Weed legalization in Ireland

olestoepoke · 10-07-2022 11:48pm

I'd be in favour of legalising weed. I'd be somewhat concerned about it's availability to younger people though. I know it's widely available now but would legalising it make it more so.

Anyone who says that smoking weed does not lead to harder drugs is talking bollox. I grew up in the 80s early 90s in Coolock Dublin. Everyone was smoking weed, and I mean everyone. You could write a book about the broken families, suicides and addiction that followed. Not all but many who start smoking weed end up at the very least dabbling in harder drugs and at worst strung out or dead.

Frank Bullitt · 11-07-2022 12:37am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119319699#Comment_119319699

I think the other aspects of the latter part of your post are important though. Cannabis isn’t even remotely as addictive as other hard drugs or alcohol, and the long last effects aren’t as bad either. There are lots of other factors at play in your post as well that sound like they lead to harder drug use.

Cannabis overall doesn’t lead to harder drugs on its own, and implying that it does (you are not doing that, I’m pointing more towards what you’d heard in the media in Ireland) just doesn’t add up. Like I mentioned, it’s used very regularly and recreationally here in Canada, if there was a widespread leading towards harder drugs, it would never have been legalised.

olestoepoke · 11-07-2022 6:01am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119319829#Comment_119319829

Cannabis in itself is relatively harmless when taken in moderation I agree. I disagree that it does not lead to harder drugs among young people because Ive sen it first hand. Smoking hash, which by all accounts is far less potent than some of the weed that's available today in Ireland created a culture that made it easy to transition to harder drugs, I lived it, seen it first hand.

Whole estates of teenagers who started off smoking hash moved on to Coke and Ecstasy and many went on to heroin. Now I get your point that location and circumstance had a part to play but in my opinion the rampant availability and smoking of hash played a significant part.

As a 15/16 year old who regularly smokes weed you are much more likely to be around people who take harder drugs and open to trying a line of coke or ecstasy etc.

Frank Bullitt · 11-07-2022 6:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119320006#Comment_119320006

Not sure I’d fully agree with all of your points, but we can agree to disagree with respect. We didn’t grow up the same so our stances are going to be different of course.

As for the present day, as I’ve seen in Canada, once it’s regulated it is very safe, but there is a longer culture for it here too, so it’s been around. Kinda like how in our youth, we’d remember the pub and all that jazz.

_Kaiser_ · 11-07-2022 8:05am

Oh look, it's the quarterly "let's legalise weed" thread again! This is sure to contain something new!

Let's not! Substance and alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the individual and those around them (especially family) isn't exactly something we have under control as it is - just look at the Garda Traffic twitter account and the amount of drug driving arrests they're already making.

Plus, what do you think will happen to the suppliers and dealers? They'll just shrug their shoulders, say "oh well, it was nice while it lasted?" and head off to the dole office to learn a new trade? Or will they "graduate" to things like burglary, mugging people on the street, etc? The Gardai can't deal with the dealing and junkies in towns and cities as it is.

But we'll get all those extra taxes! Or will it just push it even further underground like cigarettes, leading of course to more quality issues and problems - and I haven't even mentioned the likely effect on an already failing health system.

No thanks. Just as every time this comes up, the only ones it would benefit are the users, not the society around them.

11-07-2022 8:10am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119319699#Comment_119319699

That's removing the conditions of their own lives though, and blaming their use of hard drugs on cannabis. Many people who end up on the harder drugs, grow up in areas where such drugs are easily accessible. Socio-economic considerations are important, as is the background of the family unit itself.

I know many people who have used cannabis.. and very few of them ended up abusing the harder drugs. Some did, but their own **** lives set them up for it.

As for younger people, the problem is largely due to having too much time on their hands. In many of the articles railing about the effects of cannabis, there's a footnote about them not being in school, or having loads of time to hang around their neighbourhoods, or whatever. It's simply easier to blame cannabis for their problems than recognise that society has failed to lead their development properly.

thinkabouit · 11-07-2022 8:37am

Pros and cons to everything

The problem is education

Years back when people smoked hash and went into harder things nobody really knew the dangers

I think it's very different now and teens etc have a bit more cop on these days believe it or not

The same argument can be made from starting to drink a bottle or 2 of beer then going onto whiskey or vodka etc

Or driving a 1 litre car to something more powerful

Point is some people will always chase the next buzz its human nature, most folk become fairly content though

Smoking Cannabis will be fantastic for some people, others it won't. The thing with it is you gotta try it a couple times to get used to it

I think legalise it and grow it/ control it/ tax it and see how things go, I'd be shocked if the cons outweighed the pros

griffdaddy · 11-07-2022 8:52am

(In response to _Kaiser_, boards decided to ignore my quoting)

Ireland is already in the top 6 or 7 for cannabis use in Europe though, so let's not pretend it's not already being consumed in huge quantities. Legalising it will just remove the legal risks for users, which to be honest are far more dangerous than the health risks. And of course it would be to the benefit of the users, you say that like it's bad thing? Cannabis users are regular people who vote and pay taxes too. If it was regulated people could choose products that agree with them better as well, experienced users could still go for 20%THC buds or DAB rigs. Light users could go for 1:1 bud or 5mg edibles. Most weed dealers are either guys who sell a bit to their friends to buy their own grass or else guys who sell other drugs already. There isn't going to be a big shift to criminality from legalising. Alternatively the government could opt to decriminalise growing a couple of plants at home and not have coffeeshops etc. Then only people who were arsed could grow their own without risk of getting a conviction.

11-07-2022 9:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119319658#Comment_119319658

This is a lie used to try and make some sort of point.

al87987 · 11-07-2022 11:05am

Smoked weed regularly for the last 15 years, nothing substantially wrong with it to make it illegal. Definitely not for everybody, but cannot fathom how it remains illegal.

Legalizing would bring down costs and actually give people some knowledge of what they were buying. Imagine wanting an alcoholic drink but never knowing if you're going to get something with the strength of beer, wine or vodka. That's pretty much the state of play at the moment with cannabis so giving people the information to try different strains/strengths would be a gamechanger.

You can't win a "war against drugs" so time to start thinking about new ways of dealing with society's drug problems. Portugal are a good example in this respect.

I've never tried "harder" drugs either so I don't buy the gateway argument. I think your views on this are mostly related to your age, I can't see many under 40's against regulation/legalisation in some form but as usual we have to wait far longer than we should for change.

olestoepoke · 11-07-2022 12:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119320112#Comment_119320112

All valid points but I can simply it, if I'm 14 or 15 and discover weed and really enjoy the feeling of being high you can bet I'll be open to a line of coke or a tab of ecstasy. I know because as I said I lived it, thankfully I was wise enough to quit in my 20s mostly due to emigrating but many many young peoples lives were ruined. On a side note I know people in their 40s and 50s today who started smoking hash at a young age and are still smoking it and it has definitely held them back.

Sleepy · 11-07-2022 1:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119319699#Comment_119319699

I'm genuinely not being facetious here but I'd wager living in Coolock in 80s/90s Dublin had far more to do with the decision of those who moved onto harder drugs to do so than the fact they'd tried and enjoyed weed.

Bobblehats · 11-07-2022 1:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119321188#Comment_119321188

Held them back is an understatement. "You're grounded!"

..oh it's ok mam I have grounded myself but waccy baccy can be as addictive as tobacco itself; which hasn't exactly gone down a storm nowadays and in some cases can cease to be an accompaniment in even replacing tobacco completely. For that extra psychotropic effect!

Relax brah · 11-07-2022 1:06pm

It’ll be decriminalised in every country across Europe before we do it. Yet we are happy to allow a free for all alcohol consumption policy (with the discussion of extending pub opening hours.)

No one has ever been murdered or overdosed on weed. The pros absolutely outweigh the con’s, this is demonstrated in the countries that have decriminalised and especially those who have legalised. Reference US states like Colorado for example

11-07-2022 4:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119320358#Comment_119320358

What is a lie? Go ahead and prove me wrong, rather than some childish comment about lying. Pathetic attempt.

11-07-2022 4:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119321188#Comment_119321188

Smoking cannabis was common in my hometown among the teens back twenty years ago... most ended up drinking alcohol as adults instead. Even though we had the heroin house (where the few addicts in town lived) nearby, and many of us knew a variety of dealers who sold a range of drugs. It really wasn't hard to get our hands on most drugs.. however, the supply would have been very unreliable.

You mention E and Coke as being examples of hard drugs.. I certainly wouldn't consider E to be. More likely to get Speed over Coke, as coke is rather expensive to maintain any kind of habit. Kinda hard to form a habit on coke if you don't have the cash to do so.. and I'm doubting that most teens would have that kind of cash handy.

I've done the range of psychedelics, and most of the party drugs, along with many of the smoking substances.. and it didn't lead me into the hard core drugs.. because I didn't want the addictions involved. As a teen, I saw the heroin addicts and the alcoholics, and knew I didn't want any part of that.

Now, personally, absent the truly addictive drugs, I say that people turn to the harder drugs because of events in their lives, rather than being a stoner. Most people would be peer pressured into doing such drugs, often by a GF/BF, or a close friend. I'd also say that Alcohol is far more a gateway drug than cannabis, due to the buzz involved... and the lessening of inhibitions. I've been offered many drugs while stoned, and I was always capable of refusing (even if it might have took me a few moments to frame the words).

Education is important here. Not simply the general knowledge of the drug, but the real truth about what users lives are like. Not the simplistic stereotypes thrown around about hippy stoners, but the simple reality that people can manage to have successful lives while managing their drug use. A no-nonsense approach to drugs, which assumes that people can decide for themselves if given accurate information. The current approach to talking about drugs is far more likely to convince people to do them.. whenever that person feels even slightly rebellious, which I think most people experience many times in their lives.

11-07-2022 7:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119322549#Comment_119322549

Anyone who has ever been caught with a "small" quantity of weed on them, know that that most Gardai aren't going to chase small-time offenders especially in the local sense. Most dealers are known to the Gardai already, and as long as they avoid the heavy stuff, they're generally left alone.

But nah.. you know better. Without contributing anything to the thread except for accusations of lies, we should accept that you know better. Right.

The biggest lie you've ever read on board.. haha.. what a load of crap.

newgrangepets · 11-07-2022 8:15pm

To be honest, the biggest gateway drug is not weed but rather prescription drugs or polydrug use. I know many people who use drugs apart from cannabis and ecstasy. Most of those who went to harder drugs actually started after getting prescribed sleeping and anti-anxiety tablets like benzos/z-drugs. Combining them with alcohol produced interesting effects and it sparked an interest in other controlled and illegal drugs. In America most heroin users started from prescription painkillers.

Count Dracula · 11-07-2022 9:05pm

I have used Cannabis sporadically and as a recreational "drug" since I was a teenager. In small quantities it is potentially harmless. The grass available these days is far too strong and I do not generally enjoy consuming it. If it were legalised at least consumers would be in a position to quantify and rationalise how much they are taking, this would help them to make better decisions about what they doing. We offer alcohol users the exact same facility and even subsidise the running of the country by taxing its' use, it is a massive no brainer.

Abuse of any stimulant has the potential to cause you problems in life. The biggest drug problem Ireland faces is the ignorance of the entire country, both users and non users, surrounding their use. People using drugs deserve to be protected by the entire community, the only reason they are not tolerated is through fear and bigotry. The reality is that people with serious addiction issues can end up being addicted to anything.

This country needs to grow up and start supporting its' people and give up isolating and chastising them.

People who think that cannabis is a "gateway drug" are essentially clueless. They are entering the entire matter with a slanted attitude on the subject. Tens of millions of Cannabis users do not end up chasing the dragon down dark alleyways. Millionaire entrepreneurs and famous actors or celebrities tend to bang it up in the comfort of their expensive mansion, it happens. There is also a substantial middle ground.

The amount of security resources the state could free up by legalising is huge. In the meantime psychotic parents murder their families without being under the influence of anything apart from a medical imbalance in their head. Over on the next channel Alcohol abuse is claimed to be one of the biggest catalysts for domestic abuse and street violence globally, governments shrug their shoulders and keep taxing it.

People need to stop blaming drugs on everything. It is complete ignorance.

xxxxxxl · 11-07-2022 11:47pm

Weed from the 60s era yeah fine. Supper strains that make people psychotic and depressed not to much.

Ash.J.Williams · 11-07-2022 11:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119316644#Comment_119316644

What?

Overheal · 11-07-2022 11:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119324369#Comment_119324369

But you don't mind eating the corn and vegetables now vs. the ones from the 60s era...

Siri, what's a Glyphosate

xxxxxxl · 12-07-2022 12:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119324414#Comment_119324414

The main differences between cannabis today and cannabis in the 1960s – that is to say, hippie weed – lands mainly on THC content. In the sixties, cannabis strains rarely exceeded 5% of THC content. Today, the mildest strains have between 10-12%, many land around 15 to 20%, and the strongest ones can be as high as 25%.

bit of a difference.

Overheal · 12-07-2022 12:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119324437#Comment_119324437

Indeed, but what I'm getting at is I could say the same thing of just about every modern agricultural strain. The calorie density of your corn and sugar crops does not jive with the 60s.

xxxxxxl · 12-07-2022 12:20am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119324495#Comment_119324495

I don't smoke corn or sugar to get high. Back in the early E days people could take a few upto 7 in some cases. Today half of one could kill you.

Overheal · 12-07-2022 4:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119324504#Comment_119324504

I don't think E grows in the ground though ;)

Eat it or smoke it though corn is not the same animal as the 60s neither is cannabis. You don't need to smoke a chronic little flower bud though, you can much more regiment your intake by making into a butter or shortening for baked goods. Your good butter is just going farther these days than in the 60s, just use less of it and the brownies will taste a bit less weird too :P (follow local laws)

newgrangepets · 17-07-2022 8:31pm

Not to go off topic here but does anyone know if weed is safer to drive on than alcohol? Would never use a car under the influence of any drug but from what I've hard, alcohol and benzos are one of the worst drugs as they affect your short term memory and motor skills. Weed doesn't really do that (and if so not to the same extent).

Frank Bullitt · 17-07-2022 8:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119350573#Comment_119350573

Pretty sure it’s better to not drive under the influence of anything.

17-07-2022 8:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119350573#Comment_119350573

It's still a drug, with a variety of side-effects depending on that persons body chemistry. I've driven stoned a few times, but I ended up crawling along at slow speeds, like the stereotypical old person, hesitating at any kind of junction. I know others who can/do drive stoned, without any issues but it's not something I'd do myself.

It really comes down to the tolerance you've managed to build up to weed. If you're practiced at doing normal daily activities while being stoned, likely you'd have few problems with driving. Whereas for me, when I'm stoned, I'm always at home. I've always hated being stoned outside around other people. So.. it comes down to your tolerance, and the kind of experience you've gained.. both of which come with time, and a bit of "work".

17-07-2022 8:48pm

The trouble with the Drager cannabis test is that you can fail it next day after taking it when you are not under any effects from it. Then they take a blood sample which can show up to a week or more, which is very unfair

Weed legalization in Ireland

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