Cannabis should be licensed and sold in shops, expert says

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/14/cannabis-licence-legalisation-pertwee

Cannabis is no more dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, according to Professor Pertwee.

Cannabis for recreational use should be available in shops under similar restrictions to those used to control the sale of alcohol and tobacco, according to Britain's leading expert on the drug.
Under one scenario, people would be able to apply for a licence to buy cannabis products once they reach the age of 21, provided they have the approval of a doctor, he said.
The drug would be regulated by a body that ensures the quality and safety of the products before they go on sale.

A rethink of the laws surrounding cannabis and related products was necessary to take cannabis out of the hands of criminals, said Roger Pertwee, professor of neuropharmacology at Aberdeen University.

In the 1970s, Pertwee co-discovered THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

Speaking ahead of a talk this week at the British Science Festival in Birmingham, Pertwee said: "In my view, we don't have an ideal solution yet to deal with recreational cannabis. We should consider licensing and marketing cannabis and cannabis products just as we do alcohol and tobacco.

"At the moment, cannabis is in the hands of criminals, and that's crazy. We're allowed to take alcohol, we're allowed to smoke cigarettes. Cannabis, if it's handled properly, is probably not going to be any more dangerous than that."

The government upgraded cannabis to a class B drug late last year against the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The council's chairman, Professor David Nutt, was sacked after criticising the government's drugs policy, a move that prompted five others to resign in protest.

Possession of class B drugs, which include amphetamines, such as speed and barbiturates, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison plus a fine. Dealing the drugs can lead to a 14-year prison sentence. The most recent Home Office figures show there are 158,000 convictions for cannabis possession a year.

Pertwee said he wanted to reopen the debate on cannabis, saying he favoured legalisation if the drug was well regulated. He added that healthier alternatives to smoking cannabis were available.
Outlawing the drug forced users to either grow it illicitly or buy it from an illegal dealer. "They have no idea what the composition is, what has been added to it, and they are at risk of being invited to take other drugs," he said.

Attempts to relax the ban on cannabis have been countered by concerns that it can cause schizophrenia in a minority of people who are susceptible to the condition. Pertwee said it might be possible for doctors to assess people's backgrounds and risk of mental health problems before allowing them to buy a cannabis licence.

"You would need a minimum age of 21, but I would go further: that you have to have a licence. You have to have a car licence, you have to have a dog licence; why not a cannabis licence, so you can only take it if it's medically safe for you to do so?" he said.

Nutt, who is a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, said: "I welcome this attempt by the UK's leading expert on cannabis to bring rationality to the debate on its legal status.

"As cannabis is clearly less harmful than alcohol, criminalisation of people who prefer this drug is illogical and unjust. We need a new regulatory approach to cannabis. The Dutch coffee-shop model is one that has been proven to work but some of Professor Pertwee's new suggestions may well have extra benefits and should be actively debated."

As much as I would love to see it happen, it's doubtful, but this man is spot on.

I agree with Prof Pertwee.. this debate has been going on for years, the more proof we uncover that it is less dangerous than tobacco & alcohol the more the government seem to want to put a stop to it.. doesn't make sense.. all the scientific proof points to the facts that it is much safer than booze & cigs..and statistics also prove this. Surely in this financial climate in the UK the government would be looking at additional avenues of revenue??

i've allways thought its because of the money they make on taxing alcohol, they legalise weed and people see no hang-overs and a new feeling and all ppl want to do is smoke weed instead of buying alcohol.

then people find out how easy it is to grow there own weed and then the goverment loose millions of our tax money and they wont be able to use our money for free houses/holidays anymore.

Killer Vanilla said:

i've allways thought its because of the money they make on taxing alcohol, they legalise weed and people see no hang-overs and a new feeling and all ppl want to do is smoke weed instead of buying alcohol.

then people find out how easy it is to grow there own weed and then the goverment loose millions of our tax money and they wont be able to use our money for free houses/holidays anymore.

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Good point.. but it is easier to make your own booze than grow your own weed, just go into any Boots/Wilkinson's & buy a home brew kit for less than £30

Cannabis absolutley should be liscened and sold in shops, but you should still grow your own.

edsthreads said:

Good point.. but it is easier to make your own booze than grow your own weed, just go into any Boots/Wilkinson's & buy a home brew kit for less than £30

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true but its alot harder to make a nice home brew i would of thought....

Na it's really easy.
You can buy premade kits that you just add water to. Different brands different tastes, quality beers, no hassle.
Weed takes a lot more time and patience to create your own quality product

we r all stupid, forget the "government', look towards big business. u think british tobacco or marlboro will b happy if weed suddenly becomes legal? they even make money off the non smokers,the people that only smoke weed with a lil tobacco in it. and regarding making ur own alcohol, isnt making vodka illegal? scotch? whiskey? only legal brews are beer, ginger beer and apple cider. u cannot make your own spirits...or even grow your own tobacco. drug money to governments is stimulus money, it goes around and around and around, leaving the users hands, to the dealer, to theirs, to the boat/car/clothes/jewellery and then back to big business, who in turn, pay taxes. its a revolving door that will never stop.

noone wants to b totally self sufficient, and neither does the government want us to feel we want to b. tbh we wld b fucked without higher powers, though they shouldnnt have a say in a victimless "crime"

ps: by we i did also mean me

FlashMonkey said:

forget the "government', look towards big business. u think british tobacco or marlboro will b happy if weed suddenly becomes legal?

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Actually Phillip Morris (marlboro) Has Purchased 400 acres in Northern California. Trust Me that Land is Not for Tobacco.

Sort of was my point. There isnt any form of legalisation/decriminalisation/medical arguement that doesnt get twisted into being run by some form of big business.

Really, we should be arguing that certain, 'un trademark-able' things are being monopolied by big business, and really is illegal. Why can I not grow tobacco though it is legal? Why can I not make spirits though they too are legal?

That was the main arguement they made in the 1920's thru 30's to start hemp criminalisation. A plant cannot be patented or copyrighted, in its own form, owned and monopolised, therefor it wasnt worth any money to any particular person. Though rubber, sulfuric acid made paper from wood pulp, oil products, plastics and petroleum, could all be monopolised by the single person who synthesised their existance, or owned its rights.

Id be scared once a country does legalise use thru big business....like Monsanto. Once they manage to get their "genetically modified/ synthesised" MJ on the market...theres no telling the damage that will be done to our arguement. Smoking tobacco isnt necessarily harmful, smoking genetically modified BT resistant radioactive phosgen nutrient tobacco IS.

Alot of us enjoy growing organic MJ or appreciate knowing what we put in it, once a company like Marlboro starts up...the laws against us will be increased 10 fold, because now we DO have a crime. Not growing a prohibited plant, but taxes, copyright laws, royalties...

once it becomes legal, it isnt going to be fun to smoke anymore. i think of it the same way that people drink. they are called partiers until they turn 21, which is when they are then called alcoholics. if they just lessen penalties and not be active in the pursuit of stopping people from smoking, the system will continue to work and there wont be a problem

Jesus, are you so cowed that you think it is RIGHT that other people decide what you put in your body?
Grow a goddamn spine bro.

in my defense i think one way that the government is trying not to fully-legalize marijuana is to: 1. protect big companies who manufacture and distribute medicines that marijuana can conflict with. 2. the govmnt can actually make good amount of money from taxing marijuana which is really happening now. 3. this manufacturers and distributors of this drugs are most likely based on the US or investors from foreign countries (US is the biggest market in the whole country) 4. the govmnt can make good money based on tax but will suffer a lot economy wise. 5. any part of the world can produce marijuana, if then everybody will be growing it and nobody is going to buy shit medication. 6. a lot of professionals will lose there jobs (domino effect) 7. imagine a cop pulling over an abusive person in the influence of marijuana while driving he would be carrying hes alcohol level test and what a thc test?...i guess more employment for the cops huh?. my suggestion instead going to the jail or getting a criminal record, why not just tax people who are caught growing or selling weed of the black market and pay a ticket. and same goes for tobacco company, alcohol u name it...what would happen to the suppliers, distributors, marketing, scientist, groceries etc...marijuana can be planted, harvested, dry, cured by simple methods and by anyone else...comparing to manufacturing tobacco or alcohol

so the real question is...would u rather be smoking marijuana, or make your nations economy a one big spliff. and yes psychologically i wouldnt be enjoying weed as much as i am right now. its like a simple concept for the cure of AIDS, imagine a world with no AIDS...lets say we have medication for it, do you think the govermnt would even let it out publicly? first they makin good money out of medication taxes, etc etc. 2nd thered be a boom in business for being a prostitute, hell youd feel sorry for someone you knew who lost her profession and by no means can only make money being a hooker and plus would u tax a hooker? 3rd over popullation + the illegal immigrants.

Absolutley cannabis should be legal because it's no different than alcohol... Except less dangerous. They both intoxicate you, but for some reason alcohol gives you stupid ideas and makes you naseaus, not to mention a danger to others. Cannabis just chills you out and let's you relax, and you can still think clearly while ur high; at least i can. the government should regulate and tax it but they should not grow, package, or even get close to the cannabis because they fuck up everything they touch...like cigarettes, all those chemicals( I know the cigarette companies put the chemicals in there but they have close ties with the government becuz the gov has control of the medical drug companies. The more chemicals they put in cigarettes, the more unhealthy and addictive they are. This in turn gets more people for the tobacco companies to make more money, and gets more people sick so they have to take medicine from the pharmicutical companies which fund the government. It's all a cycle, and I would hate to smoke artificalially enhanced bud that could be cancerous and make me sick, and so should you!

OddsFTW said:

Actually Phillip Morris (marlboro) Has Purchased 400 acres in Northern California. Trust Me that Land is Not for Tobacco.

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cigarettes contain a few percentage of marijuana. i have read it an article, im not saying its true but if it is true they could be onto something on that much of land 400 acres dang thats bigger than a town or a city

the tobacco companys are some of the people keeping it illegal and im sure there cooking up their own genetic concoction of death for bud (like all the chemicals they spray on tobacco)

the dont just spray chemicals, they use radioactive fertiliser. some ppl cant stand hydro chems in their dope but dont mind to smoke radioactive tobacco...or people who enjoy drinking the product of fermented anything...

it should be legal to supply ourselves with any herb we desire. same thing applies to ephedra, salvia, bitter orange etc.

im not really into the whole buy it from the 'service/gas station'...but perhaps setting up some of the "criminal" commercial growers, into dispensaries/head shops, and yeah, taxing the hell out of it. would have to be cheaper than what the black market goes for.

doctors and psychiatrists will still have a job, because like anything, there is potential for abuse, perhaps only financial, this will open the door to little weed "rehabs",perhaps even financial advisors will benefit too...who knows, but the domino effect can also be likened to a spinning door, so what someone is out...perhaps they were only in a job due the hypocratic legislation that has people chasing chemist pills instead of nature.

well i think the govmnt is doing the right thing that you should get a medical marijuana card in order for you to smoke or grow your own weed, thus making it semi-legal would benefit the govmnt and avoiding the abuse of it, alcohol are already a big problem we dont want to add more problems due to irresponsible people. well this people who woud be out on the door are most likely chemist who are contributing in marketing for foreign investors and supplying products that are distributed all over the world, sad but true, that people are more open in using western medicines rather than herbal medicines...i mean doctors gets a percentage on the amount of medicines he prescribe to hes patient, and that is a fact. all im stating is if the govmnt would lessen the case of owning or growing weed and not make it such a big deal it would be fair enough that anybody can enjoy it,