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Life is sometimes sort of okay because...

Started by House of Usher, 23 March, 2009, 05:17:47 PM

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JayzusB.Christ

Quote from: Link Prime on 01 November, 2018, 09:40:34 AM
Each to their own of course, but I always found it pretty repulsive.


Think that's the important point here (though I'd take the bottle of Scotch every time as well).
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

Trout

DanDontDare: its huge business here. They've run out completely. Cannabis companies are booming, especially producers, and the market is expected to grow and diversify. For example, companies including Molson and Coca-Cola are planning to bring out cannabis drinks. (Fun story, though!)

JamesC: I'm not sure I follow the logic of keeping it illegal so organized crime is less nasty. I feel it's better to redeploy police resources into dealing with more damaging crimes.

Other points to note:
I also like Scotch.
Irish whisky is, at best, just about OK.
The cannabis I bought sent me high as a kite and was very, very good. I still have three and a half joints left, if anyone wants to come and visit.

- Trout

Fungus

It's hard to argue.

Smoked trout is lovely.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Trout on 01 November, 2018, 11:40:54 PM
JamesC: I'm not sure I follow the logic of keeping it illegal so organized crime is less nasty. I feel it's better to redeploy police resources into dealing with more damaging crimes.

Also, one of the key arguments against legalisation — "soft drugs lead to hard drugs" — is idiotically circular. Soft drugs lead to hard drugs because you have to buy them from drug dealers whose business model is much better served if they can get you onto cocaine or heroin, which has better profit margins and guarantees repeat business.
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NapalmKev

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 02 November, 2018, 09:44:46 AM
Quote from: Trout on 01 November, 2018, 11:40:54 PM
JamesC: I'm not sure I follow the logic of keeping it illegal so organized crime is less nasty. I feel it's better to redeploy police resources into dealing with more damaging crimes.

Also, one of the key arguments against legalisation — "soft drugs lead to hard drugs" — is idiotically circular. Soft drugs lead to hard drugs because you have to buy them from drug dealers whose business model is much better served if they can get you onto cocaine or heroin, which has better profit margins and guarantees repeat business.

Indeed. As a long time smoker of the dreaded 'Erb I've often pointed out to sceptics that buying said product from a shop is far preferable to meeting some guy I hardly know in an area I'm not familiar with
. Selling from a shop would also force a certain quality of product. Mr Greengrocer wouldn't get away with selling contaminated Weed - Sprayed with chemicals or covered in minute fragments of glass, all of which is designed to give the illusion of 'Crystals'.

Jim also makes a good point about exposure to hard drugs buy having to buy illegally. Mr Greengrocer wouldn't be allowed to sell Heroin and Crack Cocaine - the shit that really damages you and has turned very nice people into horrible bastards that would happily steal a handbag from an elderly lady.

Admittedly, the act of smoking will damage you (Fag anyone) but you can eat weed quite easily with no ill effects.

I'm not suggesting everyone should smoke it but at the same time I see absolutely nothing wrong with Weed. And I can't stand Whiskey!

Cheers
"Where once you fought to stop the trap from closing...Now you lay the bait!"

JamesC

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 02 November, 2018, 09:44:46 AM
Quote from: Trout on 01 November, 2018, 11:40:54 PM
JamesC: I'm not sure I follow the logic of keeping it illegal so organized crime is less nasty. I feel it's better to redeploy police resources into dealing with more damaging crimes.

Also, one of the key arguments against legalisation — "soft drugs lead to hard drugs" — is idiotically circular. Soft drugs lead to hard drugs because you have to buy them from drug dealers whose business model is much better served if they can get you onto cocaine or heroin, which has better profit margins and guarantees repeat business.

To be honest, I was more communicating a train of thought than suggesting a serious policy decision. I was questioning whether lots of money was truly being wasted on policing or prosecuting 'those who partake' specifically. From my own experience, it doesn't appear so (it seems those who partake are pretty much left to get on with it, as are small time dealers, but those with warehouse sized hydroponic operations or large scale smuggling rackets are stamped on. When this happens it's usually reported that it was part of a larger organised criminal operation). Jim's point about ethnicity or class background playing a part in how the police deal with the users wasn't something I'd previously considered.
To be honest I really don't know enough about the drugs trade, crime statitics or policing to make a serious argument. 
My own feelings about canabis are drawn from my own personal experiences - all of which lead me to believe it's vile. That's personal bias, it's just one of those things I have an emotional reaction to and when someone suggests legalisation or espouses the benfits of smoking weed there's a voice in side my head screaming 'fuck no'!

JayzusB.Christ

The voice in one's mind isn't necessarily logical or correct (and I do realise you're not arguing otherwise).

I've had horrendous panic attacks and paranoia while smoking weed, and have found it sucks away my energy and ambition. On the other hand, I have friends who function perfectly well in everyday life despite being regular smokers.  (Indeed, one of Tharg's most talented and well-established script droids regularly posts about the joys of 'magic fags'.) Solution: I'll avoid it, and they can smoke it.

Jim is absolutely spot on about the ridiculous gateway drug argument, and it's something I've argued against for a long time.  The silliest thing about it is that I've heard it from hardened drinkers who are oblivious to the fact that they're utterly dependent on a far more serious drug which, due to its legality, they never see in the same light.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

Mardroid

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 02 November, 2018, 12:19:25 PM
The voice in one's mind isn't necessarily logical or correct (and I do realise you're not arguing otherwise).

I've had horrendous panic attacks and paranoia while smoking weed, and have found it sucks away my energy and ambition. On the other hand, I have friends who function perfectly well in everyday life despite being regular smokers.  (Indeed, one of Tharg's most talented and well-established script droids regularly posts about the joys of 'magic fags'.) Solution: I'll avoid it, and they can smoke it.

Jim is absolutely spot on about the ridiculous gateway drug argument, and it's something I've argued against for a long time.  The silliest thing about it is that I've heard it from hardened drinkers who are oblivious to the fact that they're utterly dependent on a far more serious drug which, due to its legality, they never see in the same light.

True. And one that can effect the consumer differently too.

For example, if I drink too much alcohol, I'll go a bit silly and sleepy.  At worst it will make me sick (literally).

When some other guys take it, they turn into violent wife punching scumbags. And they might actually be genuinely nice blokes the rest of the time.

I'm not arguing for legalisation of weed, but I can see there are double standards at work here.

Tjm86

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 02 November, 2018, 09:44:46 AMone of the key arguments against legalisation — "soft drugs lead to hard drugs" — is idiotically circular. Soft drugs lead to hard drugs because you have to buy them from drug dealers whose business model is much better served if they can get you onto cocaine or heroin, which has better profit margins and guarantees repeat business.

Which is also pretty much the same business model as the drinks industry, isn't it?

Trout

I wish to add that I'm not much of a pot smoker. Like many people here, I bought it out of curiosity and have been most amused that it arrived, legally, in the mail. I enjoyed smoking it but doubt I'll do it too often. I know the health implications so I'm not treating it any differently to unhealthy food that I might eat sometimes.

JayzusB.Christ

#2365
Quote from: Tjm86 on 02 November, 2018, 06:43:37 PM
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 02 November, 2018, 09:44:46 AMone of the key arguments against legalisation — "soft drugs lead to hard drugs" — is idiotically circular. Soft drugs lead to hard drugs because you have to buy them from drug dealers whose business model is much better served if they can get you onto cocaine or heroin, which has better profit margins and guarantees repeat business.

Which is also pretty much the same business model as the drinks industry, isn't it?

Not really, no. The alcohol industry has no real interest in getting you hooked on more dangerous drugs, mainly because they're illegal and drinks companies will not make a profit.  The drinks industry just wants you to buy more of the same. The weed industry would only want you to buy more weed, were it legal here.

And I'm speaking as a man who is half-pissed right now and doesn't particularly enjoy weed.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

Theblazeuk

I'm long late to this thread but I went to Las Vegas for CES this year and popped into a dispensary on a long walk out of the (ghastly, horrible) town.

By god it was nice. Water features, cabinets of choices, various paraphernalia, airy & well-lit and lovely... High tech ordering/waiting system, friendly and informative people.

The difference between that and my most common experience of waiting around for hours in a street to meet some anonymous bloke operating under the dispatcher 'Morgan' or 'Saj' and getting some miscellaneous bag of plant was literally mind-boggling. It was probably the nicest place I went in Vegas. And all of that 'oh this is kush, blueberry, but you should try bubblegum etc etc" actually makes sense if you can reliably get similar products on a semi-regular basis. Previously i just dismissed all that as dealer bullshit.

Oh for the day the UK is able to get in line with American state law. In some ways, we're so far behind on really easy wins. It's a quieter moral minority but they're no less entrenched. Here's to the hand of death!

Hawkmumbler

The much missed Manchester branch of Fopp reopened this week after several months of speculation. It's good to have the place back, a concert or Sunday cinema crawl wasn't quiet the same without a visit to pick up a new Vinyl or Blu-ray.

It's the little things.

Dandontdare

All the phones have been down at work (it's a call centre) for the last couple of hours, and no sign of a fix before we close at 8 . The managers are wandering round 'offering' that we can leave early and work the hours back later, but they can't make us, so most of us are just sitting playing on our phones, surfing the net or reading, and getting paid for it. nice.

JayzusB.Christ

I always had a mini-ambition of going to see A Midsummer Night's Dream around midsummer - not that I'm any Shakespearian scholar or theatre buff; far from it; I just love the idea of fairy kings and pucks and shit playing tricks and changing people into donkeys in the woods on summer solstice night.

So I found a production in a park on Thursday, set off, got stuck in traffic and roadworks, missed the first half but really enjoyed the second, in some lovely park I've never been to before on a warm evening.

Was still a wee bit miffed to have missed so much of it, but then found another outdoor production of it on tonight, in Dublin's very pretty and fairy-ish Botanic Gardens. Had a nice time, lying on the grass in the evening sun, drinking wine, watching a very different version of it from Thursday's one.

So, realising a small ambition one and a half times in one week: I'll take it.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"