Yea one good thing anyone who reads this thread sure is going to get some education out of it

Well, I guess you sit off the fence, I kind of sit on it, leaning to one side.

lol - and that can only be a good thing right!

And now I have to leave and go and eat a big meal for my leaving do

I'll be interested to see if anything has been added to this on monday!

So I will let it rest for now

As i said earlier i work in this field and have met dealers, victums, users, families and everyone involved. the bottom line is they are illegal and morally wrong.. they DO affect everyone,the whole society.. we all pay taxes and some of this goes into policing laws and treatment.. house insurance, car insurance is even affected.. big debate that will go on and on while people continue to use and pay people money.. anyway hope u all enjoying the snow.

Exactly. I don't think I've ever seen so much "holier than thou" (on both sides of the subject) anywhere.

The "pros" will never change their minds, based on a discussion like this, and neither will the "cons", so it's time the thread was PTS permanently.

Snorri
(bored rigid)

i was married to a canabis user for 20 years, and i can say yes it is addictive, it changes a persons personailty, it makes them paranoid, also violent.his whole life revolved around his drugs, all his spare money went on drugs.if he didnt have any our (my kids n myself) lives where made unberable.he never smoked a ciggerette it was always dope in it. from morning to night. and he never got stoned on it, he said it brought him up to some sort of normality.
hate drugs it almost got me killed with his violence.

Hi Everyone, I know a couple of people have suggested this thread should end but I have just read through and it seems that there are people still interested to hear more views and it hasn't degenerated into a slanging match
so I thought I what the hey - I'll join in!

I just wanted to ask you KickstartKelpies, whether you think that legalising and regulating the sale of some drugs ie. cannabis, would not help with some of the points you have bought up? You seem to be lumping everyone together in the above thread and I really don't think it is as black and white as that. Yes some of those people who supply drugs will be involved in all sorts of other criminal activities and you are right - buying from them can only assist them in the other activities.

BUT

I know a lot of people who use softer drugs recreationally and none of them would ever commit burglary, or mug somebody on the street, all have responsible jobs that they take seriously and contribute to society in many ways, but by buying from dealers they by default also play a part in illegal and antisocial behaviours such as theft etc. If they had the choice I know these softer drug users (that I personally know) would prefer to buy from a legal source and have nothing to do with the more hardcore unpleasent element of drug dealers.

You of course will say that they should just not take drugs at all but being realistic, they do. It is not the functioning recreational drug users that go out theiving etc to fund their habit or sell crack to kids of 12 and 13 - why not give them a legal source to buy from and start cracking down on the illegal dealers who are involved in this sort of activity?

I am just rambling now so will stop - but I should probably add that I have tried all sorts of drugs in the past but none did anything for me - I havn't taken an illegal substance for about 5 years now but I do have a lot of friends who use cannabis recreationally. I also have an ex who was a user of much more serious drugs and have seen the awful effects this had on him - but I can still see the difference beween him and my recreationally using friend now.

i like the way some people use the word "softer" as a way of lessening the severity of a drug. the reality is cannabis can destroy lives just as easily as any other drug as im sure "Bens mum" would agree.. at last someone talking sense.Something i cant understand is recreational use,it is common sense to know what can happen so why still do it? if u dont NEED it then DONT DO IT.. its Russian Roulette and sooner or later it will get u.

Here's a link to an old thread I started which was kind of relevant to obeying all laws unquestioningly, as that seems to have been touched on here and is one of my favourite subjects.

Personally, I have a reserved amount of respect for the law, preferring to rely on my own sense of right and wrong. I suppose relating this to the drug thing, it would concern me that the source of whatever could be involved in things a lot nastier than selling a bit of weed to people who are able to use it advisedly...