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Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=10576		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/ ... on-pertwee

Quote:
Cannabis for recreational use should be available in shops under similar restrictions to those used to control the sale of alcohol and tobacco, according to Britain's leading expert on the drug.

Under one scenario, people would be able to apply for a licence to buy cannabis products once they reach the age of 21, provided they have the approval of a doctor, he said.

The drug would be regulated by a body that ensures the quality and safety of the products before they go on sale.

A rethink of the laws surrounding cannabis and related products was necessary to take cannabis out of the hands of criminals, said Roger Pertwee, professor of neuropharmacology at Aberdeen University.

In the 1970s, Pertwee co-discovered THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

Speaking ahead of a talk this week at the British Science Festival in Birmingham, Pertwee said: "In my view, we don't have an ideal solution yet to deal with recreational cannabis. We should consider licensing and marketing cannabis and cannabis products just as we do alcohol and tobacco.

"At the moment, cannabis is in the hands of criminals, and that's crazy. We're allowed to take alcohol, we're allowed to smoke cigarettes. Cannabis, if it's handled properly, is probably not going to be any more dangerous than that."

New Scientist some years ago did a whole issue about Cannabis and it was considered the safest of all the main vices, alcohol, tobacco or cannabis.
Author:  big_D [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 4:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
And in the next breath, the court put George Michael in prison for crashing his car whilst under the influence of Cannabis... We have enough problems with people driving drunk or with normal cigarattes, we don't need yet another, common danger on the roads. :?
Author:  l3v1ck [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 4:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
And do people smoke raw cannabis? No, they roll it with tabacco.
Author:  cloaked_wolf [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 5:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
Not to mention the current strains are far more potent than they were forty years ago. I still don't see how they're gonna stop kids from smoking it when you have twelve year olds already drinking and smoking tobacco.
Author:  Nick [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:26 am ]
Post subject:  Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
It's about time it was legalised imo.
Author:  E. F. Benson [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
Legalise, regulate and control.
You know it makes sense. Just because you can doesn't mean you will.
Fewer in prison. Fewer psychotic episodes. A healthier exchequer.
Downside? Tobacco companies get a new lease of life, maybe.
Author:  ProfessorF [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
l3v1ck wrote:
And do people smoke raw cannabis? No, they roll it with tabacco.


I know about 3 people who smoke it on it's own, without tobacco.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
big_D wrote:
And in the next breath, the court put George Michael in prison for crashing his car whilst under the influence of Cannabis... We have enough problems with people driving drunk or with normal cigarattes, we don't need yet another, common danger on the roads. :?

Driving under the influence of anything is bad, just because you legalise cannabis does not mean that you need to allow its use when driving.
Author:  big_D [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
That isn't what I was implying, alcohol is legal, but you can't drive whilst intoxicate. If you legalise cannabis, more people will (probably) use it and not think about it, before getting behind the wheel...
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
big_D wrote:
That isn't what I was implying, alcohol is legal, but you can't drive whilst intoxicate. If you legalise cannabis, more people will (probably) use it and not think about it, before getting behind the wheel...

True but until scientific tests have been carried out to confirm or deny the safety element it should be treated with caution. I am not saying I condone the use and then driving.
Author:  rustybucket [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
l3v1ck wrote:
And do people smoke raw cannabis? No, they roll it with tabacco.

Erm... not quite.

Those who actually smoke it (as opposed to weekend dabblers) only mix tobacco with the cheaper resins and leaves. When you get onto the better stuff such as Skunk, it's smoked almost exclusively neat. Mixing skunk with baccy is the rough equivalent of taking half a pint of lovely Indian Pale Ale and making it into a shandy.

Also those who habitually use the cheaper resins don't tend to smoke it all that often - they eat and drink it instead. Half a spliff's worth mixed in with your coffee is much cheaper, longer-lasting and more comfortable than smoking it.
Author:  snowyweston [ Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says
big_D wrote:
And in the next breath, the court put George Michael in prison for crashing his car whilst under the influence of Cannabis... We have enough problems with people driving drunk or with normal cigarattes, we don't need yet another, common danger on the roads. :?
That's the idiocy of drivers - not the drug - we've not criminalised alcohol because of it's contribution to the road death toll.

It's the same with all things - if people pop out at lunch for three swift pints and come back to the office boozey breathed then there needs to be disciplinary action, as would there need to be if someone went out for a toke.

l3v1ck wrote:
And do people smoke raw cannabis? No, they roll it with tabacco.
Some do. ;)

cloaked_wolf wrote:
Not to mention the current strains are far more potent than they were forty years ago.
Only due to popular demand - it's more expensive to grow high grade cannabis but not (comparitively) more expensive to buy - and most smokers are just like any other consumer and want VFM. With an open (legal) market we'd see a range of strains and I would imagine a great number of smokers (who don't have a menu-dealer) would turn to them - as they do in Amsterdam.

cloaked_wolf wrote:
I still don't see how they're gonna stop kids from smoking it when you have twelve year olds already drinking and smoking tobacco.
As with Dave's protest about driving, that's nothing to do with the drug - but the education of both children and adults and the enforcement of trading law.
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