Drug laws - Do Nice People Take Drugs?

C

cookie_monster

Well-Known Forumite
Jimbo said:
I have dealt with people who commit offences to buy Cannabis as has Roger Davy, a West Yorkshire magistrate and a national spokesman on youth courts, who said: “Children — and that’s what they are — as young as 12, 13 and 14 are coming before us for offences of theft and robbery, which they admit are to raise money to feed their cannabis habit.”
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and a solicitor didnt just tell them to say that so that they could just end up with a DTO? :rolleyes:

id forgotten id even started this thread all that time ago...but im glad to see its still going!

im afraid im not going to put my twopenneth in, i think those of you who know me in real-life probably know my stance...it just doesnt quite fit in with that of my employers :(


x
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Interesting article here: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/blogs/talking_politics/should-drugs-be-legalised-p154494.html

Prohibitionist drug policy has achieved two things. One: A burgeoning prison population amongst whom drug use remains hugely prominent, resulting in a criminal justice system so clogged to the brim with minor drug offences that there is little time to deal with more worthwhile pursuits.

Two: It has handed the market of drugs entirely over to the hand of criminal syndicates, whose tenure has meant users are charged exorbitant prices, causing a far greater number of crimes of theft by drug users desperate to conjure up the cash for their next fix. Drugs are also a huge source of revenue of organisations which spread their tentacles into other areas of crime and terror - including the Taleban.
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Also

Drug policy isn't working, but the 'drugs problem' will not simply end by making them legal.
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tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Interestingly I'm currently reading "H.": Autobiography of a Child Prostitute and Heroin Addict, but I can't work out if that is helping the drug trade? She is no longer a fixer I assume, so the money won't be spent on junk, but the fact that she was a skaghead is the only reason there is a book!

Also just saw what its worth, £35 second hand! Shame mines so battered, could have scored some good shit with that moolah ;)
 
Em L

Em L

Mental Floss
Having had a brother who died from a heroin overdose and having a second brother who is still an addict, I'm pretty black and white where drugs are concerned. Where as I appreciate some aren't as "bad" as others, personally I feel if someone else wants to kill themselves with the stuff thats their business, but they should not to try and convince me that they are "harmless" - as many have tried. My brothers were nice - it was what they would do to get the drug that wasn't.

Sorry, still a touchy subject for me, apologies if i'm only repeating what others have said - I only just noticed this thread (head up a**e today!)
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Em K said:
I feel if someone else wants to kill themselves with the stuff thats their business, but they should not try and convince me that they are "harmless"
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I don't think anybody would dispute that, at least as far as heroin is concerned. The question is, would your brothers be, or have been, better served by a different approach to their harming themselves?

Our legislators should be able to ask the question without being shot down in flames. What are the alternatives? would they improve the current situation? how would it work? who would be selling it? how would they be selling it? would it be available on prescription only or sold over the counter? if addicts are going to be brought into a GP administered program, how do subsequent addicts buy into that programme? who pays for this? do we pay for the treatment of those already addicted but financially punish those who become addicted after legalisation?

There are a million questions to be asked, rightly, before such a radical change of policy could be adopted. Why not ask them? Why not?
 
db

db

#chaplife
Em K said:
Having had a brother who died from a heroin overdose and having a second brother who is still an addict, I'm pretty black and white where drugs are concerned. Where as I appreciate some aren't as "bad" as others, personally I feel if someone else wants to kill themselves with the stuff thats their business, but they should not to try and convince me that they are "harmless" - as many have tried. My brothers were nice - it was what they would do to get the drug that wasn't.

Sorry, still a touchy subject for me, apologies if i'm only repeating what others have said - I only just noticed this thread (head up a**e today!)
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em k, this is a heartbreaking story, and there is no denying that drugs (of any kind) can have a terrifyingly destructive effect on people's lives.. if you have the time, it would be great if you could read through the whole thread and let us know your opinions on some of the suggestions expressed within :)

i think the recent mephedrone craze is a good example of how decriminalisation may not work.. as i have expressed earlier in this thread, i think decriminalisation is an option to consider, but i know people who, given access to a completely legal and mind-bending substance, went mental and were on it every day.. it really is such a hard game to play :/
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
db said:
it really is such a hard game to play :/
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Ay, there's the rub.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to wish the whole thing would just go away,
And bury it under a sea of other troubles.

Or by opposing, end them.
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Just read a report about 2 people found dead in a flat, found this relevant:

"We know that illegal drugs are taken, perhaps more so at this time of the year, but need to stress that people simply do not know what they are taking.

"People that produce these drugs make mistakes with their strength. There is no way to guarantee that the potency of these drugs will not be excessively high - and this can lead to tragic consequences."
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(http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20101224/tuk-drugs-warning-after-men-found-dead-6323e80.html)

Not drugs are bad, not the drugs will kill you, but they are not great at quality control so you may get ****** up off it. Is it any wonder kids today are so lax concerning drugs when even the police can't be bothered to pretend anymore?

Legalise, standardise, stop people dying so easily. I still feel those who are having problems would look for help sooner if they weren't scared of being prosecuted. A criminal record for hurting yourself is stupid, and serves no purpose other than keeping you in the same situation.
 
Florence

Florence

Well-Known Forumite
tek-monkey said:
Just read a report about 2 people found dead in a flat, found this relevant:

"We know that illegal drugs are taken, perhaps more so at this time of the year, but need to stress that people simply do not know what they are taking.

"People that produce these drugs make mistakes with their strength. There is no way to guarantee that the potency of these drugs will not be excessively high - and this can lead to tragic consequences."
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(http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20101224/tuk-drugs-warning-after-men-found-dead-6323e80.html)

Not drugs are bad, not the drugs will kill you, but they are not great at quality control so you may get ****** up off it. Is it any wonder kids today are so lax concerning drugs when even the police can't be bothered to pretend anymore?

Legalise, standardise, stop people dying so easily. I still feel those who are having problems would look for help sooner if they weren't scared of being prosecuted. A criminal record for hurting yourself is stupid, and serves no purpose other than keeping you in the same situation.
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No point in lying about it. The reason people die is overdose. Heroin is safe if you know what you are taking, but you don't.

The only way to tackle this is to legalise and allow people to live with addiction. It is possible to lead a normal life, if your life is not controlled by finding the money for the next fix. Many people live normal lives on huge doses of morphine. There is very little difference except one is "legal" and the other isn't.
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
I've always wondered if those addicted to illegal drugs would seek help if they were not illegal? The nay sayers always say drug deaths would rise due to more users, but I can't help feeling deaths as a % would drop because those in trouble had help that didn't demonise them. Impossible to tell of course, but I have first hand knowledge of several friends making bad choices.
 
A

andy w

Well-Known Forumite
On the Daily Mail website there is a story about Nigel Farage has come out in supporting the decriminalising of drugs as he beliefs the current laws aren't working
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...itain-follow-Portugal-HEROIN-not-illegal.html
The report goes on about the experiences of Portugal who have done similar but has divided opinion of experts.
Like Farage, I like to think myself as a libertarian, as along as someone is not harming anyone else and not expect others to bail them out I believe it is up to the individual to decide what he or she wants to do in their lives. BUT the destructive effect of drugs like heroin make me uneasy supporting any further legalisation of drugs.
 
Alee

Alee

Well-Known Forumite
Ooww Iv never seen this thread before .
I tried weed when I was younger and it did absolutely nothing for me. Most of the people I know smoke it on a daily basis and they all have full time jobs. Certainly don't go out causing crime to pay for it either lol. Each to their own really . I think it all depends on personality on how weed effects you .not all weed smokers look like a 'pothead" .
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
I take drugs all the time.

Caffieine i find indispensable - without it i genuinely do not know what i would do of a morning.
Paracetamol, this morning, was my saviour - i knew it was going to be a heavy day and i needed something to take the edge off it - i have been quite ill of late, you don't hear me moaning about it...
Nicotine is my Master - i can't help but do its bidding.
Alcohol is my comfort - after all that shit i deserve it.

When i am feeling really bad i push the boat out and take some ibuprofen.

My name is Withnail, and i am a Drug Addict...
 
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