http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013 ... -drug-laws

For once I agree with her.

While learning from other countries is commendable, I suspect that this will be used as an excuse by MP's to go on paid 'fact-finding' junkets at our expense, with no eventual change in laws. It is clear that criminalisation has meant huge profits for dealers and traffickers and huge costs for society.

My own feeling is that the British population would suffer the same problems with drugs as they already do with alcohol, the "legal" drug. And if you can't sort out alcoholism, are we ready to deal with a population who are addicted to drugs instead of alcohol?

True but tax it heavily to curb its excessive use. Though prisons tolerate cannabis because it keeps them calm, and easy to manage. The fact that drink is legal does not mean everyone abuses it. I suspect that those that abuse alcohol will probably abuse cannabis but as a doctor whats the worst excessive cannabis use causes? Sleeping overeaters.

Even if they get recommended to legalise cannabis they may still not do it. Look at the over reaction from the Daily Mail.

I think from a point of view of civil obedience, marijuana is likely to cause a lot less trouble for the police and casualty than alcohol. Sales of snacks in local stores would increase dramatically for those willing to stay open late.

However, there are serious medical issues. I'm personally familiar with the mental health problems that pot can trigger, and if smoked then it's a stronger carcinogen than tobacco.

What percentage of people would suffer compared to those that abuse alcohol I have no idea. I imagine a trip to Amsterdam might shed some light.

We've got enough problems with depressed over-eaters as it is

The social impact's bad enough when alcos have kids, never mind two paranoid stoners.

I welcome this move if it's a proper look at rehab etc, but I still suspect we'd need to keep it illegal.

I think I generally agree with not criminalising users, but still making it illegal to sell. Same goes for any drug.

One issue with pot I have is that several friends ended up addicted... to tobacco.

Paranoid schizophrenia, often requiring a patient to be sectioned (ie involuntarily committed, as opposed to an informal admission) to a psychiatrict inpatient unit and often on life-long medication. I've looked after patients who had abused their families (physically, emotionally, verbally, sexually; violence is often significant) or gone on "rampages". They're convinced everyone is out to get them etc.

Unsurprisingly, diagnosis and admission of such patients increases whenever there's a newer/higher strength of cannabis on the market.

Just as alcoholism can destroy families, drugs can do the same. IMO humans often have "addictive" personalities (no idea if there's a biological basis) which means they easily get hooked on to something - be it drugs, alcohol, tobacco, junk food etc.

Which would drive people back to the black market where you would probably get a strain of cannabis twice as potent for half the cost of the "legal" variety.

I think that the mental health issues are from its impact on developing brains in kids, so there needs to be restrictions to kids, like tobacco. Though I have known many heavy and regular users and the only one who had any issues with mental health was a younger person.

As a non smoker I avoid that problem, though in reality the gateway drug is tobacco not cannabis.

Yes but the solution is to maintain the ban on skunk variants. What will probably happen is that people will grow their own. IIRC marijuana that has not been strengthened to skunk levels also has the antipsychotic as well. As they try and strengthen the THC levels it eradicates the antipsychotic element as well so creating a double whammy, and so bad for the brain.

Not just kids. I was 19 when I got sectioned.

I hope things are good now. My brother smoked it from around 13 and has never experienced any mental health problems but that was from before skunk. So the cannabis that he smoked also contained the anti psychotic element as well. Newer variants should be banned.