Weed - should it be legal?

[i-need-a-martini]

Uruguay has just changed its legislation and is now the first country in the wrold to sanction the growing, selling and smoking of marijuana.

They have done it to put the illegal drug trade and drug traffikers out of business.

Personally I think it makes sense. If nicotine is legal than there is very little difference between the 2.

Your thoughts?

http://www.smh.com.au/world/uruguay-becomes-first-country-to-legalise-marijuana-trade-20131211-hv59x...

[polocross58]

But what does wowserism have to do with weed/grass/dope or the thread title ?

[icyfroth]

puritans take neither alcohol nor "dope" from memory. Or tobacco.

so the point is moot.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

The wowsers refuse to accept the statistics

How many ar illicit drug users are accepting counselling programs in Australia??

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/07/05/ten-years-after-decriminalization-drug-abuse-down-by...

Currently 40,000 people in Portugal are being treated for drug abuse. This is a far cheaper, far more humane way to tackle the problem. Rather than locking up 100,000 criminals, the Portuguese are working to cure 40,000 patients and fine-tuning a whole new canon of drug treatment knowledge at the same time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade

The Illegal drug trade is a global black market that is dedicated to the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of drugs that are subject to drug prohibition laws.

Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws.

A UN report said "the global drug trade generated an estimated US $321.6 billion in 2003."

With a world GDP of US$36 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally.

To sit on your hands and do nothing but expect a policy that is not working to magically work is denial to the "wowserish" extent.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

Just like suggesting that making alcohol an illicit substance because a minority have problems with it is also a farcical

wowserish argument

[icyfroth]

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@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

The wowsers refuse to accept the statistics

How many ar illicit drug users are accepting counselling programs in Australia??

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/07/05/ten-years-after-decriminalization-drug-abuse-down-by...

Currently 40,000 people in Portugal are being treated for drug abuse. This is a far cheaper, far more humane way to tackle the problem. Rather than locking up 100,000 criminals, the Portuguese are working to cure 40,000 patients and fine-tuning a whole new canon of drug treatment knowledge at the same time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade

The Illegal drug trade is a global black market that is dedicated to the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of drugs that are subject to drug prohibition laws.

Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws.

A UN report said "the global drug trade generated an estimated US $321.6 billion in 2003."

With a world GDP of US$36 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally.

To sit on your hands and do nothing but expect a policy that is not working to magically work is denial to the "wowserish" extent.

---

hmmm. So legalise drugs then provide treatment for drug abuse?

does that make sense to you?

they don't call it dope for nothing.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

An example

Alcoholm is a prohibited illicit substance in Saudi Arabia ... biiiiiig black "grog" market there

http://the-saudi-blog.blogspot.com.au/2006/10/alcohol-in-saudi-arabia.html

There are those who come to Saudi with the attitude that alcohol is against the law here and while they are, in effect, guests in this country, they will respect the local laws and customs.

Others feel differently - for them there are many opportunities to obtain and drink various types of alcoholic drink.

One of the first things you come across when you came to live in Saudi Arabia is "sid".This is short for "siddiqi" which is arabic for "my friend"."Sid" is a locally distilled spirit.

A one gallon jar of "un-cut" sid can be bought for about 300-400 riyals (GBP 50-60).Since this "un-cut" sid needs to be diluted one part of sid to one or two parts of water, one gallon of un-cut sid will go a long way.

Sid is usually drunk with a mixer such as coca-cola or tonic. Personally, I don't like it - I think it smells like paintbrush cleaner!

Un-cut sid is extremely powerful and dangerous.

I heard a story about a woman who came out to Saudi to join her husband.

Shortly after she arrived, some friends came to visit while her husband was out.Being polite she offered them a drink and they asked for a sid and coke.

Unfortunately, the sid she severed them was un-cut: it took the guests three days to recover from alcohol poisoning.

The woman's husband was extremely angry with her, although it seems to me that it was not her fault.

Many people brew their own wine.It is easy to do - all you need is grape juice, sugar and yeast.Mind you the results are very variable.

If you are invited round to someone’s house for a drink and you ask for wine, you are playing Russian Roulette.

You may be served something acceptable or it may be absolutely disgusting - and you have to drinkit out of politeness.

Very few people brew beer; it's a little bit more complicated than wine.However, most of the bars serve beer; it's obviously home-made and, for me, it's an acquired taste.

One of the wives on a compound where I used to live brewed some excellent beer.Unfortunately, she returned to the UK before I could get the recipe from her.

Bottles of real spirits can also be bought on the black market.Last time I enquired, the price was 450 riyals (GBP 70) a bottle.A bit too expensive for me and, anyway, I'm not too fond of spirits.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

yes it does

---

@icyfroth wrote:

---

@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

The wowsers refuse to accept the statistics

How many ar illicit drug users are accepting counselling programs in Australia??

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/07/05/ten-years-after-decriminalization-drug-abuse-down-by...

Currently 40,000 people in Portugal are being treated for drug abuse. This is a far cheaper, far more humane way to tackle the problem. Rather than locking up 100,000 criminals, the Portuguese are working to cure 40,000 patients and fine-tuning a whole new canon of drug treatment knowledge at the same time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade

The Illegal drug trade is a global black market that is dedicated to the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of drugs that are subject to drug prohibition laws.

Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws.

A UN report said "the global drug trade generated an estimated US $321.6 billion in 2003."

With a world GDP of US$36 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally.

To sit on your hands and do nothing but expect a policy that is not working to magically work is denial to the "wowserish" extent.

---

hmmm. So legalise drugs then provide treatment for drug abuse?

does that make sense to you?

they don't call it dope for nothing.

---

The option is to yours if you support the current system

ie wait for the black market to supply the counselling and education.

How do you get a drug addict into a room that denies they have a problem and refuses to accept counselling to at least to be open to accept education .

....... offer them cheap drugs.... obviously and control the amount and toxicity ...deeerrrr

[icyfroth]

there will always be underground, under-the-counter markets for illicit trade and substances,

that's where they should stay. unreachable and unaffordable to the general public. especially to the very young.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

Mybe we could bring in the death penalty like the Saudi Arabians.......... that'll work

However, this doesn't compare to the dangers of doing what Abudllah does and illegally importing or selling drugs or booze, crimes for which perpertrators can be thrown in jail, lashed, or even publicly executed.

Increasingly, the mutawa are the ones responsible for finding and catching those deemed guilty of these crimes against Sharia.

http://www.vice.com/read/drug-dealing-in-saudi-arabia-sounds-like-a-very-stressful-business

Regardless of the law and the heavy penalties for breaking it, liquor and many other illicit substances are available in Saudi Arabia—it's just a question of knowing where to look.

A rare study on the topic, published by the World Health Organization in 1998, found that 24 percent of patients at a

hospital in Riyadh had abused alcohol.

More recently, WikiLeaks exposed the royal family's wild parties, which include liquor, cocaine, and prostitutes.

Despite its official status as one of the Middle East's "dry" countries, Saudi Arabians have a reputation for being some of the biggest lovers of black-label whiskey and hashish in the region.

I wanted to find out how true this was, and how easy it is to access illegal substances if you don't happen to be second in line to the country's throne, so I called up Abdullah—who is heavily involved in both the alcohol-and-drugs trade within the kingdom.

[icyfroth]

erm...scuse me, colics...

We are living in AUSTRALIA fgs!