Government response to cannabis legalisation petition - Polidicks

[quote] [b]Substantial scientific evidence shows cannabis is a harmful drug that can damage human health.[/b] There are no plans to legalise cannabis as it would not address the harm to individuals and communities. The latest evidence from the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is that the use of cannabis is a significant public health issue (‘Cannabis Classification and Public Health’, 2008). Cannabis can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society. Legalisation of cannabis would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery that this can cause to families. [/quote] [url]https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/104349[/url] Just goes to show this government doesn't give a shit about scientific evidence.

So does tobacco and alcohol. Prohibition when?

Well, that sucks, you'd think that the scientific evidence would have of been enough to change things

Uninformed swine.

It shouldn't even matter what the science says, it's none of their business if people want to do drugs inside their own homes. If someone ruins their life through drug use then that's their own responsibility.

Pandering to big pharma & conservative views. Obviously.

[QUOTE=_Axel;48543890]So does tobacco and alcohol. Prohibition when?[/QUOTE] They can't because they're a cash cow, and the societies lobby is important. This is not the case with cannabis; legalising it would be a huge step backward in terms of public health. There is, I think, nothing wrong with using it in your home at your own risk - but, like alcohol, you have retards that will take the road while high and risk causing accidents with people that asked nothing ( here in france about 20% of fatal accidents involved a driver positive to cannabis )

Oh come the fuck on. Cigarettes have no positives and are legal. Cannabis is actually good for you in most cases. This is getting so damn stupid.

As if it was going to be any other response from this government.

[QUOTE=shutter_eye5;48543988]Pandering to big pharma & conservative views. Obviously.[/QUOTE] Ironically, this would be the reason to actually legalise it.

Absolute insanity that they justify their decision with the notion that 'cannabis is a harmful drug that can damage human health' when they are a government that then in spite of that pays no attention to tobacco and alcohol, two of the most damaging and frequent drugs in our country.

So, I guess it would be kind of hard to tax it, hence why you're saying its harmful?...

Need to start a parody petition calling for a ban of Alcohol and Tobacco because of the same reasons.

Referencing a 7 year old study when there is an absolute treasure trove of research post 2010 argueing otherwise. Typical parliament.

There should be a survey demanding the government use factual evidence to back up and support all their decisions. Wouldn't that be peachy. Maybe some day.

[QUOTE=Gump;48544437]There should be a survey demanding the government use factual evidence to back up and support all their decisions. Wouldn't that be peachy. Maybe some day.[/QUOTE] There should probably be a law...

The main difference between Cannabis, Alcohol, and tobacco is that the latter two have established industries behind them that can lobby Parliament/Congress while the former doesn't and cannabis also has the fact that for long time it has been considered a "gate-way" drug and even though new scientific discoveries have shown that cannabis is no different than alcohol and tobacco it still bares the stigma of being an illegal drug. It can also be speculated that said lobbying by the alcohol and tobacco(particularly the latter) could be blocking any attempts to legalize cannabis as they fear the competition it could create if an industry for it was established.

But there's substantial scientific evidence refuting the idea that it's more dangerous than the other legalized drugs on the market [editline]26th August 2015[/editline] They should put up another petition actually calling for the rules of the petitions to be followed

It isn't about truth guys, its all about money, tobacco and alcohol lobbyists don't want cannabis to become more powerful, I bet if you looked into the pockets of these people stopping this kind of legislation all you are going to find are people profiting from it not happening.

It's so fucking obvious it's about taxes or something other than how harmful it is. I'm not saying it's not harmful but it's a fuckload less harmful than alcohol. Does alcohol do anything that's NOT harmful, actually? Honest question.

[QUOTE=PrusseLusken;48544557]literally what? how is psychosis good for you?[/QUOTE] Good thing weed doesn't cause psychosis in healthy users.

"substantial scientific evidence" Probably otherwise known as "that one time some dudes deprived monkeys of any oxygen for 5 minutes straight".

[QUOTE=itisjuly;48544566]Good thing weed doesn't cause psychosis in healthy users.[/QUOTE] :huh:

[QUOTE=Kylel999;48544529]It's so fucking obvious it's about taxes or something other than how harmful it is. I'm not saying it's not harmful but it's a fuckload less harmful than alcohol. Does alcohol do anything that's NOT harmful, actually? Honest question.[/QUOTE] I did a research few years ago that small amount of alcohol is good, can prevent some stuff heart diseases. That's why some people say it's good to drink wine once a day. Of course too mush of a good thing will damage you, like your liver and so on.

[QUOTE=426_Hemi;48544021]They can't because they're a cash cow, and the societies lobby is important. This is not the case with cannabis; legalising it would be a huge step backward in terms of public health. There is, I think, nothing wrong with using it in your home at your own risk - but, like alcohol, you have retards that will take the road while high and risk causing accidents with people that asked nothing ( here in france about 20% of fatal accidents involved a driver positive to cannabis )[/QUOTE] Your logic doesn't hold up under your own examples. Drunk driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents, fatal and otherwise, [I]far[/I] outpacing marijuana-related accidents, even your dubious figures. If your logic is that marijuana should be illegal due to its intoxicating effects making it unsafe to drive while high, then you would have to apply that argument to alcohol as well, which is far more potent. If you [I]did[/I] make that argument, that any substance which physiologically impairs your ability to drive should be illegal, I'd refer you to cold and flu serum, painkillers, sleep aids, antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and the hundreds of other prescription and off-the-shelf medications that do the same. If you argue that only [I]recreational[/I] drugs, like alcohol or marijuana (obviously ignoring those who are using marijuana for medical benefits) should be illegal, then I would refer you to the US Prohibition of alcohol as an example of how flawed that logic is. The trade continues regardless of the legality, and worse, the trade is primarily managed by criminal organizations who propagate violence, and are typically involved in the smuggling of many other illicit substances that are considerably more harmful. After all, weed is illegal in France, yet, by your own (questionable) example of 20% of all accidents having involved marijuana, it is obvious that the illegality of the substance is not actually reducing its availability. People want weed, and it being illegal does not prevent them from getting it. All it does it allow dangerous groups to continue profiting. Lastly, you claim that cigarettes and alcohol can't be made illegal because they are cash cows. Is marijuana not? Do you have any idea how much money is in the marijuana trade? All it takes is a quick look at how the sale and usage of marijuana in Colorado and Washington have bolstered their economies and reduced drug-related crime to see hard evidence that legalization is a net gain for society as a whole.

[QUOTE=itisjuly;48544566]Good thing weed doesn't cause psychosis in healthy users.[/QUOTE] Keyword: in healthy users. Cannabis can trigger mental illneses that the user might not have noticed or whatever.

Surprised they even put in that much effort and just didn't write what they were probably actually thinking: "lol no deal w/ it"

[QUOTE=Zotobom;48544831]Keyword: in healthy users. Cannabis can trigger mental illneses that the user might not have noticed or whatever.[/QUOTE] and anything that brings up shootings can trigger victims of shootings. Ban all FPS games? Should we ban peanuts because they can cause terrible allergic reactions in some people? Should we just do that for everything? Something having a harmful effect on a small subset of the population is an absolutely insane justification for banning it for [I]the entire population[/I]. Especially when they have the option of, you know, [I][B]not doing it.[/B][/I]

[QUOTE=Zotobom;48544831]Keyword: in healthy users. Cannabis can trigger mental illneses that the user might not have noticed or whatever.[/QUOTE] Alcohol can trigger depression and suicide or murder. Alcohol is socially acceptable pretty much everywhere except some Islamic places(and even that is for other reasons). The amount of potential harm weed can do is disproportional to how it's treated from legal standpoint. There's no reason why alcohol should but weed should not be accessible to general population. There's tons of pot smokers, they're doing just fine, most of them leading normal lives. Alcohol on the other hand causes domestic violence and ruins families.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;48544654] Lastly, you claim that cigarettes and alcohol can't be made illegal because they are cash cows. Is marijuana not? Do you have any idea how much money is in the marijuana trade? All it takes is a quick look at how the sale and usage of marijuana in Colorado and Washington have bolstered their economies and reduced drug-related crime to see hard evidence that legalization is a net gain for society as a whole.[/QUOTE] The fact that they won't see reason leads me to believe that they're being bribed something fierce by lobbyists.