Decriminalising drug taking

Hands up those of you who have smoked a joint or two!

In the 60s I started to smoke dope regularly. We used to hang out in friends' flats, get mildly stoned and eventually fall asleep. My OH and I actually gave up smoking after a two week holiday during which we only smoked joints. At the end of the holiday we returned home, didn't have any dope and didn't touch any cigarettes.

A group of us tried roasting banana skins and then smoking them because that was supposed to have a similar effect as LSD. It didn't work but we did find the real thing which worked very well. We only took a handful of trips, which, if I can be bothered, I can remember to this day. I certainly don't regret taking acid.

Prescribing cannabis oil would evidently be good for
Depression.
Anxiety.
Stress.
Eating disorders.
Sleep disorders.
Chronic fatigue syndrome.
Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

It could cost £150-£250 per month for a THC and CBD prescription, but that might be offset by the reduced need for treatment of all the above.
How would we ensure prescriptions reach those who really need it?

paddyann54, like you, I've never even tried drugs or even smoked and don't drink alcohol. In fact, after being given morphine in hospital when I had appendicitis, I was told that I have a very low tolerance for painkillers and if I ever did take drugs, I'd probably OD. However, I've had friends who did use drugs on a recreational basis - none went on to become addicts. Some people on here would be surprised - or probably shocked - if they knew just how many people do use recreational drugs, many holding down high flying jobs.
I also have a friend whose son's badly botched birth meant he developed severe epilepsy, having numerous fits every day. He was on various medications and had very little quality of life. His mum took the decision to try giving him cannabis instead - and the difference was incredible. No wonder many people with certain medical conditions turn to it when all else has failed.

How many other Countries have adopted the Portuguese method?

Fancythat
when there are drugs nothing works anyway
Have you ever seen anyone with MS going into a very very painful spasm? Probably not. And then seen the relief when they take cannabis. Probably not.

Freya I hate to have to inform you that there are probably millions who use drugs only on the weekends and pay for them from the money they earn legally.I'll include more than a few in the House of Commons in that ,Gove and Hancock amongst them ,NOT everyone who takes drugs is an addict not everyone who takes drugs is a criminal not everyone who takes drugs is a member of the underclasses .
Like a previous poster I dont take drugs or smoke(have never even tried either) and dont drink alcohol.I do know people who do and some of them benefit from the pain relief they get from cannabis .Grantanow I imagine you have poor reading
skills .DRUGS and the use /misuse of them is NOT a devolved issue ,we have very little we can do without WM consent.Otherwise we would be moving away from making methodone addicts and treating drugs in a very different way to the archaic attitude of Westminster .
We already have a different policy on alcohol sales which has made a difference in hospital admissions due to alcohol abuse.The figures are available and have been praised by AA amongst other agencies

It's an issue which provokes a very knee-jerk reaction from many people - as is evident from some of the comments on here. But let's face it, the current system clearly isn't working and hasn't worked for some time. My SiL is a mental health nurse who works in the drug addiction field and he knows from first hand experience how bad things are in some areas, and how little we are actually doing to fix anything. We need to do something radical to tackle the drug problem we have in this country.

There's a difference in legalising drugs and decriminalising the use of drugs, which is what has happened in Portugal. I would support the latter but not the former and that is what Scotland would like to do.

Drugs are used by all sorts of people, of all ages and income brackets. The ones using on the streets are the ones in court, as are the ones who turn to crime to pay for their habit, but they are far from being the only users. The ones who pay with earned income or from their trust fund/inheritance rarely get caught and only get charged if there has been a rumpus of some sort that would make it obvious if a bind eye had been turned.

I'm not advocating a free for all, but the system as it stands is grossly unfair. The people who need help are the ones being jailed (where the problem continues) and the ones who can fund their habit so don't need to steal just carry on. Addiction is only a problem when the addicts can't get their fix, and have to get the money from somewhere. As long as they can keep paying up they are only hurting themselves.

Allied to the drugs industry are porn and prostitution - again with the most vulnerable being the ones who are criminalised.
There needs to be a huge shake-up, but it is easier to pretend it is a 'war', with clear 'goodies' and 'baddies'. I don't think it's as simple as that at all.

The problems with legalising drugs are many. They damage people and impact badly on people's economic contribution. Also illicit dealers undercut legal dealers (e.g., in Canada) so there is still an enforcement problem. It's attractive to politicians to legalise because by moving onto the legitimate market they become taxable - big money. But the SNP's proposal is another way of picking a fight with the UK government (and covering up their poor response to the Scottish drug problem).

paddyann54

Its decriminalising drugs for personal use ,there are hundreds of thousands of people who use drugs recreationally and do no harm to anyone else.Then there are the people who use cannabis for medical use...I know a couple of folk who do that ,and the fear of being criminalised for taking something that works for their intense pain is unfair and unjust.

Its not these users the police should be arresting ....its the folk who earn millions from selling drugs .Putting people in jail for sing a drug that harms no one else is ridiculous ,Other countries have decriminalised and made drugs safer in the process .
Sad that WM put the cabosh on the Scottish proposal in the same way they stopped us using well documented solutions to help with the drug issues here.Its WM who is out of step by denying progressive solutions to the problems .

Putting, ha ha, innocent people into jail for personal use of drugs. Please do tell how they get the money for their"fix". Yes usually by theft from the real innocent victims.

Cannabis should be made legal, but only for medicinal use, not just for everyone.
Otherwise no, we have enough drug induced crime and drug induced traffic accidents as it is, we don’t need anymore.

There's a huge market in prescription drugs because they are either used in conjunction with other drugs or alcohol to get a particular type of "hit" or people have become addicted to them whilst being given them, quite legitimately. Prescription only drugs need a doctor to prescribe them so it can be difficult to obtain them legally.

Mollygo

Dickens
Like alcohol, wouldn't it be better to legalise the drugs, control the safety and standard of them and the distribution - and tax them?
Yes to the idea of control the safety and standard of them.
Yes to taxing them and using the money raised specifically for treating drug users addiction and ensuing mental health problems, rather than feeding it into the NHS general fund.
That would benefit drug users and those who need the NHS but are not drug users.

Yes to Portugal’s other idea of re-educating drug users rather than imprisoning them. The money from taxing the drugs could also be put to use here.

But Retread makes a very good point today @ 10:14, which I needn’t quote.

Alcohol and tobacco are legalised and taxed. It doesn’t stop people trying to illegally bring tobacco products and alcohol into the country for resale on the subculture anymore than taxing drugs will stop the drug peddlers and cannabis growers.

But Retread makes a very good point today @ 10:14, which I needn’t quote.

She does, and I'm mindful of it.

Alcohol and tobacco are legalised and taxed. It doesn’t stop people trying to illegally bring tobacco products and alcohol into the country for resale on the subculture anymore than taxing drugs will stop the drug peddlers and cannabis growers.

Agreed. I don't think for one minute that the illegal supply of drugs would simply stop. The whole issue is complex, however if drugs were available legally at 'reasonable' cost, I'm sure it would take an awful lot of people out of criminal circles and criminal 'activity', an aspect that affects many others apart from the users and dealers.

Re-educating drug users is in theory a logical step, but I don't think realistically people are ever going to stop wanting mind-altering substances, and unless that is acknowledged I believe such programmes will have a limited effect.

Dickens
Like alcohol, wouldn't it be better to legalise the drugs, control the safety and standard of them and the distribution - and tax them?
Yes to the idea of control the safety and standard of them.
Yes to taxing them and using the money raised specifically for treating drug users addiction and ensuing mental health problems, rather than feeding it into the NHS general fund.
That would benefit drug users and those who need the NHS but are not drug users.

Yes to Portugal’s other idea of re-educating drug users rather than imprisoning them. The money from taxing the drugs could also be put to use here.

But Retread makes a very good point today @ 10:14, which I needn’t quote.

Alcohol and tobacco are legalised and taxed. It doesn’t stop people trying to illegally bring tobacco products and alcohol into the country for resale on the subculture anymore than taxing drugs will stop the drug peddlers and cannabis growers.

Anyone who thinks decriminalisation of illicit drugs will remove the street trade in drugs, is naive. If this was correct, why is there a huge street market in selling prescription drugs e.g. benzodiazepines, painkillers etc.?

Selling drugs to people who are users and/or addicted is a (thriving) subculture that will not easily be changed...

Archaeological research indicates that humans have been taking mind-altering drugs since prehistoric times.

I think we have to accept that they will continue to do so.

When did people first start consuming fermented drinks? Alcohol is a mind-altering substance and is perfectly legal. In principle, why should other substances / drugs not be?

The 'war on drugs' is futile. The drug 'barons' appear to remain largely untouchable, whilst those further down in the pecking order get caught and locked up in an institution where drug culture is rife.

Like alcohol, wouldn't it be better to legalise the drugs, control the safety and standard of them and the distribution - and tax them?

We attempt to educate people on "drinking responsibly", why can't the same principle be applied to other drugs? Alcohol is a drug - I suspect there are only a minority of people who would see it banned completely.

I don't understand how we can logically accept alcohol as a legal drug, but criminalise the use of others that can have a similar effect on an individual.

We should control the drugs instead of allowing the criminal fraternity to make huge profits from them and ruin lives in the process.

I realise I'm in the minority, but I am not convinced that the war-on-drugs will ever be 'won' to any meaningful degree.

PS. I don't "do" drugs, neither do I (for medical reasons) drink alcohol. So I've no 'skin' in this game.

It's called addiction, Mollygo. It's powerful and it affects rational thought.

Yes. But it exactly fits the post.
Don't they say if something doesn't work and you keep doing it regardless of the outcome; thats a sign of insanity?

I was interested to read what Portugal means by decriminalising drugs.
It still means drugs are illegal, and when they’re illegal people will find ways to get them and other people will find ways to sell them.

MerylStreep

fancythat

Of course it isnt a good idea.
It isnt even worth me thinking any more about it.

it wasnt a good idea when this idea came around a decade ago or whenever, and two decades ago, etc etc.
A total non starter of a good idea.

What would you suggest? Because the present system isn’t working.
The only result it’s achieving is making drug barons wealthier by the day and people’s lives a misery.
Do you see county lines scrotes outside school tempting children with vapes which will lead onto them ( the children) going onto be county line runners.

When there are drugs, nothing works anyway.

Mollygo

^Don't they say if something doesn't work and you keep doing it regardless of the outcome; thats a sign of insanity?^

Which is why I don’t understand people using recreational drugs to make themselves feel better.
Then when they find that they don’t feel better, they take more drugs, in the hope that they will make them feel better.
Insanity!

It's called addiction, Mollygo. It's powerful and it affects rational thought.

If you have no addictions just count yourself lucky.

Don't they say if something doesn't work and you keep doing it regardless of the outcome; thats a sign of insanity?

Which is why I don’t understand people using recreational drugs to make themselves feel better.
Then when they find that they don’t feel better, they take more drugs, in the hope that they will make them feel better.
Insanity!

Yes to de-criminalisation of cannabis only and if only controlled sales so skunk is not available (high levels of THC that can cause MH damage) and only cannabis compounds with high levels of CBD available.**

Same reasons as above - takes the criminals out of the picture and dangers of being pushed class A drugs, and frees up police time to pursue Class a drugs offences.

It would of course still be an offence to drive under the influence of cannabis just as it is alcohol or class A drugs.

**
www.healthline.com/health/cbd-vs-thc

Anything that takes the huge profit element out of drugs would be beneficial. I think many would be surprised at how many people take the odd line of cocaine or smoke the occasional spliff. I don't but I drink alcohol and that causes huge problems for some people. Clearly what we are doing now doesn't work, so perhaps it's time to try something different and the Portugal approach is surely worth considering?

Middle class coke users with their party drugs !

No drug taking parents on housing estates ?

I worked in harm reduction (HIV/Aids) in the nineties, we thought we were doing something positive, I am really not sure we were.