Reclassified in the UK to class C

[chief23]

Yes and people die from all sorts of other legal drugs too, like asprin. People all so die from car accidents too. But they are not illegal.

 

Chief

[myubhi]

I highly doubt If he did die from mj use only - reason being is that smoking cigs goes hand in hand with certain other activities i.e. drinking and drugs. Think about it - tripping acid back in the day we used to drop a hit - smoke a bowel and a cig and blame we were zooming like a bunch of let loose helium balloons - smoke a bowel light a cig and relaxe. Hell I had to quite drinking and smoking mj for like a year when I quite (8 years now - myubhi pats back and picks up bong )

 

THe point is that everyone of us either has been exposed to tremendous amounts of 2nd hand smoke at sometime or another. Mj while does have a high tar content and will also increase co2 into the blood stream, it does not carry all of the other synthetic materials added to make them more addictive (cigs) - and mj just uses its own genetics. Think about every real bar or club you were dancing in - everyone that served in the millitary has probably exposed to something harmful because it was not cost effective to remove - i.e. asbestos - can we spell c a n c e r ????

 

I am sure that polution from the cars flying down city streets carry a large amount of carcinogens in their wake of smoke. I dont see or hear any of these people saying that car polution is killing thousands stop driving or you will be arrested - why - because it would be too difficult to change the entire society when they can try to implement a small community of happy hippies.

 

Lesser of two evils?

[myubhi]

Oh sorry about the soap box it happens sometimes when I get a decent sativa flowing through my stream

 

Congrats to all Brits - enjoy the new found decriminalization and please remember - friends dont let friends smoke alone!

[mtheartist]

i wish the fu*king US would be like the UK

[qwerty]

Congrats to all Brits - enjoy the new found decriminalization and please remember - friends dont let friends smoke alone!

I here ya on that one man

[Guest Wilderbud]

I thought cannabis was a Class C drug within Australia and its not decriminalized here so are you sure its decriminalized?

 

Im a citizen of UK still so this makes me smile - if I could handle the cold Id love to be there to enjoy the greenery.

[everest]

yea me too wilderbud , imagine smoking without the hassle of the law on ya back , but what would be a small personal amount ? a nice 9 oz bar i'd say . god bless the uk. coffee shops next.

[Eddie E]

Here in the UK, I'm feeling all warm that you all care so much.

 

Briefly, this is a small legal step but a major tolerance step toward legalisation. The current goverment clealy want less attention on cannabis. They are frightened to make a full move and this is a 'tester' for future reference.

 

Each and every anti group is throwing everything at the move and achieving nothing, simply looking more desperate. Government, police and support groups are simply watching the uproar and moving forward with the tolerance. It will all die down soon and the police guidelines will be 'in the case of personal use and possession there will be an assumption that police action will be other than by arrest, i.e. a caution. There remain four categories that demand arrest but they are limited.

 

Many quotes atre credited to the BMA, British Medical Association. Read them carefully and you will identify that they are highlighting the outstanding dangers of cannabis use and asking for research. There's nothing wrong with that, it has been lack of research that has hindered progress for years. They also are committed to the legal use of cannabis and have been open about that as well.

 

Regards

Eddie E

[boulder]

UK relaxes cannabis laws

 

January 29, 2004 - 4:01PM

 

Britain relaxed its laws against cannabis today, but warned the country's estimated 3.5 million users the drug remained illegal and possession of even a small amount could still lead to arrest.

 

The downgrade, criticised by the British Medical Association (BMA) but backed by DrugScope, the country's main independent drugs body, puts cannabis in the same "lower risk" C category as tranquillisers and anabolic steroids.

 

In practice the new law means an adult aged over 17 caught smoking or in possession of a small amount of cannabis -- marijuana or hashish -- will be stopped and searched, but not necessarily arrested or fined.

 

The maximum penalty for possession was lowered to two years from five.

 

Users under age 17 will be arrested and penalties for growing and dealing in the drug have both been toughened to a maximum 14 years in prison.

 

Home Secretary David Blunkett has defended the controversial reclassification, originally proposed in 2002, saying it would give police more time to tackle dealers and prosecute for the most serious Class A drugs, such as cocaine, ecstasy and heroin.

 

"I don't want to actively end up chasing (cannabis smokers) rather than chasing the dealers and chasing the people who kill young people with crack and heroin," he told BBC radio last week.

 

A recent study found that officers took an average three-and-a-half hours to deal with a cannabis offence from the time of arrest until they returned to the beat.

 

Britons are among the biggest marijuana users in Europe with an estimated 20-25 per cent of the adult population having used the drug.

 

While most polls show a majority in favour of relaxing the cannabis laws, the British Medical Association has attacked the downgrade, saying that regular use of the pungent drug can kill.

 

"People are making the conclusion that it is safe where in fact it is actually more dangerous than tobacco," said Dr Peter Maguire, deputy chairman of the BMA's board of science.

 

The government's own warning campaign includes radio spots and large advertisements in national newspapers that shout "CANNABIS IS STILL ILLEGAL".

 

Reuters

 

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/29/...5340769779.html