it as thats way more complicated and wasnt the original question).
Well, I used to work in resettlement - 'vulnerable adults' who were from all walks of life, *but* most had an alcohol or drug problem, along with other issues.
From what I saw, it doesn;t matter if you legalise cannabis or not - many, many cannabis users don't have a job and will never ever buy it with hard-earned cash. Ditto alcohol, and that's legal. I lost count of the people I came into contact with (clients) who had gotten into trouble for buglary to sell stuff to get the money to buy their *alcohol* or simply got caught nicking bottles of hooch from Asda, or getting beat up by some guy who supplied them the hooch and they didnt have the money to pay him for it.
Look around you and see the alcoholic homeless on the streets, you don't think they bought it legally do you?
So, from that perspective, cannabis and alcohol go hand in hand.
I've seen young mums neglect their kids, their kids are malnutritioned etc because of alcohol OR cannabis, not to mention other drugs.
I also know people who drink alcohol and also smoke cannabis who are level-headed and sensible about it, and you would never guess what they drink/smoke behind closed doors.
So right now my stance is Legalise Cannabis, its no different from alcohol.
You will always get the yoyos who can't control their habits, no matter what that might be.
(BTW, I smoke normal tobacco, drink the occasional alcoholic drink, and have smoked cannabis in the past years ago on occasion but didn't care for it).

I've never tried any drugs, and I never intend to. The thought doesn't appeal to me.

I'm torn on the issue though. Part of me says people should be allowed to put into their bodies whatever they want to, its their lives. But I have known people who have used drugs and it has had ill mental effects.

All I know is that whatever answers you come up with, they won't make everybody happy.

Guess what I think! Ban football instead. It turns people into violent chanting mobs. (I tried it once but I soon realised I wouldn't be able to kick it).

I don't take any drugs and don't even drink. But I think if a drug should be legalized, it is probably Cocaine as it does not damage your health as much as Cannabis - if both drugs are completely pure.

As far as I know most drugs you could get in Europe (including the UK, otherwise I would say the "continent") are a damage to your health as they have been flattened with other substances several times (from one dealer to the other as they try to maximize their profits).

The "drugs" themselves are sometimes "harmless" and don't even make addicted in small portions and if there are long breaks in between (e.g. Cocaine) - similiar to alcohol.

But to my knowledge even pure Cannabis damages your brain and every time you are stoned as many brain cells die as being completely drunk.

You can drink in a reasonable way that does not damage your health, I have read that you can also consume pure Cocaine in small amounts once in a while without damaging your health.

But you can not smoke cigarettes in a reasonable way or smoke cannabis in a reasonable way - as every time you damage your body. Although you could smoke only once a year a cigarette or two and it would only make a small difference I suppose. But cigarettes do make addicted.

Just my 2 cents, but I am not an expert!