It's about personal freedom, rather than pleasure specifically. There is no crime if it's not illegal, wether there is a victim or not - crazy, huh? What's the difference? Seriously? Speed kills, everyone knows that
Yep, freedom it is....but freedom to do what exactly? Freedom to put others at risk? Freedom to inflict a personality controlled by a lightswitch on others? (speaking from personal experience). Freedom to get as high as you like regardless of the children in your care? Like it or nor not individual freedom's have to be balanced against the effects on the wider community.
If you get pinged doing 120 down the straight road you described you'll get an Infringement Notice with a fine and demerit points and in two years time the incident will fade into complete oblivion and insignificance. If you get caught in your living room with a small amount of Cannabis in your posession, regardless of wether you're under the influence at the time, you'll probably get a drugs conviction. You'll have trouble finding employment and you'll enjoy (not) other things like restrictions in international travel and the stigma associated with the conviction. Do you honestly think that's fair? I could live with an Infringement Notice for Cannabis posession, maybe that's the sensible compromise?
First timer with no history I doubt you'd have a conviction recorded, for the very reasons you mention. Fair? Is it fair to cry foul if you are caught drinking/buying alcohol in Saudi Arabia and receive a public flogging? Is it fair to cry foul when receiving a death sentence for importing drugs into Indonesia? In comparison to some of those policies you could argue that the penalty's in NZ are virtually non-existent. But if everyone knows the consequences how is it unfair? And if the consequences are that severe (even though they aren't in comparison to others), the question has to be asked: why do it? It's your future, if you knowingly choose to put it at risk then be prepared to suck up whatever happens.
Why not throw in some gerbils, a knife-thrower and a trapeeze artiste? It's your fantasy. I don't see Mum & Dad having a puff on the couch next to young Billy any more unsavoury than if they were on the piss. It's about what is acceptble in society, something that changes with time and through generations. Under the status quo if young Billy sees dad smoking a doob he probably knows dad is breaking the law, if Cannabis was decriminalised in the same situation nothing really changes except Dads legal status. Fucking crazy.
Hmmm, I thought cannabis was supposed to free the mind? So why the limited imagination? Methinks you need to experience a lil' more life and see the law of unintended consequences played out a few times. "Nothing really changes" in your above argument? You don't think the use of cannabis will massively increase without a deterrent? You don't think that the problems associated with it's use (you may be a god while using it but many folks aren't) will also increase proportionally? You don't think mental/physical health services will feel added burden? Short sighted much? So plenty of known and unknown consequences for what benefit? SFA as far as I can see.
I don't have kids but I'm pretty sure I would have no problem with my hypothetical 17 year-old having a puff. It's not going to kill them, just as having a beer or six probably won't either. There's a million situations where you would go "Oooh, hang on a minute..." with a lot of other issues. People could probably be killed with Marmite if enough effort was put into it. The babysitter could drink a case of Vodka legally and burn the house down while you're out, oh fuck - best we make alcohol illegal, never thought of that.
Why 17 and not 11 for your hypothetical son? It's all good right? But playing the "but what about alcohol?" card is like saying "they're doin' sumthin' stoopid, so I wanna be allowed to do sumthin' stoopid too". Life isn't an episode of "Jackass", although this thread does make me wonder. The inconsistency in your argument is that your gratuitous use of Marmite really only affects you, whereas free use of cannabis (you were talking about freedom, weren't you?) would also affect many (I'm happy to admit not all) families, workmates, and communities. If there was a possibility of there being a net benefit to society then have at it, camp out in the greenhouse and light up the whole crops, I wouldn't give a shit. But doing the math based on my own experience the only major benefits are related to medicinal use for the chronically/terminally ill not wholesale public consumption.
Hey, that's your opinion on the OP and thanks for sharing. You don't know any of that though, do you? You know what we all know from the media reports and based on that information I reckon the girl's a cunt. If you don't like that maybe you should get some counselling too.
That's exactly my point, we don't know a fukn thing about the drivers behind what has happened, but until you know why she's done it jumping to any conclusion is exercising your knee instead of your brain. Seems like common sense to me but as they say, it's obviously not that common these days. She may well just be a spitefull, pious bitch......or as a 10year old she may have been paid a bedroom visit by Uncle Frank while mum and dad giggled away on the couch sharing a joint.
You
just
don't
know.
But hey, if you're prepared to judge someone you don't know, in a situation you know nothing about, be prepared for the same in return. (By the way, good luck with that visa application...)
Counselling? I'm not the one having a tanty in the middle of the supermarket 'cos mummy won't let me have a snickers bar.
I struggle to imagine a situation where an 18 year old Kiwi kid in this day and age could feel scared or threatened by the discovery of their parents two Cannabis plants. If Cannabis wasn't illegal the girl wouldn't be a cunt - chew on that one for a while.
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