[News] Canada legalises recreational cannabis use.

[btnbelle]

Very good point in which I fully agree, however would it not be prudent to control what is available to the yet to be educated?

No it sends the wrong message. Better education, healthcare and focus on the positive life you can have without drugs. Achieving goals gives a much better reward to teenagers.

 

[Megazone]

We have been getting it wrong, time to adjust our education and look at boosting children's confidence and self esteem.

The problem with that is confidence and self-esteem takes the biggest hits at home. Kids who are abused, isolated, ignored, bullied at home won't go to school with the belief they will be successful due to their shattered self-esteem, so being rebellious gives these children a sense of identity by not conforming with the education system. It's a catch 22 because for a lot of teenagers, school is where you buy your weed. We need to educate kids on psychology more. They need to be taught about addiction, depression and its causes. They need to understand the dangers of consuming anything too much. They need to understand the physical development of the brain and how drug use (including alcohol) effects the brain before it fully develops.

I've had some massive health benefits from using Cannabis, but I've also had 3 friends all trigger off drug psychosis/ schizophrenia from using Cannabis, one who has been constantly getting sectioned for the last 9 years. It has its pro's and cons like all drugs, but it's alcohol where 2 deaths have occurred in my life, one a 19 year old and the other a single mother who's 9 year old daughter watched her go yellow and then die all alone.

Lifes problems are not caused by the drugs but the people who use them. We are still in the Stone Age when understanding mental health and personality types. People's addictions are much more deep rooted than just wanting to get high or drunk. in today's society mental illness is growing rapidly which will see an increase in drug addiction and death related drug use. If cannabis triggers off a mental illness, it's important to understand that it triggered of underlying problems for that person which would've been there before using weed.
Once cannabis is legal, I'm sure it'll help and increase our knowledge of mental illness and the dangers weed has, but whilst it's deemed the devils drug, we're just going to continue these debates with just opinions and single minded views.

 

[Notters]

Don't legalise it. Educate.

To what end? Are you saying people who smoke weed are uneducated?!

 

[btnbelle]

The problem with that is confidence and self-esteem takes the biggest hits at home. Kids who are abused, isolated, ignored, bullied at home won't go to school with the belief they will be successful due to their shattered self-esteem, so being rebellious gives these children a sense of identity by not conforming with the education system. It's a catch 22 because for a lot of teenagers, school is where you buy your weed. We need to educate kids on psychology more. They need to be taught about addiction, depression and its causes. They need to understand the dangers of consuming anything too much. They need to understand the physical development of the brain and how drug use (including alcohol) effects the brain before it fully develops.

I've had some massive health benefits from using Cannabis, but I've also had 3 friends all trigger off drug psychosis/ schizophrenia from using Cannabis, one who has been constantly getting sectioned for the last 9 years. It has its pro's and cons like all drugs, but it's alcohol where 2 deaths have occurred in my life, one a 19 year old and the other a single mother who's 9 year old daughter watched her go yellow and then die all alone.

Lifes problems are not caused by the drugs but the people who use them. We are still in the Stone Age when understanding mental health and personality types. People's addictions are much more deep rooted than just wanting to get high or drunk. in today's society mental illness is growing rapidly which will see an increase in drug addiction and death related drug use. If cannabis triggers off a mental illness, it's important to understand that it triggered of underlying problems for that person which would've been there before using weed.

I agree with what you are saying here.

Once cannabis is legal, I'm sure it'll help and increase our knowledge of mental illness and the dangers weed has, but whilst it's deemed the devils drug, we're just going to continue these debates with just opinions and single minded views.

I am not sure we will legalise it unless it is for medical use. That is the way forward. Do people really smoke weed for purely pleasure? I get the impression that the majority are self medicating....

 

[btnbelle]

To what end? Are you saying people who smoke weed are uneducated?!

No, not at all, just that they would benefit from extra education where drugs, mental health and self esteem are concerned. Its not just drugs we need to teach a healthy lifestyle and give people confidence to make healthy choices. The lessons need to focus on a wide range of subjects, food addiction causes obesity too.

 

[rogersix]

Yes, opium was causing bad for the people who took it, and caused a lot of trouble in China (and the opium war to go with it).

Yep, back then we thought tobacco was good for you too.
Right, so you're saying that it was made illegal because of the perceived idea of how bad it was for people's health, and how anti-social it made people. The opposite of what you said earlier.

do you argue like this face to face, or just online?

 

[rogersix]

I don't agree with Mr Lakeman at all. It is heartbreaking that so many children die to drugs. Legalisation won't solve the problem and sends the wrong message.

he appears to be a well educated chap and seems to think it would go along way to preventing these numerous untimely deaths.
in his "specific" case, in your opinion, what would be the best way to keep these kids alive?

 

[btnbelle]

he appears to be a well educated chap and seems to think it would go along way to preventing these numerous untimely deaths.
in his "specific" case, in your opinion, what would be the best way to keep these kids alive?

Mr Lakeman would have done better to educate his sons upon the dangers. It is unfortunate that like the problems in the middle east there will always be some fatalities whatever you do. There is only one totally safe thing to do and that is to say no to drugs. My sympathies are with Mr Lakeman but I do not agree with his view.

 

[rogersix]

Mr Lakeman would have done better to educate his sons upon the dangers. It is unfortunate that like the problems in the middle east there will always be some fatalities whatever you do. There is only one totally safe thing to do and that is to say no to drugs. My sympathies are with Mr Lakeman but I do not agree with his view.

blame the parents! that's exactly what the policeman leah betts' father said before she died.
how are parents expected to educate their kids when no one knows what the substances actually are?

 

[Baldseagull]

I am educated. I just hold a different opinion to you.

The problem is that you hold it so tightly, whilst only being able to support it weakly empirically and not at all scientifically.
I could hold the opinion that the earth is flat, it does not make the opinion a particularly valid one in comparison to the widely accepted opinion that it is not. I think it would be fair to say that a flat earth opinion is not an educated one. Simply having the opinion is not as valid as reaching the opinion on sound evidence from reliable sources.

 

[half time scores]

To what end? Are you saying people who smoke weed are uneducated?!

Methinks the lady is not for turning.

 

[btnbelle]

blame the parents! that's exactly what the policeman leah betts' father said before she died.
how are parents expected to educate their kids when no one knows what the substances actually are?

I am not blaming Mr Lakeland. You asked me what he should have done to keep his kids alive. It does not matter what the substance is, just so no to them all and then the risk from drugs with be zero. Any other approach and there will always be deaths.

 

[btnbelle]

The problem is that you hold it so tightly, whilst only being able to support it weakly empirically and not at all scientifically.
I could hold the opinion that the earth is flat, it does not make the opinion a particularly valid one in comparison to the widely accepted opinion that it is not. I think it would be fair to say that a flat earth opinion is not an educated one. Simply having the opinion is not as valid as reaching the opinion on sound evidence from reliable sources.

I would turn that around. Legalising does not prevent all deaths and so is not a good option. It is a week argument, to say, lets have less deaths or poor health outcomes. Better healthcare and education for mental health is the option I favour for a good reason.

 

[rogersix]

I am not blaming Mr Lakeland. You asked me what he should have done to keep his kids alive. It does not matter what the substance is, just so no to them all and then the risk from drugs with be zero. Any other approach and there will always be deaths.

just say no is unrealistic tho. when did nancy reagun say that? still not working!
if drugs were controlled by the state these two curious kids would know precisely what they were undertaking and could even self test for any relevant allergies. therefore legalisation would increase the probability that the lakeland boys would still be alive today.
this is the most important thing (imho)

 

[daveinprague]

Now we seem to be talking about drugs. Not sure why. Im assuming its the favoured 'lump marijuana in with drugs' theme.
Think it would be difficult to find a death from marijuana use.

 

[half time scores]

No it sends the wrong message. Better education, healthcare and focus on the positive life you can have without drugs. Achieving goals gives a much better reward to teenagers.

In the mean time hundreds if not thousands of people suffer and many die from taking unregulated, untested and ultimately dangerous drugs.

 

[Baldseagull]

Mr Lakeman would have done better to educate his sons upon the dangers. It is unfortunate that like the problems in the middle east there will always be some fatalities whatever you do. There is only one totally safe thing to do and that is to say no to drugs. My sympathies are with Mr Lakeman but I do not agree with his view.

Only totally safe method of contraception is to abstain from sexual intercourse, the trouble is, people want to do it.

 

[Baldseagull]

Now we seem to be talking about drugs. Not sure why. Im assuming its the favoured 'lump marijuana in with drugs' theme.
Think it would be difficult to find a death from marijuana use.

There are deaths related to the use of cannabis, about 20 a year. About 45,000 related to misuse of Alcohol.

 

[Megazone]

Now we seem to be talking about drugs. Not sure why. Im assuming its the favoured 'lump marijuana in with drugs' theme. .

Nearly all drugs are products of plants. Like Weed, Cocaine, heroin, ketamine, MDMA all come from plants. I'm pro weed but the 'it's just a plant' debate is ridiculous.

 

[daveinprague]

Nearly all drugs are products of plants. Like Weed, Cocaine, heroin, ketamine, MDMA all come from plants. I'm pro weed but the 'it's just a plant' debate is ridiculous.

All those you quoted are manufactured from plants? well, not sure about ketamin and mdma, would need some convincing.. however, cocaine, and heroin come with additions. Paraffin in the production of cocaine for example.