Gigs

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Drug experts' warning to Johnson

Short summary:

UK government changed MJ from Class C to Class B... about the same as moving from Schedule III to II in the US... enhanced penalties, dangerous drug etc.

Government drug adviser David Nutt had the balls to tell the truth, and say that MJ isn't really very dangerous at all. He's commented in the past that ecstasy is about as dangerous as horseback riding... which I'd agree with, assuming you got actual ecstasy in that pill and not some random other drug.

Anyway, since they fired Nutt, others are quitting as well in protest.

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Richie Waves

horseback riding can be pretty dangerous!

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My lastfm

Oooh, Betty! the cat did a shit in the hat

Lucifer Baphomet

They do this regularly, shift it from c to b to c and back

fucking morons

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Richie Waves

Now now.. they have to do something with your money...

Ayumi

Especially when you do it while on ecstasy ! I bet that would feel good though :X

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Cristiano

Speaking of words, row is a good one - not used often enough on this side of the globally warmed pond.

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* slu stuff *

Richie Waves

just doesn't look right written down...

Darkley

Its pronounced rah

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Aimee Weber

Heh. Scientists shouldn't criticize! They should agree! Prof Nutt should have realized that his job is to sit idly by and give the government politics and opinions a scientific rubber stamp of approval.

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Trout Recreant

I broke three ribs and separated my shoulder horseback riding, not to mention several concussions and I now have permanent back issues.

I should have taken a bunch of ecstasy instead.

Tess Whitcroft

If we are going to import words from across the pond I would nominate "feck".

Slang expletive employed to express disbelief, pain, anger, or contempt in a given situation.

It is not uncommon for Irish school teachers and some members of the religious order to use the word 'feck' as an expletive.

Magners Irish Cider have received complaints relating to an advert in which a man tells bees to "feck off". Magners claimed that the "feck off" mention in the advert was a "mild rebuff" to the bees, rather than an expletive. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that the poster is suitable for display.

Tess

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Gigs

I vote for the watered down version of "cunt" that you can use all the time without people freaking out.

Harvey Swenson

Just use cunt, then all the teenagers will have to think up a new word to freak out their parents

Aimee Weber

But I was just getting used to FRACK.

Argent Stonecutter

Belgium!

Ariane

The research I have seen says that Marijuana is less dangerous than both alcohol and tobacco which are both legal and taxed/regulated.

We should make it legal and tax it 500% like we do tobacco, with fines/jail for those that drive under the influence.

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Ace

It's a crime in the UK (and probably many, many other countries) to drive while under the influence of drugs already. I'm guessing they don't have an easy roadside way to test for most substances in your system (the UK doesn't do any walk in a line tests- it's breathalyzers for alcohol). In which case, the difficulty of policing DUI crimes for drugs may be a factor in their classification. Easier to throw you in the clink for having them in your pocket whether you took them or not.

Argent Stonecutter

Many states in the US have an "open container" law for alcohol. It's illegal to have an open container of alcohol in the car with you. It's OK to have closed ones. An analogous law regarding marijuana in a smokable state would certainly be possible, without making possession a crime.

Ace

British police don't like wishy-washy situations involving was it lit, was it in an ashtray, was it in a tin was the cig they saw a normal menthol roll-up. They prefer to take the hardest/easiest line possible.

Trout Recreant

I agree with Argent here. Obviously, nothing in legalization would legalize driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The open container laws basically say that you can have sealed containers in the car, but not ones that have been opened. So if you want to transport a half empty bottle of vodka, it needs to go in the trunk (the boot for my friends in the UK. ). Maybe the same rule could be crafted for drugs. I don't know. It seems there would be a pretty easy work-around for this problem if the people drafting the laws just put their heads together and thought it out.

Ace

I'm sure it's not the main reason, but I do personally feel that the ability to prosecute purely on possession is the issue. We're a very reactionary and prudish society- our "porn" laws are a mess too.

Basically, when we see people having fun, we try to find a way to make that illegal.

eku Zhong

Illegalise beer

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Argent Stonecutter

That's crazy talk!

Argent Stonecutter

If it was like the open container laws, anything but a shop-sealed tin anywhere in the passenger compartment would count as "open". If you want to carry a baggy, stick it in the boot.

Ace

Still wouldn't address the issue of people driving under the influence- no different to how it is now, perhaps, except that there may be many more people doing so if what they took was legally available.

I don't really want to labour the point much more because I don't think it's the biggest reason, the basic principle behind our laws on drugs is basically: ZOMGDRUGZ!!!!11!! in any case. I can just see some Chief Constable wittering on TV news about enforcement problems and children being mown down by squadrons of weed addled drug drivers.