Cannabis classification to be tightened

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Reuters

By Tim Castle

LONDON (Reuters) - Cannabis will be raised to a class B drug with a maximum five year jail term for users, the government said on Wednesday, rejecting a recommendation from its own drugs advisers to leave the classification unchanged.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the decision had been made because of concern, particularly amongst the public, about the "alarming" use of skunk, a stronger strain of the narcotic which now dominates the market.

"I want it to be clearly understood that this powerful form of cannabis is an illegal and harmful drug," Smith told parliament, vowing the change would be backed by crackdowns on cannabis farms.

"There is a compelling case for us to act now, rather than risk the future health of young people."

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKL0692965620080507?rpc=92

[Hydra]

1. More laws and more jailtime!

Cuz the ones in place are working so well :sarcasm:

[tridim]

2. Holy crap, talk about regression.

Skunk is not a "strain", nor is it new. Fucking lying propagandists.

[TomInTib]

23. Recently....

we've had some shit show up here that made me almost catatonic - unable to get out of the car, much less cross the street.

And I've been smoking every day for over 40 years.

I'm talking three hits, here. I had to put it away, get something else.

[tridim]

27. I've been smoking diesels lately

They're extremely potent (and tasty), and therefore more healthy since I smoke much less.

[TomInTib]

30. "diesels"?

Clue me in.

Obviously, I don't get out much.

[tridim]

33. Diesel is the semi-commercial name for a particular, highly sought after cannabis trait

NYC Diesel, Sour Diesel and Strawberry Diesel are a few examples. Some people think they smell like diesel fuel, but honestly they don't, they just smell and taste delicious. It's hard to describe, kind of like describing a complex wine. If you ever come across any, jump on it.

[ixion]

3. cannibis is NOT a narcotic

which just goes to show this person doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.

[Dogtown]

8. Correct, ix

It's listed as a hallucenogen, albeit very mild.

[tridim]

28. I simply call it a relaxing herb

Although I've smoked pot that's mildly hallucinogenic.

[Dogtown]

50. true you

but that's its DEA classification.
i've noticed a slightly altered visual perception, but no distortion.

i think DEA couldn't figure out what it does, but had to find some kind of scarey classification to malign the stuff.

it surely has less affect than any other inebriant, including alcohol.

hell, tobacco is very potent and can cause disorientation, nausea, and measurable biometric changes in someone unuse to its affects.

[glowing]

4. This is in London.. not US.. A lot of states are moving towards just not

giving a damn because they are running out of money and jail space for the war on marijuana.. which nobody thinks should be illegal in the first place.

[DCKit]

42. Odd timing.

They just released a study that says that London, the most heavily surveilled city in the world, has experienced a grand 3% (three percent) decline in their overall crime rate.

Guess they thought they'd try another stupid, ineffective and incredibly expensive tactic to prove they're doing their jobs. Pity they weren't able to keep the bit about the expert testimony out of the article - more people might have been convinced.

[notadmblnd]

5. show me one overdose, show me one driving fatality

then I might believe.

[Freddie Stubbs]

7. Habitual use of marijuana is strongly associated with car crash injury:

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2005.01100.x

[Dogtown]

9. AND

with the seduction of white women.


*I* mean that as a joke, but it's one of the earliest complaints against this mild inebriant.

[ptolle]

20. reefer madness

Indeed there's no telling the limits of the iniquity of devil weed.I'm sure you meant to add "by non-white men", but it would have compromised the satiric brevity of your post.

[txaslftist]

11. I betcha a BILLION dollars alcohol is more "strongly associated"

with car crash injury.

Yet, alcohol is legal, if you're of age. Why the difference? Responsible use of either drug produces essentially the same external effect (impairment of function), for about the same length of time. This is tantamount to outlawing beer because whiskey is so powerful.

At some point this needs to be a discussion about personal responsibility and liberty versus the government micromanaging our daily habits, or we really do run the risk of becoming an "intolerable tyranny of the majority".

[pokercat999]

38. Alcohol, the ultimate gateway drug to EVERYTHING else. nt

[Leftist Agitator]

12. From your own study:

"However, after adjustment for these confounders plus other risky driving at the time of the crash (blood alcohol concentration, seat-belt use, travelling speed and sleepiness score), the effect of acute marijuana intake was no longer significant (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.2–3.3)."

[Freddie Stubbs]

15. Does that mean that pot users are more likely to engage in risky beahviors which

increase the likelihood of injury?

[Leftist Agitator]

18. EXACTLY.

It's not the herb that causes car accidents, it's the other stupid shit that idiots do that's at fault.

[Freddie Stubbs]

19. Why are 'herb' smokers more likely to do 'other stupid shit?'

:shrug:

[Leftist Agitator]

21. Good question.

There's probably a whole multi-volume study to be written on that topic, come to think of it.

But it isn't the marijuana that's responsible, it's the stupid.

:)

[Fozzledick]

34. You got it backwards

People who do stupid shit are more likely to use all drugs carelessly, and "herb" is the most commonly available.

[Dollface]

16. Yeah, but there is only minor injury because they're driving so slow.

[struggle4progress]

47. "after adjustment for .. confounders .. the effect of .. marijuana .. was no longer significant"

[dysfunctional press]

35. overdose isn't possible- but common sense alone would say that it's been involved in car fatalities.

i've had accidents due to being high- not fatal ones, thankfully. and no, i don't have any particular stats, and i don't imagine that it's anywhere near as prevalent as alcohol-related deaths- but to think that there aren't ANY pot-related traffic fatalities is just plain naive.

[notadmblnd]

46. I don't disagree with you. It's probably right up there with cell phone use ,

eating, reading, shaving and putting on makeup while driving.

[politicaholic]

6. Now that Australia is free I guess England will have to find another massive prison...

Or perhaps they can just move to land and make their own island a prison.

[lame54]

10. Reefer Madness for the new millennium

[Friday]

13. Curious

I have to wonder how much of this decision was based on pressure from the US govt?

[Freddie Stubbs]

14. Has Gordon Brown proven to be more of a 'poodle' than Blair?

:shrug:

[LeftishBrit]

51. Less of a poodle, but more of a puritan.

[the other one]

17. Booga Booga!

We will protect you!

[kestrel91316]

22. In the US, AFAIK, it's always been a Schedule I drug just like heroin.

COMPLETELY INSANE.

[dlfuller]

24. What a crock! LIES LIES LIES

More madness from crazy people. They are lying again. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired of this. It has cost me my homes, my savings, my peace of mind, my liberty, etc.
As a person from the front line in the lying "war" on drugs who has experienced them breaking down my door dressed all in black with their faces covered, guns drawn. They took the money from my son's wallet, steaks from my freezer, went out of their way to dump all my garbage cans in my bed, let loose my rare cockatoos to eat fiberglass and die, the list of offenses goes on and on. When they were ordered to return my property by the judge they couldn't find it to return.
I am a farmer. No different that our forefathers. I grow plants that don't hurt anyone, in fact help in more ways that a person can count on two hands. I have raised my family to respect human rights, other's basic dignity, to help when possible, and to realize that we all need rules to live together.
Marijuana (only) users are in general the most peaceful people around.
Alcohol is the evil when used to excess and has cost more to our society than it has ever helped.
The MAN always wants to keep us down.
Peace out
420

Dave

[sudopod]

25. The only thing that bothers me is

how marijuana can tend to exacerbate certain mental problems like bipolar disorder. But then cigarrettes tend to exacerbate lung cancer, so lol, I guess that's a wash.

[bitchkitty]

41. Marijuana does not exacerbate bipolar disorder -

in fact, it helps with mania. I'm not sure where you got that info, but it's not true.

[High Plains]

26. The Brits moved it to Class C in 2004.

Now, the government is moving it back to Class B, rejecting the advice of its own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which, after three reviews in the last four years, sees no reason it should be rescheduled.

The move comes amidst political manuevering to see who can be toughest on crime, with the Tories accusing Labor of erring badly with the original rescheduling. It also comes amidst a tabloid hysteria campaign that would have made Heart blush. "Skunk cannabis made me eat me mum!"

British police, however, say they are not going to start arresting pot smokers again in most cases.

Still, this is an unutterably stupid and regressive move. Shame on the Labor government.

[Megahurtz]

29. Idiots.

All for a fucking plant. They have no clue. Sounds like they need to smoke some they might change their minds.

[BreweryYardRat]

31. Not sure about the Brits...

...but unless I'm grossly mistaken, weren't hemp + marijuana banned here by politicians working for the cotton(?) industry? Some kind of big-agriculture lobby, anyway.

[14thColony]

43. Big Chem and Big Pharma killed it

Dupont needed hemp cultivation killed because it was cheap competition for their new wonder-fibre, nylon.

Big Pharma needed cannabis killed because it was cheap grow-it-yourself competition for some of their own new sedatives and other such drugs.

They paid Congress off and Congress dutifully outlawed demon weed as ordered. Done deal.

[dixiegrrrrl]

32. In these times, you would think that the government

would be handing out pot on every street corner.
Keeps the population mellow, don'tcha see....

[BooScout]

36. As a resident of the UK..........I call Bullshit on the govt.....

The police won't be bothered to arrest too many pot smokers. When they catch underage drinkers all they do is pour their lagers out and send the little shits on their way........which is usually to the closest Spar (think 7/11) so they can buy more.

The prisons here are already filled to bursting and many off them can't seem to keep prisoners from just walking out as it is. There's no way they will start arresting and imprisoning pot smokers. It's just one more bullshit move by Gordon Brown's ineffective administration.

[DemocratInSoCal]

37. The Human Race Needs To Be Extinguished

Life just is so FUCKING LAME, and it's only getting worse.

I won't blame G-d, when he finally decides to call it quits. If there is a HELL, I hope that the people who caused the world's downfall, eventually pay a price for their sins.

It's so unfair that the decent people will have to suffer, while the corrupt and MORONIC ones, with the power, get away with everything they want, and more.

[Megahurtz]

40. Well said.

My sentiments exactly.

[benEzra]

39. You'd think they'd learn from the U.S. experience...

that treating a comparatively benign drug as Public Enemy Number One shifts users toward the harder drugs, with no offsetting benefit.

The UK has been heading in a rather authoritarian direction in the last several years, though. I suppose this is another symptom.


http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/features/suspect-society/index.html

[14thColony]

45. Not to worry

It's not like the cops here will actually enforce anything. Violent criminals have less than a 10% chance of being sent to prison here. Robbery usually seems to earn you nothing more than a stern talking to. So weed smokers have nothing to worry about.

[nashville_brook]

44. what public concern?

[KillCapitalism]

48. Man, what's next in the UK for pot smokers?

Mandatory death penalty for possessing one joint?:crazy:

[LeftishBrit]

49. Fortunately, the UK does not have the death penalty!

But yes, it's all pretty ridiculous. Though it's not a new idea, but the re-introduction of an old one. Marijuana used to be a Class B drug, but was reduced to Class C. Now it's about to be re-classified as Class B, against the advice of a number of people. The excuses are (1) there are stronger forms of pot available than in the past; (2) there is some evidence that early pot smoking is correlated with later schizophrenia.

As regards (2) it may be that people who already have schizophrenic tendencies are more likely to 'self-medicate' with pot, rather than the other way round. But in any case, it is people who smoke pot before the age of 18, and especially before the age of 15, who show a somewhat increased incidence of later schizophrenia - no such correlation is found for adult pot smokers. So one could deal with this by having an age restriction for cannabis, just as we already do for tobacco and alcohol.

Someone once said that prohibition of alcohol merely turned law-abiding citizens into criminals, and criminals into rich criminals. The same with drugs - and especially a drug like marijuana, which is relatively easy for amateur gardeners to grow. You're never going to prevent people from getting it. And I've never known anyone who died from smoking pot, whereas I have sadly known people who died from the effects of cigarettes and alcohol.

My view is that the real reason why this is happening now is simply that Brown is a fairly puritanical type!