Skunk use soars in the UK

mmmm.... that looks delicious is it real?

Many of the EU countries have already decriminalized MJ for the most part.

I think they should move forward with decriminalization. The statistics have already shown a decrease of overall usage in other countries where decriminalization has taken place.

Too much public resources are wasted on criminalizing MJ.

Plus the idea that weed has any harmful effects is blown out of proportion by media. I still don't understand why government bodys try and regulate what we do to OURSELVES, in our OWN house, not hurting ANYBODY.
What a fucking nanny state. Its a good drug, it has medical and social benefits.

We have all heard the old crap about "who would you rather meet in an alley. A drunk guy or a stoned guy?"

Or the 40,000 alcohol deaths a year compared to the 0 people who die smoking weed.

We have heard them all. What is so scary about someone a bit high and dopey and has a bit of red eye? "Shit, a baby raping pot head, RUN"

Plus, hemp should be utilized more for its practical uses. Paper, clothing, the 2000+ other uses. Its green!
Cotton destroys the earth, hemp is good for the earth.

I will still smoke weed if they reclassify to B, I have never killed anyone, hurt anyone. I may have indirectly supported terrorism when i bought some pills and weed last weekend. But then again, you support terrorism when you pay your taxs.

I actually watched a clip about this on the news the other night. And there was one gentleman being interviewed saying that the only way to get kids to stop smoking is to make cannabis socially unacceptable, and the only way to do this was to re-criminalize it. He was speaking as a "former cannabis user" who said that from within 18 months of his taking his first hit, he was a heroin addict. His argument was so ridiculous. If everyone who ever smoked weed became a heroin addict, I think we'd be a world of zombies. In no way is making pot a crime going to stop kids from smoking it. We'll just end up with more kids with criminal records for non-violent offenses that shouldn't exist in the first place. I agree, jubal, way too many public resources are wasted on criminalizing this weed.

There was a GREAT documentary on BBC 2 last night about the top 20 most popular drugs used in the UK. The bottom 2 were legal drugs, poppers and khat (like caffeine)

The number 18 on the list was ECSTASY! THE least dangerous drug compared to weed, nicotine, cannabis, and cocaine. Can you believe that? They said that they have no reason to believe it does any long term damage and has only caused 27 deaths.

I wish I could remember where weed was on the list, but it was a great deal higher up than I thought. It was number 11 I think.... Dangerous because of the effect it has on the brain.

i think they're right about E not being that dangerous compared to other drugs. i took the survey and am glad to see that alcohol is getting the most votes for most dangerous (that's what i selected).

I seem to remember some years ago hearing a government statistic that there have only been 4 deaths directly attributed to Cannabis in the UK in the last 30 years.

One of the deaths was a customs officer, who fell off a boat during a drugs bust.

Indeed I forgot to add in that the to 20 popular drugs were listed in order of danger. My bad....

The U.S. needs to end the war on drugs...

hmmm phillyharper, I'm wondering if you're correct on the ecstasy claim that it has no long term affects. I'm in a Neuroscience course that focuses on drugs and the body and I'm 100% sure that ecstasy has immediate LONG-TERM degenerative effects on the body's *Serotonin* receptors, which plays a vital role in daily activities.

I don't really agree that the U.S. should end the war on drugs, but it should end the war on SOME drugs, like marijuana for example.

abbym, i'd have to disagree with you when it comes to E not being dangerous. i mean it's not just that it wipes out the serotonin in your brain but the real danger is dehydration. when i had taken it with friends we would set up a kind of control so that we wouldn't forget to drink and urninate but even with that control i felt it hard to follow the standard path of things in that state. i can just imagine the irresponsible types. however, E shouldn't be above herion or below alcohol; and definitely not below weed on this list. damn brits and bbc!
jk

doesn't the DEA and other agencies realize that no matter what the potency of the herb is we will smoke as much as needed to attain the desired level of high. with chronic we just smoke a little less, so it's actually less harmful to the lungs than smoking double the ammount of regular shwag. and its tastier!

Let me rephrase this...

The U.S. needs to end the war on naturally occurring (organic) drugs...

The list wasn't made up on the spot, it was done scientifically. The potential danger of a drug was measured by three factors, physical effect, dependency, and social effect.

Terra_cotta, the argument was that MDMA does have an immediate effect on the bodies serotonin receptors which in the short term causes memory loss, but clinical studies showed that six hours after taking the drug the brain was back to normal. Longer studies showed that after 6 months there were no lasting effects, even from frequent use.

Sauna's cause de-hydration, as does sunbathing and alcohol, but it isn't an elevated danger which can realistically lead to long term troubles. It is a danger which people face daily through being negligent and failing to drink enough water naturally.

Dude, I think if the "MAN" decides to legalize cannabis, the quality of the product will get all fucked up. Because the only reason they would legalize it is so that they could tax the fuck out of the good pot smoking citizens of America. And the only way they could do that is by putting the same chemicals they put in tabbacco products in marijuana. And who would have any use for the big bad drug dealers that have the "good shit" for cheap. but then again if they did legalize it there would be much less worry about smoking pot. But to me ,thats the fun part!

This is bullshit man the goverment is retarded i hate it is it was legal it be to damn expencive to buy

GGSK, good argument about the quality dropping. But I don't think I'd be buying my goods from the local convenience store when my neighbor would probably have a hydro farm in his basement with lots and lots of flavors.

Or how about this, keep the sale of it illegal but legalize farming of it. Then taxing it would be difficult but using it would be simple as picking it off your 8 foot sativa plant in your backyard. Of course it's probably more complicated than that :P

that simon dude said that ther have only been 4 deaths caused by pot in the last 30 years. Isn't that like less than deaths caused by lightning strikes?

when it comes to MDMA, phillyharper is spot on correct, plus under the influence our brains secrete Oxytocin which has been dubbed the love drug because it's the same chemical the brain produces during courtship and in mothers nursing, a key chemical for pair bonding. the govt doesn't want love to be widespread because it's dangerous and counterproductive to the goals of our leaders.

Excellent post, you rebel scum :P

i read somewhere that a few years ago the gov. spent more money on the war on drugs, then the drug dealers made...sooo, the gov. could have just bought all the illegal drugs - arrested no one, and saved the American people a few million dollars in tax revenue...

when is our country going to realize that attacking the cannabis culture is the reason that most people try harder drugs (since anyone who has tried MJ knows that it isn't harmful to you and doesn't provoke the kind of hysteria it is rumored to - and therefore, doesn't really trust those same gov. annalysts who say Heroin is bad) - and that we, the tax payers, are spending millions annually to maintain an overcrowded prison system filled with harmless stoners...

How many of those same peaceful stoners come out of the joint harder and with a criminal education?

Really, people...things have got to change

The government regulation on drugs is a way to keep peace amongst those who don't believe in it. As much as people think that everyone these days are using drugs, especially weed, there are just as many people who are not.

Weed is not a horrible drug. But it is potentially harmful. I've been high driving before and honestly when I get to my destination, sometimes, I'm like what the hell? I can't remember it at all. It just depends on the person, how they use it, what they decide to do with it, and if they have self control to not let it take over their life.

Pfestler, i like your idea of keeping the sale of cannabis illegal but legalizing farming the product. That would be an excellent way to keep the "MAN" from screwing us over.

Smoking weed makes you harder to control and mind manipulate by the media. Smoking weed makes people less interested in so called "serious" things and more "laid back".

The powers that be want a bunch of hard working slaves who don't indulge in substances that make you more rebellious of their authority.

that looks like some tasty nug. I think i'd be good after one hit.

dude that shit looks gooooooooooooood..... i wish i could print it and roll it...

phillyharper, you may wish to look at this link. Obviously most people wouldn't be taking MDMA like a lab monkey, but these pictures are rather decent evidence of X's damage to serotonin receptors.

Terra_cotta, that monkey was taking MDMA for 7 years straight. If I drank my self into oblivion over 7 years I'd expect there to be damage to my brain. It's hardly a non partisan test to give a monkey MDMA for 7 years in the hope, and knowledge, that it will have an effect.

All things are harmful. We're talking about moderation.

I'm sure there are shampoo's or facewash products on the market that if I used for 7 years straight would have some adverse and long standing effect, but are they dangerous?

i think it would be prudent to mention something that Dr.Shulgin once said. (he was the guy that got MDMA first used for psychiatric purposes)...

he claimed that no drug is ever responsible for a persons behavior. For instance...drunk driving - is alcohol to blame? , or is it the nimrod who got wasted and figured they could still manage a thousand pound bullet traveling at 60MPH...how about junkies? should heroine be legalized? Well, it's an insidious drug - but if you are a person capable (and i've yet to meet one) of resisting the negative personality effects, then more power to you...However, a junkie who steals a car and then robs a liquor store should be penalized for those crimes...(last i checked, it's not illegal to be dirty, whiny, untrustworthy, and craving french fries - gross, but not illegal)
The good Dr. says that all drugs should be legalized and all persons caught "under the influence" doing something illegal should be punished...the bottom line is that, anybody putting a chemical into their brains should know what effect it will have on them...
i think he's currently researching beneficial characteristics of peyote in AZ.......

It's interesting to think that we can't legally enjoy a naturally occuring, multidimensional plant... but it's okay to poison our liver with booze & ruin our lungs with highly addictive tobacco. Plants, bad. Cancer, good.

i totally forgot what i was gonna say.

Pass the dutchie pon a left hand side