Cannabis Pandemic

tuber · **Posted:** Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:07 am

Cannabis pandemic blamed on soft UK drug policy

Quote:

Mr Costa, an Italian economist with long experience of working for the UN and other international bodies,, said: 'The harmful characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

This implies that cannabis used to be that different, but no longer is. The article is fairly opaque as to what changed, but mentions:

Quote:

Less than 15 months later Mr Blunkett's successor Charles Clarke called on Government advisors for a rethink because of growing evidence of links between cannabis and mental illness, and because of the increasing availability of very powerful strains of the drug.

What gets me is

Quote:

The UN criticism appears to reflect frustration that the Government is swayed by arguments that say using cannabis is a matter of minor importance and that the drug is far less harmful than, for example, alcohol.

The UN did not mention alcohol at all, which is politically interesting given it is one of the most widely used drugs. The Mail brought it up here, I suppose in a preemptive attack against the inevitable comparisons people make between illegal and legal drugs, but I'm not sure they really help themselves.

The idea of a cannabis pandemic is amusing. I think this pandemic has been happening for that last 4,000 years and shows no signs of stopping.

Timmy O'Toole · **Joined:** Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:46 pm **Posts:** 601

We chill right to the core

johnnyh · **Posted:** Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:31 pm

I'd respond but I'm too....err....stoned...to errrrr..ha,ha, ooooo wotsits

tuber · **Posted:** Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:15 am

Early cannabis abuse 'leads to heroin addiction' they say

cjthunder · **Joined:** Mon May 22, 2006 3:11 pm **Posts:** 34

I'm having a bit of a Bill Hicks thing going on just now, so I thought I would share some of his thoughts on drugs with you:

Quote:

See I think drugs have done some good things for us. If you don't think drugs have done good things for us then do me a favor. Go home tonight and take all of your records,tapes and all your CD's and burn them. Because, you know all those musicians who made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreal fucking high on drugs, man.

Quote:

They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you're high, you can do everything you normally do, just as well. You just realize that it's not worth the fucking effort. There is a difference.

Quote:

Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit... unnatural?

Read into them what you will. Very funny man though

tuber · **Posted:** Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:25 pm

tuber wrote:

Early cannabis abuse 'leads to heroin addiction' they say

one week has passed and they have covered the exact same story: Cannabis a 'gateway to harder drugs'.

are they suffering from memory loss?

famaf · **Posted:** Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:04 pm

i wrote a really long post on this topic but my computer crashed before i had chance to send it...i want to write another but ive just finished work and im off for a spliff...
..

Winston O'Hoodie · **Posted:** Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:10 pm

So cannabis leads to hard drugs does it. Well it's funny how I had tried heroin, cocaine, LSD, speed, mescaline...never really liked the smell of cannabis you see....I only started using cannabis for medicinal reasons....as an antidote to snorting too much coke. Gets the heart rate down.

mattomac · **Posted:** Sat Jul 15, 2006 1:50 am

I moved on to poppers after cannibis, then some mushrooms and then some E

Fucking hell that particular weekend at Glastonbury was fantastic

paulworthington53 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:47 am

tuber wrote:

Early cannabis abuse 'leads to heroin addiction' they say

Some do say this yes, but most people say that...

This is like saying early exposure to kissing girls leads to more people having extra martial affairs.

In other words, it is is associated with, but not caused by or linked to...

tuber · **Posted:** Fri Jul 21, 2006 3:10 pm

this weeks article is based on Government figures of recorded offenses: Massive explosion in cannabis possession

more people are being recorded caught in posession of weed.

I think two things might be having an effect; firstly people are less scared to walk around with weed in their pocket nowadays, secondly some police may be giving formal warning whereas before they would have destroyed the dope off record, to save time if they do not think that it is serious.

They are going to keep quoting the UN person (from the article that opened this thread) forever I think:

Quote:

[The UN's] drug control chief said cannabis was as dangerous as heroin or cocaine and warned countries that performed U-turns on drug laws that they were putting impressionable young people at risk.

There is still no context to explain how it is as dangerous as these other drugs, just that it is.

...

I think actually we have one of the worst systems possible. Cannabis is quite widely smoked, and people are not afraid to do so publicly. However it all comes from illegal sources, and this generates large amounts of tax-free income for people willing to do that. They are able to charge a lot more than it is worth, and it keeps smokers in contact with the black market where other drugs are available. It is big business but as it is not legit, you cannot get protection by the police. This means some of the money is spent on protection, and this usually involves buying weapons and carrying them.

potsy70 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 22, 2006 6:05 pm **Posts:** 304

the mail doesn't half talk some bollocks.

these figures in the latest article area measurment of police activity, not cannabis use.

don't journalists have to have some qualifications in data interpretation? or are thy free to misrepresent whatever they like?

potsy70 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 22, 2006 6:05 pm **Posts:** 304

theres a more rational debate on this here:

http://badscience.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=292

famaf · **Posted:** Tue Jul 25, 2006 4:17 pm

winston, in my humble opinion, you are something of a legend...

famaf · **Posted:** Tue Jul 25, 2006 4:18 pm

even if you don't like the smell of cannabis which I think is one of the sweetest fragrances known to man..

Cannabis Pandemic

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