Interestingly it is legal in the Netherlands to sell cannabis in the cafes but it is not legal to grow it nor technically to deliver it to said cafes.
The arguement that because alcohol causes x amount of harm and is a legal drug does little to convince me to add another serious drug to the legal list. Smoking is legal but you're not too clever if you keep up that habit. At least these days with all the laws governing smoke free zones you only affect yourself and close family.
In the US more people are in rehab for cannabis than all other serious drugs combined(I suspect this does not include alcohol)

Indulge if you must but don't expect the community at large to condone or approve.

Billie “Col Blimp”

If you want to play games with my non-de-plume billie, try being original. Using corrupted epithets is not original, it is infantile. If I wished, I could do wonders with double entendre applied to you, like “little willie” but I will save us all on condition you agree to lift your game.

Now “There are countless lives destroyed through drink drive car accidents, and alcohol is still legal.” I think I alluded to that when I said of alcohol “accompanied by some other action, like driving a motor vehicle.”

Regarding “proven to induce cancer, blindness, limb amputation etc”
I further suggested of smoking “I have never seen a tobacco smoker attempt to murder someone else due to the effects of taking tobacco, regardless of what damage he may be doing to himself.”
“Cancer, blindness amputation” being some of the “damage he may be doing to himself”

So repeating my posts and arguing against me is a little “paradoxical” to say the least.

Now “Cannabis is a remarkable crop that has been used to manufacture paper,” a remarkable crop with the capacity to turn people into mentally dysfunctional cripples.

In my post, I never ignored the down-side of tobacco or alcohol. You, in contrast, have acclaimed cannabis almost as the wonder drug of the modern era, ignoring the fact that its use can turn people murderous and suicidal psychotics and schizophrenics

Spendocrat “it would not have been the only factor.” I am relying on the statements relayed by her parents to the investigating police officers who then uttered then in my presence.

Re “alcohol is responsible for 1000 times as many deaths,” largely because of its historic regulated production and consumption and acceptability across a wider section of the community (per capita indulgence).

Around 100 years ago many things were legal, cocaine, opiates, cannabis etc. Before you demand the laws which were invoked to make their trade illegal be revoked, I suggest you read a little about the prevailing social conditions which created the impetus to declare these substances illegal, excepting for tobacco and alcohol.

Nothing you have said mitigates against the fact that the use of drugs of any kind, especially those which directly interfere with a persons cognitive and reasoning skills, are dangerous and potentially lethal. I do drink in moderation but I have not bothered to get “drunk” in decades, I have a better time sober than I would looking at the world through a haze of alcohol, cannabis or any other media used to induce oblivion.

I don't like marijuana. It is not my cup of tea at all.

I don't like what it does to people. It is more harmful to smoke than tobacco. I am aware of hash cookies. I know there are some medical uses for some people. I like to have my awareness in its natural form.

I am, however, a stickler for researching policy. Goku, you have not done your homework and the Green's latest policy on Marijuana. None of their policies encourage lawlessness, Goku.

The Greens policy on this drug is to "regulate" the drug, and allow the government to control and regulate. In so doing, this is a health issue that needs to be taken seriously, especially if the "war on drugs" is one of those wars that will never end.

Civilization demands us to take responsibility for any degenerate behaviour that threatens our chances to survive. To drive something underground and therefore out of reach for government to manage defeats the purpose. Surely we want solutions and less drug related dementia cases.

This is one bull that needs to be taken by the horns.

For those with terminal illnesses like Cancer or HIV, then regulated prescription under medical supervision should be made possible.

As for customs and international drug trafficking, the Greens policy strongly confirms the current practice of stopping all drug trafficking into the country.

I just thought that some of you might need some myths to be dispelled.

It is not as free and easy as some may think. It is, however, a responsible policy that health experts have endorsed.

I studied the policies from the other political parties too. They are in need of development: they wouldn't have a clue what they are talking about.

Col said: ‘…especially those which directly interfere with a persons cognitive and reasoning skills, are dangerous and potentially lethal.’

Right. I’m not claiming otherwise. What’s your point? Because my point is that some of these drugs are legal and some aren’t, which = double standard! And that the illegality of marijuana does absolutely nothing to help people who may be suffering from it, and in fact can make the problem worse. You’re just saying it’s bad for you. Trust me, I get it. But what I’m saying is: that’s not the issue.

The Netherlands has a much lower ratio of pot smokers (something like 5% compared to Australias 15-20%. The US is on about 35% I think), most of the café’s get by on tourism. They’ve established that one of the reasons for this is because youth often smoke not despite the law, but because of the law. For the Dutch youth, smoking weed is not a rebellious act, and they are not so attracted to the idea.

See? Sensible laws = less smokers.

And you’ve said twice now that you like being sober: good for you! You’re talking as if you would be forced to smoke it or something. Changing a law so I’m no longer considered a criminal would have absolutely zero effect on your life.

cont..

‘…ignoring the fact that its use can turn people murderous and suicidal psychotics and schizophrenics’

Any objective person who knew the facts of the substance would agree with me that you are blowing these cases waaay out of proportion. There have been cases where marijuana has triggered psychosis. These cases are in the tiny minority within the ‘abusers’ category, not ‘users’ (much smaller minority than the proportion of drinkers who suffer from a whole range of health problems in the long term). Within that tiny minority, there is an even tinier proportion of cases where that psychosis has stuck around long enough to cause serious problems, like the incident you described. It does not change the fact that in terms of health risks, marijuana is a much lower risk than alcohol. In fact, psychosis is about the only established risk with weed, as opposed to alcohol that causes a huge range of health problems, to your skin, liver, brain, heart, kidneys, colon, stomach, on and on.

‘yeah-but-weed-is-bad-for-you’ aarrrgrhhhh…..