man who converted staple gun to real gun gets five years, as he should do,

[Morkai]

Just going by what I’ve heard people say who have been prescribed it (in NZ) & what the NHS information sheet advises

Medical cannabis (cannabis oil)

Information from the NHS website on medical cannabis.

www.nhs.uk

Aye, that'll be the oil as @palmer_mike said. The NHS also prescribes bud like the local roadman would.

 

[20-250]

Actually if it’s prescription (which is fairly easily obtained in this country for certain conditions, although you may have to go private) it’s legal to smoke your ‘medicine’ in public or private. Normal no smoking area rules would obviously apply.

Incorrect.
Prescription cannabis cannot legally be smoked, only vaped.

 

[shakey jake]

Incorrect.
Prescription cannabis cannot legally be smoked, only vaped.

that was my understanding

 

[Apthorpe]

We rank 18th in the OECD, with an average tax rate of 33.5 as opposed to an average of 36.5 in the G7.

I think those figures are out of date and in any event the G7 is not the OECD. Levels of tax in the UK are significantly higher than average for the OECD,

Criminalising people at a young age for possession etc invariably leads to a far greater likelihood of involvement in crime,

Of course. They are criminals, by definition.

reduces employment opportunities etc etc.

As it should.

Implementation of a legal frameworks in other countries point to far better outcomes

...and worse outcomes. Cherry pick if you like, but there are plenty of good reasons why it's bad parenting to sprinkle heroin on your kids' breakfast ceral.

and reduced demand.

How on earth coukd anyone produce credible data to support that?

Find me stats that suggest alcohol causes less societal damage that illegal drugs.
Your last offering is laughable, alcohol is probably the biggest catalyst for violent assault.

So what? Violent assault is a drop in the ocean compared to the violence, criminality, social ills, and ruined lives caused by drugs. That **** who started Brewdog is hardly Pablo Escobar.

 

[12gsnapcaps]

You can abide the law, yet disagree with different elements of it. It's not mutally exclusive.

Agree. I disagree with elements of law, but I always follow them. We can have freedom of thought and our own opinions whilst at the same time as being law abiding and decent people. It's never been mutually exclusive.

 

[markj1]

Petty drug dealer trying to intimidate other petty drug dealers when they come to rob him, or he tries to rob them... what has this country become... build more prisons, with one-way doors.

In this context, the sentence seems reasonable.

But if it was just a weirdo who decided to build a firearm in his basement for no obvious reason - and not in connection to commitment any further crimes - then I would consider the sentence to be excessive.

 

[Bo Diddley]

In this context, the sentence seems reasonable.

But if it was just a weirdo who decided to build a firearm in his basement for no obvious reason - and not in connection to commitment any further crimes - then I would consider the sentence to be excessive.

Agreed.

 

[VSS]

Agree. I disagree with elements of law, but I always follow them.

Always? I doubt it.
I'm sure we all have those things where we say "sod that" and do our own thing, regardless of the law.
For example, I always carry a knife with a locking blade. All day, every day. No matter where I am.
Some people think it's OK to drive at over 70mph on motorways, and habitually do so.

And so on.

 

[shakey jake]

Always? I doubt it.
I'm sure we all have those things where we say "sod that" and do our own thing, regardless of the law.
For example, I always carry a knife with a locking blade. All day, every day. No matter where I am.
Some people think it's OK to drive at over 70mph on motorways, and habitually do so.

And so on.

every bodies grey area is different

 

[AlexD]

That's before you get into thinking about smoking being banned and proven harmful effects of it- I'll wager it's only a matter of time before similar stats are available for other smoked drugs such as weed for increased lung cancer risk and others, which again costs individuals, families and society. But the potentially impaired cognition of weed users would probably stop them figuring that out, or caring.

I guess you'll still find a way to trivialise any evidence that doesn't fit your prerogative though.

Weed has been proved harmful on many fronts. One of the most serious, is in some people it causes mental disorders, particularly schizophrenia, depression, and substance use disorders. There are many scientific papers on this.

A terrible cost for some people, to go from being normal to having paranoid schizophrenia for the rest of their lives, a horrendous illness, and a drain on society. One paper I read put the number as high as 5% of users.