Legalize Marijuana (in UK)

[Dj-Clit]

Originally Posted by Hamburger

Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal uses. Someone who has cancer rather go smoke a joint than pop an oxycotin. While the opiates seemingly more harmful to your body with rapid addiction rates. While with marijuana only physciological aspects of the drug are addicted to some. It's going to be abused, whether is legal or not. Also to some its might as well be legal because they only have a small acount and never get caught.

I'm pretty sure it's already legal here for medical use's not quite sure though =/

[kissmydi*]

Originally Posted by Gamezman

Hey all

I just wanted to know what your thoughts are on the legalization of cannabis in your country or the UK.

I think it should be legalized, its the most used drug in UK only behind alcohol. I think Police waste their time and could be fighting more harder crimes with their time.

With a new Mayor, Boris Johnson it could happen?

What are your thoughts on it?

you are joking?
we have enough problems as it is?

[Gamezman]

Legalize it pleaseeeeeeee

Been caught twice with weed on me by police. First time wasnt that much, second was a Que (£40) so got a written warning. If im caught again serious shizzle lol

PLZZZZZZZZ LEGALIZEEE

[fgjk]

Originally Posted by Mr.Lucifer

Congratulations! You managed to make yourself look like a complete retard with your lacking knowledge of marijuana. It's marijuana, not LSD, or steroids.

What are some of the immediate effects of smoking marijuana?
Some immediate physical effects of marijuana include a faster heartbeat and pulse rate, bloodshot eyes, and a dry mouth and throat. No scientific evidence indicates that marijuana improves hearing, eyesight, and skin sensitivity. Studies of marijuana's mental effects show that the drug can impair or reduce short-term memory, alter sense of time, and reduce ability to do things which require concentration, swift reactions, and coordination, such as driving a car or operating machinery.

[sarcasm]Gee, That definately doesn't sound awfully like driving under the influence, and we all know that doesn't kill people [/sarcasm]

[Hamburger]

Marijuana has been used for thousands of years and only introduced to americans in the late 19th, early 20th century. Im sure some type of warriors used it for its medical properties a long time ago to deal with aches and pains. People use it today for aches and pains. People see alchohol as less dangerous drug because it's "Legal", just like tobacco. Yet the combined deaths of alchohol and tobacco use greatly outnumber those of narcotics, marijuana ( if any) and any type of harmful illegal drug.

[Mr.Lucifer]

Originally Posted by fgjk

[sarcasm]Gee, That definately doesn't sound awfully like driving under the influence, and we all know that doesn't kill people [/sarcasm]

And people smoke weed and drive often? Alcohol is way more dangerous, yet that is legal?

[LordShaft]

EFFECTS:
There are several effects of marijuana and some of the most common are:
• Impairment of short-term memory in some users – It is proven that Marijuana's damage to short-term memory seems to occur because THC alters the way in which information is processed by some parts of the brain such as hippocampus
• Enhancement of many other drug effects such as alcohol, Ecstasy, tobacco, heroin, cocaine…
• Auditory or visual hallucinations
• Amnesia
• Increased appetite
• Varying degree of euphoria, ranging from feelings of general well-being to lengthy pointless laughter
• Relaxation or stress reduction
• Increased heart rate
• Mild, temporary dry mouth
• Varying amounts of paranoia and anxiety in some users


Effects on the Brain

When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain.

The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate.

Effects on the Heart
One study has indicated that an abuser's risk of heart attack more than quadruples in the first hour after smoking marijuana. The researchers suggest that such an effect might occur from marijuana's effects on blood pressure and heart rate and reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.


Effects on the Lungs
A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than non-smokers. Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.

Even infrequent abuse can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly might have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency to obstructed airways. Smoking marijuana possibly increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck.

Marijuana abuse also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke. It also induces high levels of an enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form—levels that may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells.

Other Health Effects
Some of marijuana's adverse health effects may occur because THC impairs the immune system's ability to fight disease.

Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use on Learning and Social Behavior

Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances have been associated with chronic marijuana use. Because marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember information, the more a person uses marijuana the more he or she is likely to fall behind in accumulating intellectual, job, or social skills. Moreover, research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on memory and learning can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off

Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their nonsmoking peers. A study of college students found that, among those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the 30 days prior to being surveyed, critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired, even after the students had not taken the drug for at least 24 hours.

More recently, the same researchers showed that the ability of a group of long-term heavy marijuana abusers to recall words from a list remained impaired for a week after quitting, but returned to normal within 4 weeks. Thus, some cognitive abilities may be restored in individuals who quit smoking marijuana, even after long-term heavy use.

Effects of Exposure During Pregnancy

Research has shown that some babies born to women who abused marijuana during their pregnancies display altered responses to visual stimuli, increased tremulousness, and a high-pitched cry, which may indicate neurological problems in development. During the preschool years, marijuana-exposed children have been observed to perform tasks involving sustained attention and memory more poorly than nonexposed children do. In the school years, these children are more likely to exhibit deficits in problem-solving skills, memory, and the ability to remain attentive.
After you smoke marijuana, its ingredients reach their peak levels in your body within minutes, and effects can last up to an hour and a half. When eaten — the plant is sometimes mixed with food — the ingredients can take several hours to reach their peak levels in your body, and their effects may last for hours.

Possible medical uses

Nausea
One of THC's medical uses best supported by research is the treatment of nausea. It can improve mild to moderate nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy and help reduce nausea and weight loss in people with AIDS.
Younger people may find marijuana more useful as a treatment for nausea than do older people — who may not tolerate its mind-altering side effects as well. The prescription form, dronabinol, also may produce psychological side effects that make it inappropriate for some older people. Doctors generally prescribe several kinds of newer anti-nausea drugs with fewer side effects before resorting to dronabinol.

Glaucoma
This disease is marked by increased pressure in the eyeball, which can lead to vision loss. Scientists discovered that smoking marijuana reduced pressure in the eyes.

Pain
People widely used marijuana for pain relief in the 1800s, and several studies have found that cannabinoids have analgesic effects. In fact, THC may work as well in treating cancer pain as codeine, a mild pain reliever

Multiple sclerosis
Research results on the effectiveness of cannabinoids in the treatment of the tremors, muscle spasms and pain of multiple sclerosis (MS) — a disease of the nervous system that can cause muscle pain — are mixed. A 2003 study found that cannabinoids significantly reduced pain in people with multiple sclerosis.
Some scientists feel that more research may show cannabinoids useful in treating MS. Marijuana may protect nerves from the kind of damage that occurs during the disease.

In colonial America, "hemp" was a major agricultural crop; both Washington and Jefferson raised it. Hemp was valuable because you could use its fibers for rope and canvas and its seeds for soap, lamp oil and birdseed.


I'm doing a presentation on it in school atm acctualy

[Mr.Lucifer]

"Effects on the Lungs
A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than non-smokers. Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.

Even infrequent abuse can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly might have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency to obstructed airways. Smoking marijuana possibly increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck.

Marijuana abuse also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke. It also induces high levels of an enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form—levels that may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells."

Really depends how you smoke it, and what is in it. If you buy from some shady guy in a country where marijuana is illegal it's a high chance it has been mixed out with other stuff.

In NL it's legal. I'd like to see a study on what kind of extra health issues someone who visits a cafè twice a week has.

[Gamezman]

LoL

I doubt it will happen in the UK now, its been reclassified to class B from C.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Cannabis laws to be strengthened

EVEN THOUGH, ITS GOING AGAINST EXPERTS ADVICE!

[An Amateur]

All drugs, even the legal ones, even one certified for medical use are potentially bad for you, some more than others. When being treated for many illnesses a person may be pumped full of drugs which are probably toxic to the body and obviously could kill you if misused. The difference is, when your treated by doctors, they know the risks (we hope) and know what does will correct the problem before causing permanent harm to you.

Considering that if Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and that is legal to sell why not legalise it? Licenced pot houses would be safer than buying from some shady dealer off the street. It would then take away money from the criminal drug dealers and put it into government pockets (as it would obviously be taxed). Also if you had a place like a pub where people could go to get stoned you could have people who know the risks and dangers and when people have had too much etc, it would be safer.

I know thats not very well put. I personaly do not smoke and don't particually have a desire to do so. I just feel that the government and sociaty is hypocritical when alcohol and bacci is legalised. At least if they licenced weed they would be giving people free choice anmd not be hypocrites.

My point being that canabis is probably damaging on a similar level as alcohol (if not less so) IF it were to be legalised, it could be licenced and in some way regualted and therby probably safer.

[Chokichi]

Originally Posted by Fail9000

Marijuana effects people in different ways, to some it can cause mental ilnesses like being constantly paranoid and schizophrenia etc


Sure alcohol is bad, but you can't replace a brain.

I honestly don't know if it should be legalized or not.

yeah but there are only so many livers you can replace, not to mention the aggression brought on by alcohol, alcohol is much worse than cannabis, so many people go out and drink regularly, much like cannabis except alcohol destroys your liver and everyones peace and houses... whereas cannabis is a relaxation drug which just calms you down... i can't see many downfalls of making it legal, although atm its class C drug at the age of 17+ you are entitled to carry up to a certain amount and are allowed to use it within your own house.. although there is a strong rumor going around to say that cannabis is being moved up to a class B drug within the next 3 years...

[Pitbull]

They cant legalize marijuana because marijuana is a gateway drug.

[Mr.Lucifer]

Originally Posted by Pitbull

They cant legalize marijuana because marijuana is a gateway drug.

Is it the drug or the environment which is gateway? Everyone I know who smoke aren't heroine addicts. It's because they don't buy it from dealers on the street.

Originally Posted by http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gateway+drug

90% of drug addicts have tried marijuana. marijuana is a gateway drug
100% of drug addicts have tried water. is water a Gateway drug?

[An Amateur]

Are alcohol and tobacco gateway drugs too? The main reason they don't want to legalise canabis is because drugs are dangerous, no matter if its canabis, crystal meths or alcohol. The reason alcohol and tobacco are legal is historical and cultural, its something that cannot be changed so easily. America tried to ban alcohol once, that didn't last either.

@Lucifer, I'm sure most people would agree that there is no one defining factor. Just because not everyone who tries a drug becomes an adict does not mean its not a gateway drug for those 90% of adicts. Water is not comparable as it has no reasonable link. Water we all need to survive, drugs we don't. All drugs have something in common, they alter your natural state, therefore one thing that alters your natural state is more likely to leed you to try other things that have similar effects.
As they upgraded the drug to class B against expert advice it shows that it is for political reasons, there trying to win votes.