Controversial Poll illegal Drugs

[mondatoo]

From my own personal perspective i have had a line once when i was not in a good place as a close family member of mine was dying and i was struggling with this however i'm annoyed with myself that i use this as an excuse but i do so wtf apart from that i've never touched drugs.Most of my adult life i've been around mates who take drugs coke,weed,e and woteva else but not smack and this doesn't bother me they know i'm not interested and leave me to get pissed while they get up to allsorts.However i would never associate myself with anyone who took Heroin as it's a horrible dirty drug imo and i couldn't accept it.Drugs are gradually becoming an acceptable part of society and i guarentee that many more people are getting full of coke every weekend as a "social" drug than most people imagine.Is this a bad thing ... Who am i to judge?

[madasahatstand]

I would legalise all drugs because we should be able to consume what we want as long as the risk stays with us. Take cannabis - there are a whole load of people who end up with criminal records for selling and smoking. Why? Because the government have decided they want it illegal mainly because they can't control and tax it. The biggest killers -smokes and booze result in millions of people with cardio vascular disease and cannabis is illegal? Beats me! There is little evidence about it being a gateway drug but in a minority of cases it can  trigger psychosis, not within the numbers the government tries to make out though - nowhere near it.

If we legalised heroin there would be no blackmarket dealers and the prices would not be so expensive. I think crime levels would shoot down because the drug would be more affordable and there would be less chance of young people getting exposed to dealers. If we legalised heroin tomorrow, all people addicted to it would be swapped to a prescription of pure heroin and it would almost close down the blackmarket overnight. If you ask a doctor if s/he could take any drug to a desert island I dont think many would chose something other than heroin. Its the best drug in the world when its pure. It causes no damage to the body or mind (except desperation when in withdrawals) when its pure and saves millions from pain each year after surgery or as a palliative drug. Heroin, although I would never touch it has got to be the best drug in the world for medicinal properties.

Coke - the devils drug. Causes too much physical and psychological damage with long term use. If any drug is 'dirty' then its this one. People get a buzz out of it - the first time they take it...lol, Then its downhill from there - chasing a buzz ain't good fun eventually and most folk end up paranoid or super egos, stick thin quivering wrecks. Having said that people who take it now and again are probably getting the most enjoyment out of it and its a pretty good dental drug and numbs the pain before procedures. I wonder how many coke head dentists there are in the country?

We think we are liberal in the UK but we are only liberal as long as the government can control and tax what we take. Most politicians subscribe to media scare mongering about illicit drugs because they are afraid the votes will go against them or simply don't know enough. Daft beggars - they would wipe drug related crime out if they bit the bullet and those big drug dealers that make a killing (sometimes literally) would be put out of business.

[mickyp]

As far as i'm concerned barring the naughty drugs people can do what they want and i happen to think E's, cocaine are perfectly acceptable

But surly every addiction starts somewhere. Some people are not of an addictive nature but some are and seek that extra something. Not saying anyone is right or wrong but at the end of the day dont get addicted. For us his addiction also started off with a little smoke here n there. We arnt proud of his situation but have done all that we think possible to get him off. Even as far as him being locked in a room, which became unbearable for everyone concerned.

I got involved in the rave scene in the early 90's ,so e's and puff became a part of every weekend.The come downs finally became too much for me so i knocked it on the head.But i lost 2 mates who started off on so called soft drugs and another 2 are still in a mental instatution.So i personally cant say that drugs are acceptable at all.

[madasahatstand]

Micky - can relate to what you are saying. I've got pals in same situ. Some fecked up because of psychotropics like E and coke and some dead because of smack. Most people taking these drugs dont end up in psychiatric wards but I know the damage is bad for the minority who do.

[ItsMrAlex2u]

I would love to see a time when some (not alll) drugs are legalised and even sold in shops but it will obviously never happen.
Drug dealers and the crime that goes along with it is one of the main scourges on our society and that will never change while drugs are illegal.

It is non-sensical that our society has no issue with selling tobacco and alcohol knowing full well that if someone smokes all their life then there is a VERY high chance that it will kill them prob 20 years too early.
If the government is so worried about tobacco related illness then why not just ban it completely? One word obviously, tax.

As far as alcohol is concerened, any of us can walk down to the pub at opening time and if we choose to, sit there all day and get properly hammered. As long as we dont cause any trouble as a result and just make our way home at the end of the day then no one will really bat an eye lid.

So why is it such a disgrace if someone CHOOSES to pop an E or do a line of coke to help them have a good time, in teh same way that someone might have 5 pints to help them have a good time.

Just seems rediculous to me.
And as for these drugs leading onto Heroin and crack, that is just complete rubbish. Drinking alcohol does not lead automatically lead you to be an alcoholic it is purely down to the persons personality.

I would never touch those drugs in a million years.

[madasahatstand]

Good post ALex!!

I don't agree with personality type though. I think its more to do with who you are and where you are in life. If you have very little confidence or self esteem and find coke or E gives you some then its highly likely you will try it again. If you are in emotional pain and try smack you will find it helps take that away so might be more likely to try it again. If you find it difficult to relax and find smoking a spliff helps then you are likely to try it again. Montado was in a bad place and tried something to cheer himself up. I think at vunerable points in our lives we are more at risk of dependant use and I include passing over to adulthood or finding your confidence within that.

This is a great thread

[kinboshi]

Legalisation enables the authorities to monitor and regulate what the drugs contain.  At the moment if you buy drugs from a dealer you actually have no idea what you're getting.  Not only that, you're mixing in criminal circles and it's all too easy for those that are vulnerable to be exploited.

Removing the criminality would go a long way to improving the situation (imo).

[ItsMrAlex2u]

Ok, I will modify that to be "personality and circumstance". I still think that it is a lot to do with personality though, I cant see any circumstances that my life could take me to that would lead me to think, "I know, I will take a dirty needle and inject myself with this stuff that will completely wipe me out and possibly kill me eventually"

[madasahatstand]

Ok, I will modify that to be "personality and circumstance". I still think that it is a lot to do with personality though, I cant see any circumstances that my life could take me to that would lead me to think, "I know, I will take a dirty needle and inject myself with this stuff that will completely wipe me out and possibly kill me eventually"

Most people don't get into heroin thinking 'I'll inject myself with a dirty needle'. Desperation and addiction lead people to this kind of behaviour. Nobody ever gets into drugs to give themselves a problem.

The personality bit. I think is about levels of self esteem and confidence and this is all affected by peer groups, circumstance etc

[DUNK619]

do you seriously think legalising heroin will stop addicts buying unpure heroin for a cheaper  price from a dodgy source. I dont imo

[scotty2hatty]

None for me. A lot of my friends are frequent user but it doesn't put me up or down cos I know they are responsible.

One of my mates had his drink spiked with Viagra before - was pretty comedy!

[ItsMrAlex2u]

do you seriously think legalising heroin will stop addicts buying unpure heroin for a cheaper  price from a dodgy source. I dont imo

Nope, I didnt say legalise all drugs. Crack and Heroin cant be legalised as they are on a different level of a danger to health than E and Coke but if E & C were legalised then the police wouldnt have to waste time on dealing with them.

Its only hypothetical anyway as obv it will never happen.

My main issue is why we look at Tobacco and Alcohol differently to some of the lighter drugs. It makes no sense whatsoever.

[madasahatstand]

do you seriously think legalising heroin will stop addicts buying unpure heroin for a cheaper  price from a dodgy source. I dont imo

Yes because if you legalised it, it would only be for current 'addicts' They would get it free and would not need the crap from the street. There would be no new markets for it as all the current addicts would be happy, not desperate and young people couldnt stumble apon it because there would be no dealers. Easy! lol

[ItsMrAlex2u]

do you seriously think legalising heroin will stop addicts buying unpure heroin for a cheaper  price from a dodgy source. I dont imo

another things is that someone caught knocking out a couple of dozen pills to party goers is treated by the courts exactly the same as a heroin or crack dealer.

Anyone who understands anything about drugs should realise that this is madness.

[madasahatstand]

do you seriously think legalising heroin will stop addicts buying unpure heroin for a cheaper  price from a dodgy source. I dont imo

Nope, I didnt say legalise all drugs. Crack and Heroin cant be legalised as they are on a different level of a danger to health than E and Coke but if E & C were legalised then the police wouldnt have to waste time on dealing with them.

Its only hypothetical anyway as obv it will never happen.

My main issue is why we look at Tobacco and Alcohol differently to some of the lighter drugs. It makes no sense whatsoever.

crack and heroin should be the first ones they legalise because they cause so much harm in society. You could restrict the market quickly and close it down. You could not have an open market here - only for current addicts. Coke would be a hard one to legalise to get rid of the market so I reckon you would have to have some type of legal market for it but with coke you can make crack so this ones not so easy to sew up......need to think of a way round this one!