Cannibis in the news again.....

[Loosehead]

Is it possbile to debate this subject without the dope heads trying to change the subject to alcohol? Just been reading the BBC talk point and it seems that the discussion always get's changed.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Curiousity, your answer is clearly incorrect. Cannabis *may* have the effects that you describe for a small number of individuals, but clearly does not for the vast majority of users.

If it were true as you describe, there wouldn't be any need for a debate - and people wouldn't take it either.

[El D]

haha yes well I thought you might have spent too long in a self induced stupor red eye ;-)

The point I make is that merely because other potentially harmful substances are freely available it does not mean they are all equivalent, nor does it mean that we can add to the list any potentially harmful substance on this basis.

This brings me to my second point - while you are correct in that a comparison contextualises the various substances, it does not alter the base effect of them. Cannabis may be less 'dangerous' than alcohol, it may be more, it is still dangerous and should not be freely available. I believe this position is logically defensible at our present moment in time as there is ever mounting (admittedly anecdotal as far as I'm aware) evidence that cannabis is very harmful to the mental state of those who use it. The predictable come back that most use it without consequence does not hold water either as many class A drug users also suffer no effects (MDMA, cocaine) - would you support their declassification based upon this logic?

The article (cba to read it I will trust you have summarised it correctly) raises an interesting point in whether social and legal issues are a factor in the undisputed gateway effect of cannabis. Personally, I believe they may very well be, and yes the Netherlands has apparently decreased the gateway effect of cannabis through its control.

[El D]

That said, there are other things to consider - as cannabis has been demonised and was indeed a class B substance many thought that it would bring immediately severe consequences. When these do not happen their risk assessment of harder drugs is also compromised, leading to the gateway effect. The social issue, well - human nature being what it is I believe that while a legalisation would stop many people from coming into contact with that 'fraternity' my experience and I'm sure others has been that if there are a group indulging in narcotic substances there will always be one or two who step 'through the gateway' due to their personality profile and expose their mates to it anyway.

[curiosity]

WaldoMcFroog...you're right I did make more of an across the board statement, than I intended to. However people are accessing cannabis at a much younger age now, and this is a problem currently on the increase. So I'm not sure we can assess the full impact., or say it's the vast majority that arn't affected. The big problem I have is that you don't know who is vulnerable until they become mentally ill, and then the damage is done.