Should I delete Thread?

[Marco van Herwaarden]

It would only increase government revenue. Same in the netherlands. Our "coffeeshops" (the place where you can buy marihuana) have to pay taxes like any other business.

You can have up to a maximum of 5 grams on you as this is considered for personal use. If you have more (or trying to sell) then it is not allowed.

[UKBusinessLive]

Originally Posted by Marco van Herwaarden

It would only increase government revenue. Same in the netherlands. Our "coffeeshops" (the place where you can buy marihuana) have to pay taxes like any other business.

You can have up to a maximum of 5 grams on you as this is considered for personal use. If you have more (or trying to sell) then it is not allowed.

This is interesting Marco, Where would the "Coffee Shops" Buy their stock from??? From a shady looking bloke in a BMW or from approved goverment sources ??

Can you just sit inside a coffeshop and smoke all day long??? and has the european ban on smoking in public places damaged the businesses that depend on this type of thing??

I would assume that a lot of sales go under the counter so to speak, i can't see these shops declaring everything, can you ??

[lasto]

Originally Posted by UKBusinessLive

and has the european ban on smoking in public places damaged the businesses that depend on this type of thing??

Good question,but i doubt it very much as the world is full of druggies.
Its true what they say about Marijuana,thats its a soft drug on the ladder to other drugs such as cocaine and Heroin.
Ive had friends who started off smoking that crap and now they Drug Addicts.No longer friends either cause who wants someone,who would rob of their own family as a friend.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

The system in the Netherlands is far from being without major flaws.

A coffeeshop may have up to 500gram stock. An individual may have up to 5 grams for personal use. This is not legal, but it will also not be prosecuted (it is tolerated but not legal). The growth is still illegal (allowed up to 3 plants for personal use) so supplying the shops with stock is not legal (but police will not check). At this time it is a topic discussed by politics again. Some want to turn back time (ie. also prosecute the users), others want to make it really legal (including controlled growth and transportation). Until now they never dared to make it totally legal as they fear the reactions from other countries.

Yes a Coffee Shop will pay taxes and not many will try to fraud as coffeeshops are monitored all the time. If they would sell to a minor, they would loose their license after 1 or 2 offences.

There is no european anti smoking law, but most european countries do have such law these days. In the Netherlands a no smoking law became active last july for restaurants and bars, this officially includes coffeeshops. But a lot of them allow smoking inside again.

Some pages on wikipedia on this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_po...he_Netherlands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_coffee_shop

[Marco van Herwaarden]

Its true what they say about Marijuana,thats its a soft drug on the ladder to other drugs such as cocaine and Heroin.

Yes in the Netherlands we make a difference between Soft Drugs (Marihuana, alcohol) and Hard Drugs (heroine, cocaine, etc..).

If you want to rank it, it would even be considered less dangerous/addictive/problematic then alcohol. It would make more sense to ban alcohol then to ban marihuana.

[KTBleeding]

Originally Posted by Marco van Herwaarden

It would make more sense to ban alcohol then to ban marihuana.

IMO, it would make more sense to ban many other drugs over marijuana. Alcohol, Tobacco, Salvia, etc. etc.

Originally Posted by lasto

Ive had friends who started off smoking that crap and now they Drug Addicts.No longer friends either cause who wants someone,who would rob of their own family as a friend.

This is one of the most common myths about Cannabis. I have seen the same thing, but I blame it on the person and not the plant.

For most people, cannabis is a terminus drug, not a gateway drug. Users of high strength drugs such as heroin or LSD are also statistically more likely to have used cannabis in the past, but this is just toying with statistics; when comparing the number of cannabis users with hard-drug users, the numbers are extremely small - suggesting that there is no link at all.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

I think in countries where Canabis is illegal, the chances of a canabis smoker switching to hard drugs is much bigger as they are both sold by the same dealer.

[KTBleeding]

Originally Posted by Marco van Herwaarden

I think in countries where Canabis is illegal, the chances of a canabis smoker switching to hard drugs is much bigger as they are both sold by the same dealer.

Ehh, I'm sure that it plays it's role. Having something easily accessible would increase the desire to try it, I'm sure.

I don't personally know a bunch of people who deal, only a few, but all of them deal strictly with cannabis and nothing more. I'm not suggesting that it doesn't exist, I'm 100% certain that it does. I don't know about how common it is though, as I haven't personally seen it in my lifetime.

I think age plays its part, if I had tried anything as a teenager I'm certain that I would have been far more vulnerable. My mind was young and I was very immature. I don't think I would have been able to handle alcohol or anything else at a young age without experiencing some unnecessary consequences..

There are a number of causes and reasons for bad things to happen if you try any drug. The blame can be put almost anywhere, really.. I'm not one to say that cannabis is good for you, by any means.. but there are FAR FAR worse things going on that people should be concerned about, and I think that for the most part.. harmless people are being punished over a pretty harmless drug.

[UKBusinessLive]

I don't think its a harmless drug, Its very strong now and has been proved to cause mental health problems http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/drugs/Pag...isdangers.aspx

Cannabis is not physically addictive (as heroin is) but is commonly accepted as psychologically addictive in around 10% of users. This means it can lead to dependency problems.

The long term effects are also a problem. Clinical studies have linked cannabis with an increased risk of mental health disorders, including schizophrenia and psychosis.

It is a common misconception that smoking cannabis is somehow less harmful than smoking cigarettes but experts from the British Lung Foundation believe smoking one cannabis joint has the same damaging effect on the lungs as five cigarettes. You're also at higher risk of lung cancer and emphysema if you smoke cannabis and other lung problems linked to the drug include bronchitis and asthma.

The theory that smoking cannabis leads to use of other drugs - known as the gateway theory - is hotly debated. A recent government report claimed that any gateway factor was too small to be a major risk.

Great Reply's Marco, Thanks for that So, does that mean that the shops are allowed to buy via a drug dealer as opposed to some goverment source??

This worries me as there is no checks on the quality or safety issues

[KTBleeding]

Originally Posted by UKBusinessLive

I don't think its a harmless drug, Its very strong now and has been proved to cause mental health problems http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/drugs/Pag...isdangers.aspx

Interesting read. I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought it was harmless, hence "pretty harmless" being used. Any type of smoke going into your lungs will do damage. That being said, you can purchase a vaporizer which will eliminate almost all instances of harmful smoke going into your lungs.

The posted article states that cannabis is worse for your lungs than Tobacco cigarettes. I strongly strongly disagree. Only a very small percentage of cannabis smokers will smoke more than once per day. Far less frequently than your typical cigarette smoker. Also, with cannabis, you are not inhaling the many additives that go into commercial cigarettes.

There are also studies where marijuana smoke does not have the same effect on the bronchial tubes as cigarette smoke, so heavy usage may not cause emphysema.

I'm not saying it's good for you, at all.. but I do believe that it's pretty harmless if used responsibly. Obviously, you shouldn't smoke anything daily, or worse, multiple times a day.. just as you really shouldn't drink alcohol daily either. There are people who do it, and there are people who don't.

I would be ignorant to say that it doesn't cause some bad effects if you consume so much of it. There are instances of people consuming so much cannabis that they do suffer toxic psychosis. Normally, that isn't unique to cannabis, and it's actually very rare when looking at the large picture of cannabis users..

I hope I'm not coming off as a know-it-all, cause I don't. I am simply stating my opinion. Two months ago, if this thread were around, I would be singing a different tune. I was 100% uneducated on cannabis, and then I finally decided to study it in an attempt to be more open-minded.

I think it should be legalized.. aside from people being able to smoke it freely as they please (responsibly), the plant itself is arguably just as renewable as corn, if not more. I think it would do wonders for the down economy, it can be put to use as medicine, recreation, fiber, fuel, food (said to be the "new soy"), etc. etc. etc.