many people do not relize that by british law enforcement removing marijauna from the market they are just going to cause people to look for a new "High". Therfore promoting drug use of many other deadly subcences, that are not as easaly detected. The ripple effect could turn a whole generation into tweak slaming junkies, VS. your local cheeto factoy's main buyer your local pot head.
sincerly,
the green snipe

You're saying because penalties for marijuana were reduced, that induced people to go to harder drugs. Sorry, that's just a dumbass statement. Many studies, as well as common sense, show that the legality or illegality of a drug has little to do with rates of use or abuse, so long as the drug is commonly available on the black market, as mj certainly is.

And what's with thowing a bunch of stupid made up anecdotal stereotypes like "your local cheeto factoy's main buyer (sic)". What the hell does that mean, you dumbass? Have you even been to England?

Scott Morgan has got his facts wrong. Firstly cannabis use in the UK is not "decriminalised", if he cannot get that basic fact right why should anyone listen to him on anything else? As for cannabis use going down, that also is very doubtful. What has happenned is that cannabis use has widened and deepened. Kids use cannabis earlier (age of first use) and many users who would typically at one time have been profield to stop using in their twenties are using for longer. Cannabis use is not just indicated by resin seizures either (another thing Scott wrong!). Europe particularly the Netherlands and the UKindustry have a "home grown" boom with numerous factories having sprung up. this is partly areaction to more enforcement in Morocco, partly a reaction to poor quality moroccan "soap bar", partly a reaction to the better quality possible from the home grow factories. Scott also gets his theory wrong on why more people are in treatment for cannabis addiction. The cause is simple, early "first use" has been combined with much more regular use, some kids in their very vulnerable early teens are using cannabis on the way TO school, AT school on the way home and in their home. Their brains are permanently scrambled, they have become Britain's "feral youth".In this pattern of use, the users do not titrate their usage. They are permanently doped (and pot is not also called "dope" for nothing). To be blunt, Scott's use of the word "Truth" is ridiculous.

You criticize Scott for making a hypothesis, which he clearly states he's not certain about, but you make unsubstantiated claims stated as fact.

Has cannabis use has widened and deepened? How about some evidence? Do you have any evidence that pot is now "scrambling brains" and creating "feral youth?"

You say, "Cannabis use is not just indicated by resin seizures either (another thing Scott wrong!)" Did you read Scott's next sentence? "The apparent trend is reinforced by British figures which show that the popularity of cannabis in the UK has plummeted, with 600,000 fewer people smoking or eating marijuana than three years ago."

looks like he's making the rounds. he's been spewing the same core crap for years. his name is david raynes -- a former customs official in the UK.

you may come across his anally-extracted "expertise" on the usenet group uk.politics.drugs where he posts under the pseudonym "claude"

the fact that he bothered to comment here may indicate the level of "threat" to his nonsense posed by those of us on this side of the pond, and the synergy being developed by reformers on both sides working together.

if he posts anywhere else i can probably sniff him out quite readily.

brian bennett

Here's a website you may find useful. http://www.addicted.com is a site for friends, families, and those who suffer from various addictions.

hi

hi ppl hw is everyone

from keli n jade

In my opinion the war on drugs has gone way too far. i agree on the harder drugs such as heroin and cocaine for example to be illegal, but weed? is it really necessary? i smoke weed all the time, im only 15 i have been doing so for over a year now, my grades have gone up my life is great and the fact that i smoke weed doesn't make my life any worse. i think that the best way to tackle the problem with marijuana would be legalization and to have retailers, or coffee shops for example to sell the weed. the government could treat the marijuana as they do with tobacco or alcohol and bring in taxation to tackle the problem. i don't think that marijuana its self is a problem, but these days the terms in getting to marijuana are difficult and along the way if your buying through dealers, then you are 9 times out of 10 offered to buy harder drugs. with legalization i think they should have an age limit on buying, although giving marijuana under safe and clean environments to people over the age of 16 would suit me perfect. thanks for reading if you did.

Dan Jones from Anglesey

I've recovered from a 35+ year drug addiction and write about life after addiction. The so called war on drugs has nothing to do with drugs and everything to do with profit and marginalizing an unwanted, not needed, part of the population. Drug addicts and career criminals are two different animals.

That aside, like all state run wars, this is all about profit. Wars in every country the government can get in to - profitable. War on small businesses and individuals - profitable. War on real food and clean water - big profits. Homelessness - profitable. Right on down the list of everything that goes on in the US - if it's going on it's profitable for someone controlling it.

Death by prescription drugs is up to one an hour or so - but it's hugely profitable.

It's easy to understand what's going on and why - follow the money. The biggest, most successful, criminals aren't languishing in prisons, they're making decisions at the highest levels and they don't care about you or me or who has to die.