March for the Legalisation of Cannabis

by seedot Wed May 14, 2008 11:00

1. cost of policing a victimless crime

2. criminalising large numbers of people

3. providing a business opportunity for criminals

4. introducing otherwise law abiding people to criminals

5. prevents access to useful natural medicines

6. introduces difficulties in hemp farming

so probably the question should be reversed - can anybody give a rationale for criminalisation?

Obviously the main benefit of decriminalisation / legalisation for society will be the availability of good quality reliable smoke ;-)

by Seán Wed May 14, 2008 09:28

Can anyone explain the benefits of having it legalised. The benefits for the greater Irish public, I mean.

The economic argument is the main one but I would imagine that with taxes imposed on it, people might be more inclined to circumvent the 'system' and get it more cheaply from their pre-legalisation sources who, by and large, would probably still be operating under the radar.

When that argument is taken out, are there many other good reasons for it to be legalised?

by dude Tue May 13, 2008 20:23

Hey guys in legalise cannabis ireland can you do a decent article for the site please there must be some great photo's out there that can convey what a great event this was!

by minnehaha Tue May 13, 2008 19:39

All alkoholics started on milk - ban milk!!!

by macker33 Tue May 13, 2008 02:15

I havent smoked hash for a very very long time but i did for years and years,
I must have come up with every arguement for legalisation,i was a full time hash head after all,

Legalising hash is a good idea for lots of reasons,
1.standardisation for one thing,the deals are bound to be bigger.
2,think of all the money spent in police operations in their fight against hash,not only could they divert this money to the hospitals but they could also divert any tax profits to the hospitals.
3.little drugs lead to bigger drugs?its very simple,take the little drugs away from dealers,there will be less dealers and people just looking for blow wont come into contact with harder drugs.
4.I know this from experience,hash is the next best painkiller after morphene,its not quite as effective as morphene but morphene its too nice,hash is the best alternative and can be smoked every day without fear of addiction.

by squirrel Mon May 12, 2008 22:10

A great march well organised entertaining from start to finish. It had a great air of an unruly mob about it. If it didn't take us any closer to legalisation it certainly had some punters on the streets very puzzled and attitudes were definitely changed in passers by.

Well done to all concerned

by Mike - Judean Popular Peoples Front Mon May 12, 2008 18:06

Yes Shirley Ive been to the Netherlands and strolled on my own through a public park in a major city at 11pm at night -Something I (or any other vaugely sane person) wouldnt dream of doing back in the UK or Ireland.

Contrary to popular misconception cannabis is NOT legalised in the Netherlands (Decriminalisation is not the same as legalisation). So your bizzare assertion that "It"* has got worse since legalisation simply isint supported by the facts. So put down your Daily Mail and pay a visit to the real world.

* = Not that you are entirely clear what "it" refers to

by Realist Sun May 11, 2008 20:04

I went ot the march yesterday,there was about 1500 people at it it was deadly craic and the samba band ho-down on oconnell street afterwards really brought back old RTS memories
Fair play
Legalisation is the responsible,adult and respectful approach

by lulu Sun May 11, 2008 19:56

The legality of drugs is somewhat arbitrary though: most of those declared illegal were made so by pressure from the USA & England in the 1920s. Caffeine & baccy & others remained accessible.
It doesn't bother me what people take, it's whether they're decent & can work well that's important. I didn't mind dopers working for me, as plenty of them were OK, but couldn't say the same for boozers! Too moody even if they were OK workers.
I said, re motivation, that cannabis CAN demotivate, not that it always does. I wouldn't bother with it now, as health & freedom are more important, but why shldn't some1 enjoy a non-addictive high if they do no harm?

by Shirley Sun May 11, 2008 17:13

Ever went to the Netherlands? Legalised yes but it is worse than before legalisation. The whole country is one big mess and this is partially due to the legalisation.
Did you know that drugs and alcohol and even cigarettes are a perfect tool to keep the ordinary people from uprising? As long as Joe Doe is happy he will not see what is going on. And meanwhile the government takes away your rights and your money.
The only way to get rid of the problems surrounding illegal drugs: Don’t take the drugs!

by G - Legalise Cannabis Ireland Sun May 11, 2008 14:24

On O'Connell St numerous passerbys joined in. The numbers were more like 1,500 there. By the time we reached the Dail it was hovering round 1000 for about 20mins then dropped off somewhat.

by Cork Sun May 11, 2008 12:57

Wether you agree with it or not,cannabis is here to stay. Evidently the laws have never and will never work and as cannabis is always going to be consumed, we should introduce harm reduction techniques and regulate the supply of it.....while forcing a billion euro industry into our economy with the benifits of eliminating dealers, providing a cheap reliable medicine, not wasting gardai time, feeding other services; food cinema etc, taking advantage of the hemp industry.... it produces 4 times as much pulp as trees do. you can make paper, plastic, rope, clothes and even concrete from it.

to say that cannabis is demotivating is a lie to me. As an experienced user, I can differentiate between drug use and misuse... when cannabis is used properly there are no demotivational syntomns.... for example i use cannabis to reward myself and I motivate myself towards working harder to appreciate it better.

Misuse will only spiral more uncontrolably with this current scenario..... legalisation is all about ending the misuse of drugs. I have had to learn for myself and experience everything alone.... I started smoking hash at 14/15. I regret this and I hope that someday others will not have to learn by trial and error, but we can educate people properly on how to respect all drugs and live in a society without dealers, misuse and criminalisation something less harmfull than the current recreational (and a lot of medical) drugs.

by lulu Sat May 10, 2008 20:47

The brewers & pharmaceutical companies don't want it legal. Cannabis does have its downside if over-indulged - it can be a great demotivator, & all smoking carries a risk of cancers & cardio-vascular problems - but it doesn't seem anyway near as bad as too much booze.