Legalisation of Cannabis for recreational use?

[Glasses]

With California recently legalising cannabis for recreational use, the media have raised the question of whether Australia should also consider legalising cannabis.

What do you think?

[TheSapaInca]

With California recently legalising cannabis for recreational use, the media have raised the question of whether Australia should also consider legalising cannabis.

What do you think?

The only thing I want to contribute is that I believe marijuana/cannabis should be only used for medical purposes.

[PhoenixxFire]

I’m kind of torn on this. I definitly don’t think drug use is a good idea, but having it criminalised makes it a lot harder for people who do use it to get help. I’m on the ‘drugs are a social/health problem not a criminal one’ team. I guess I don’t think it should be decriminalised for recreational use, as I feel like that would make more people smoke it because it’s ‘cool’ and they have access to it but I’m sort of on the fence.

[Sine]

No longer need to see the green doctors on venice beach   JK

I like the legalisation given the harsh penalties and racial discrimination associated with those who go to jail for posession. Although not 100% on the motives since they will tax it.

In an ideal world yes I agree with the above that it should only be used medically.

[EEEEEEP]

The only thing I want to contribute is that I believe marijuana/cannabis should be only used for medical purposes.

I disagree. 

I remember reading this >> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/portugal-decriminalised-drugs-14-years-ago-and-now-hardly-anyone-dies-from-overdosing-10301780.html
(they decriminalised cannabis in 2001)..

Drug crimes down!
Gang battles down!
Overdosing down!
...
THe Netherlands
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/safe-and-effective-drug-policy-look-dutch

Crime down!
Less youth in jail!
More revenue!
OVerdosing down!
..
These two countries reflect that a different model on drugs (cannabis included) is needed and that benefits can be gained from decriminalising drugs!

In those countries, since drugs are cheaper and legal, people do not have to go to shady warehouses and gangs do not fight over getting access to rivalry gang's warehouses.

The benefit of legalising it (less crime, less gangs, more tax)..etc.. gives a few really good reasons to legalise it.
This notion is also supported by history.. if you make something illegal, people will try to get it with any means.. even violence, just look at the US and when they tried to ban alcohol.

i support the legalisation of Cannabis for recreation in it's full. =)
...
I am not pro drugs or anything... it's just that well banning anything never works and it creates a black market .... also it is a soft drug (less easy to get addicted).

[sudodds]

Definitely an interesting topic!

I am for at the very least the decriminalisation of cannabis. My view is similar to PhoenixxFire, addiction (to any drug) should be treated as an illness, rather than a crime (those who sell or distribute illegal drugs however...). If it came to a vote, I believe that I would vote in favour of legalisation of cannabis, even for recreational purposes. This is mainly because marijuana is less dangerous than other legal substances - namely alcohol. It's not only less likely to kill you (very difficult to overdose on weed unless you have allergies or a pre-existing condition whose symptoms can be exacerbated by cannabis), but you're also less likely to hurt others (I've personally never heard of a pot-head going out and king hitting someone, however drunk people are implicated in this behaviour all the time).

Definitely should be regulated in some way, but imo thats another reason why legalising it is a good thing - it can be regulated. Whereas right now the government has little control over who has access, how much they have access to, and whether or not the weed is (unsuspectingly) laced with other substances, if it was to be made legal and people could purchase it over the counter that actually makes it overall safer for the community (even if there are more people who recreationally smoke weed, in the same way that people recreationally consume other drugs like alcohol and tabacco).

At the same time though - don't think is should be encouraged. People should still know that any drug is not "safe" to use, and that it can have negative consequences on physical and mental health. Though it may be less likely than with other, stronger drugs, you can still become addicted to cannabis, and when it gets to that point, avenues for help must be open an available.

[TheSapaInca]

I disagree. 

I remember reading this >> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/portugal-decriminalised-drugs-14-years-ago-and-now-hardly-anyone-dies-from-overdosing-10301780.html
(they decriminalised cannabis in 2001)..

Drug crimes down!
Gang battles down!
Overdosing down!
...
THe Netherlands
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/safe-and-effective-drug-policy-look-dutch

Crime down!
Less youth in jail!
More revenue!
OVerdosing down!
..
These two countries reflect that a different model on drugs (cannabis included) is needed and that benefits can be gained from decriminalising drugs!

In those countries, since drugs are cheaper and legal, people do not have to go to shady warehouses and gangs do not fight over getting access to rivalry gang's warehouses.

The benefit of legalising it (less crime, less gangs, more tax)..etc.. gives a few really good reasons to legalise it.

i support the legalisation of Cannabis for recreation in it's full.

Ok, put don't people grow it already in backyards? What recreation do they even use it for? Why do they do it? + How easy to you think it will be for gangs to get cannibal if it is only for medical purposes? The cannibal will probably be growing somewhere heavily armed and owned by government or something. You had this disagreement with Euthanasia I read before but I do realise there are different opinions.

But there is a point of cannabis.. That sudodds has raised. There is actually no dangerous thing about cannabis that I can think of. So I do not know what side to be on know.

MOD EDIT (sudodds): I just merged your post. If you want to add something extra to a previous post, you can always click edit

[EEEEEEP]

I’m kind of torn on this. I definitly don’t think drug use is a good idea, but having it criminalised makes it a lot harder for people who do use it to get help. I’m on the ‘drugs are a social/health problem not a criminal one’ team. I guess I don’t think it should be decriminalised for recreational use, as I feel like that would make more people smoke it because it’s ‘cool’ and they have access to it but I’m sort of on the fence.

People will make their own decisions as to whether they should do it.. but research shows that legalising drugs only results in less people taking it,

In Portugal, drug use went down
In the Netherlands it went down too
Also in the news.. drug use is down in the US after legalisation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/11/following-marijuana-legalization-teen-drug-use-is-down-in-colorado/?utm_term=.1f8943bff971

...
All research and news points to the fact that drug legalisation > law enforcement and prohibition.

If legalising drugs results in less overdosing , usage (meaning less medical bills).. .what's a good reason not to legalise it?

[Glasses]

I can see both sides of the argument, but ultimately I am in favour of legalisation for the following reasons:

1. I believe legalisation would result in cannabis use being treated from a medical perspective and as a health problem, rather than a legal problem. I think it would also allow for a greater focus on drug education and treatment (if necessary). I'll also note that I believe all forms of drug addiction should generally be treated medically, not legally. E.g. Someone addicted to heroin shouldn't have the book thrown at them in the courts, but instead, should be able to receive the medical treatment they need to get their life back on track, without the fear of legal repercussions.
2. Legalisation appears to have had a number of health, legal and economic benefits in places such as the Netherlands where this has occurred.
3. Whilst there is some (uncertain) evidence regarding a possible correlation between cannabis use and mental illness, the impacts of alcohol and cigarettes appear to be far more negative and severe. So in my opinion, it is illogical to legalise these and not cannabis. Additionally, and as shown through the legalisation of medicinal cannabis in Victoria, cannabis use can have some benefits.
4. Legalisation should allow cannabis use to be properly regulated - thus making cannabis use much safer than it is at the moment, and allowing people to use it without having to spend excessive amounts of money (and possibly having to commit crime to obtain such money).

[PhoenixxFire]

@Sudodds

You described how I feel, only much better than I did, the only thing that puts me off is the wording of the question 'for recreational use' sounds like its encouraging it. I do think it should be decriminalised though.

Also legislation is different to decriminalisation, the wording just feels too encouraging to me.

[sudodds]

@Sudodds

You described how I feel, only much better than I did, the only thing that puts me off is the wording of the question 'for recreational use' sounds like its encouraging it. I do think it should be decriminalised though.

Also legislation is different to decriminalisation, the wording just feels too encouraging to me.

Definitely see how the wording "recreational" can be interpreted in that way! I think the reason why I'm comfortable with it is because I don't view it as any more dangerous than other legal drugs like alcohol (alcohol has a medicinal use, however very rarely - if ever - do people make the argument that it should be reserved for medical purposes). The argument can be made that alcohol has been acceptable for centuries, accounting for its more widespread acceptance, however weed was actually similar until only quite recently in history! If people are interested, here is a fun (but pretty enlightening video) that explains a lot of my thoughts.

Personally, I don't necessarily see it as an encouragement, but more of an acceptance and tolerance of a regulated form of it. However, again, definitely can see how it can be interpreted in that way :) I'd be happy at the very least if it was decriminalised, just believe it makes sense to go further.

[LifeisaConstantStruggle]

I believe that the war on drugs, and any prohibition of the recreational or medical use of it, has resulted in more negative consequences than it was supposed to.
1) By prohibiting the use of certain types of drugs we sort of created a taboo for mentioning it, let alone investigate and do research on these substances. (schedule 1 drugs such as LSD and cannabis may have a lot of medicinal properties that we might not know of yet, such as treating PTSD and other mental illnesses, a lot of these research on the positive effects of these substances could not commence under the facilitation of institutes because of anti-drug laws)
2) What most countries have failed to do, is effectively educate their people on the use of drugs and negative consequences due to addiction and overdose from a young age. We are responsible of changing that in the future, I'm sure, and that could be more beneficial than harsh punishments and prohibitions on drugs, which has definitely slowed down scientific development. (sadly)
With that being said, I believe that the decriminalisation of marijuana for recreational purposes is definitely okay.

[Glasses]

I believe that the war on drugs, and any prohibition of the recreational or medical use of it, has resulted in more negative consequences than it was supposed to.
1) By prohibiting the use of certain types of drugs we sort of created a taboo for mentioning it, let alone investigate and do research on these substances.

I couldn't agree with this more!

I remember in school when we were learning about drugs, basically all illicit drugs were kinda grouped together and labelled as extremely harmful and life threatening - despite this actually not being the case; e.g. the effects of ice simply cannot be compared to those of cannabis. I therefore think it's important to learn about and research different drugs individually, and without simply thinking that because they are illegal, they're going to kill you.

[Russ]

I’m kind of torn on this. I definitly don’t think drug use is a good idea, but having it criminalised makes it a lot harder for people who do use it to get help. I’m on the ‘drugs are a social/health problem not a criminal one’ team. I guess I don’t think it should be decriminalised for recreational use, as I feel like that would make more people smoke it because it’s ‘cool’ and they have access to it but I’m sort of on the fence.

You can support decriminalisation but not legalisation of a drug, that's a common position.
Drug policy has multiple arms and the criminal justice aspect of supply/demand reduction is part of this, as is ensuring there is a harm reduction process in place for active users. I think it's not unreasonable to believe that there is a role for the law in managing drug use.

(as an aside, the bar for legalisation of 'safer than tobacco or alcohol' is really low)

[brenden]

If it’s good for the economy, bad for drug dealers, and doesn’t cause harm to members of the public... why not?