Should we end the drug war in NZ?

[alanzs]

England fans not trashing the place after losing...no, I'd say that speaks volumes for the effects of cannabis. There probably wasn't a mars bar for 100 miles in any direction either

One of the scariest things I've ever seen are the mobs of drunken British tourists outside the pubs in the Red Light district in Amsterdam, screaming, fighting in hordes, barfing and pissing on the ground.

Go near the coffee shops, everyone is mellow, no problems.

[HenryDorsetCase]

DRUGS ARE GOOD BUT PEOPLE ARE FUCKING STUPID

There ya go, fixed that right up for you

[slofox]

Criminal activity nonetheless, according to the law.

Not talking about criminality alanzs - merely correcting the language usage so that it says what it should say - coz I'm a picky bastard when it comes to linguistics.....

[slofox]

[QUOTE=alanzs;1637788]



"I had read that ~40% of all ACC claims were sports related. Ever gone to the A and E on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon? Full of broken, bruised sporties."

I had a major collision with another couple on the dance floor at Saturday night's competition - took all the force on the back of my neck - might have to get some treatment at the expense of ACC....maybe we should ban ballroom dancing as well.........

[Flatcap]

"Regulated like alcohol"

Oh how my sides hurt when I read that...regulated like alcohol - oh that's working SO well eh!!

THE worst drug we have.....

I wonder if the 'other' drugs were legalised and 'regulated' if we would have the same chaos??.

Nothing wrong with booze - it clears my arteries and makes me feel good.

[scumdog]

Nothing wrong with booze - it clears my arteries and makes me feel good.

Riiigghhhtttt......

[alanzs]

Not talking about criminality alanzs - merely correcting the language usage so that it says what it should say - coz I'm a picky bastard when it comes to linguistics.....

Yo bro, me be rather pedantic bout me usage of the lingo as well.
Does "anal retentive" have or need a dash? I always ponder that one....

[Flatcap]

Riiigghhhtttt......

My point being there are positives and negatives of alcohol consumption.

For a few it causes problems and even death - the government attempts to cover this cost through excise.

The other side of the coin is that for the majority of alcohol consumers there are both physical and psychological health benefits of moderate consumption.

Booze isn't inherently evil

[alanzs]

Tobacco and alcohol require nothing but ID and money to purchase.
An endoresment to use pot/alcolhol/cigaretes, like a license may one day be employed to restrict the puchase of said drugs. That would push problem drinkers and smokers underground but then that underground already exists.

It says to me that the Poms and Germans still hate each other after all these years.

It goes way past visiting a tinny house. People after a frequent supply go beyond the $20 foil and head to the suppliers for larger amounts.
Addiction is what keeps people coming back for more and becoming more and more desperate.
Cigarette smokers know the feeling.

I don't think you get a very big dose of Morphine in Hospital do you. And the treatment is kept as brief as possible as long term use is addictive. My partner was on Morphine afer her C section last year and felt only mild pain releif. The druggies take much larger doses too.

It may be hard to understand as you've been smart enough not to walk that path but making hard drugs more available to those with habits is not going to solve anything at all. OK maybe they'll back off the crime to fund their habits but I beleive we'd have a larger number of people in the dire straights of drug hell.

I truly don't advocate drug abuse. I just think that prohibition isn't the answer as it just hasn't worked, as the gentleman in the article so eloquently stated. If people want to use addictive drugs knowing the dangers and get addicted, that's their (mental?) health issue. Just like people choose to ride two wheeled vehicles amongst crowded streets full of significantly larger four wheeled vehicles, even though they know it is life threatening.

With everything we know about tobacco addiction, being more addictive than heroin apparently, why would anyone in their right mind ever start? Maybe they are not in their right mind. There must be other issues which drive them to do it. Low self esteem, wanting to be accepted, I don't know, as addiction is not logical to me. Nobody forces someone to pick up and light that first smoke, or do heroin or P, but they do.

I agree that the thought of addiction is hell, but we all have to make personal choices. We are able to make choices through responsible information and education. The addicted already have the drugs they want, lets just take the profit out of it, so people (gangs, mafia, al qada, etc.), don't prey on their addiction. I am sure the international drug cartels which supply the heroin and other drugs don't want it to be legalized. A heroin addict is fully capable of working and living a "normal" functioning life, when they aren't robbing houses everyday to get the money they need to buy their medicine. This has been proven for years with methadone (heroin replacement) and heroin maintenance (where they are given their heroin by the government) programmes throughout the the world. Lets take the law enforcement and its ancillary industries out of it, so they can focus on other more substantial crimes.

Great responses!

[peasea]

DRUGS ARE GOOD

Some are excellent.

[alanzs]

Some are excellent.

I forget which ones though. I used to know, I think? Hmmm....

[firefighter]

My point being there are positives and negatives of alcohol consumption.

For a few it causes problems and even death - the government attempts to cover this cost through excise.

The other side of the coin is that for the majority of alcohol consumers there are both physical and psychological health benefits of moderate consumption.

Booze isn't inherently evil

I dunno mate I wanted to die on thursday morning! I thought booze was pretty evil then!!! (obviously with shift work my weekends change days)

[scumdog]

I forget which ones though. I used to know, I think? Hmmm....

I got as forgetful and as mad as I am completely without drugs - imagine what I'd be like if I'd used heaps of 'em??

[peasea]

I forget which ones though. I used to know, I think? Hmmm....

Oh that forgetful thing is quite natural, it's called....um....

[alanzs]

I got as forgetful and as mad as I am completely without drugs - imagine what I'd be like if I'd used heaps of 'em??

I, obviously, enjoy a good discussion. Between work, wife, ex-wife, kids and their ongoing dramas, home, bikes, my life is complicated enough without using drugs.

Everyone talks about how easy they are to get. Back in California, I used to see cannabis dispensaries, but here, hell I wouldn't know where even start to look to get illegal drugs, but maybe I'm just square and old, I dunno? I'm a primary school teacher, so I guess I'm out of the loop drugwise. I do see some hot mums though, who get incredibly friendly at times. One asked me for private tutoring at her home just recently.

I have the utmost of sympathy for those who are addicted and the families involved. There was a time when the person made a choice to start taking them, and they made the wrong choice.