• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Which drugs have you taken?

Which drugs have you taken? (more than one answer is allowed)

  • Cannabis

    Votes: 29 34.1%
  • Cocaine (powder)

    Votes: 13 15.3%
  • Crack cocaine

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • Ecstasy

    Votes: 11 12.9%
  • GHB

    Votes: 1 1.2%
  • Heroin

    Votes: 1 1.2%
  • Ketamine

    Votes: 9 10.6%
  • LSD

    Votes: 10 11.8%
  • Magic Mushrooms

    Votes: 10 11.8%
  • MCAT

    Votes: 6 7.1%
  • MDMA

    Votes: 12 14.1%
  • Mescaline

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • Meth Amphetamine (Crystal Meth)

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • PCP

    Votes: 2 2.4%
  • Some other drug(s) you're not cool enough to know about

    Votes: 10 11.8%
  • I've never taken illegal drugs

    Votes: 55 64.7%

  • Total voters
    85
Status
Not open for further replies.

Gutfright

Member
Joined
22 Jan 2016
Messages
639
Let's be honest, drug abuse is fairly widespread in this country.

What's the best way of dealing with the problems drug use can create? Should the authorities crack down on illegal drugs with harsher penalties? Should drugs be legalised and regulated by the state? Or should the free market take over?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Harbornite

Established Member
Joined
7 May 2016
Messages
3,634
Maybe the second option, although I would first look at the case study for the legalization of Cannabis in certain US states like Cali to see if this is the right thing to do.
 

Chew Chew

Member
Joined
29 Aug 2010
Messages
511
Far too much money is wasted on prohibition.

If people want to spend their money on drugs then let them.

Legalise and tax it.
 

ainsworth74

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Global Moderator
Joined
16 Nov 2009
Messages
27,539
Location
Redcar
Well clearly cracking down and making them illegal has failed miserably. At the very least decriminalisation of the use and possession of small amounts would seem logical. Personal I think it would make far more sense to legalise, regulate and then tax the whole thing. If for no other reason than if you make it legal you'll tear the guts out of a lot of criminal gangs. Who is going to buy from a shady drug dealer when they can pop into a local shop? Certainly some of the softer drugs should be treated in this way. Legalisation of Weed in places like Colorado in the United States seems to have been a roaring success.

Whatever the answer I don't see that cracking down further is going to achieve anything.
 

Gutfright

Member
Joined
22 Jan 2016
Messages
639
Aren't Ecstasy and MDMA the same thing? If not which do you recommend?

Actually, I was wondering about that. Chemically I think they may be the same, except E comes in pill form and MDMA is snorted.

I can't recommend taking any controlled substances, but you get a more immediate rush from MDMA powder.
 

Chew Chew

Member
Joined
29 Aug 2010
Messages
511
aren't ecstasy and mdma the same thing? If not which do you recommend?

Nearly forgot to say - legalise.

mdma.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Who is going to buy from a shady drug dealer when they can pop into a local shop?

The same person who buys fake cigarettes and spirits.

The government knows the war on drugs can never be won but instead of changing they continue with the same old rhetoric.
 

Gutfright

Member
Joined
22 Jan 2016
Messages
639
Seems there's an early consensus building and people would be happy to see crack available in their local supermarket next to the fags and lottery tickets? Interesting.
 

ExRes

Established Member
Joined
16 Dec 2012
Messages
5,761
Location
Back in Sussex
Aren't Ecstasy and MDMA the same thing? If not which do you recommend?

Nearly forgot to say - legalise.

Check them out on wikipedia, take a look at the 'adverse effects' sections headed short term, intermediate term and long term, really cool yes? and highly recommended of course

:roll:
 

Gutfright

Member
Joined
22 Jan 2016
Messages
639
Check them out on wikipedia, take a look at the 'adverse effects' sections headed short term, intermediate term and long term, really cool yes? and highly recommended of course

:roll:

I've done ecstasy/ MDMA in my time and I haven't suffered any memory impairment.

Also, I should add that I've done ecstasy/ MDMA in my time and I haven't suffered any memory impairment.
 

Harbornite

Established Member
Joined
7 May 2016
Messages
3,634
There are some interesting results in the poll, aren't we a naughty bunch! I've only consumed two types of drug, both of which are legal. They won't be too hard to guess.
 

DaleCooper

Established Member
Joined
2 Mar 2015
Messages
3,507
Location
Mulholland Drive
I've done ecstasy/ MDMA in my time and I haven't suffered any memory impairment.

Also, I should add that I've done ecstasy/ MDMA in my time and I haven't suffered any memory impairment.

Why don't you start a thread about people's attitude to drugs and whether they should be legalised? You could even have a poll to find out who has taken what drugs.
 

Harbornite

Established Member
Joined
7 May 2016
Messages
3,634
I've done ecstasy/ MDMA in my time and I haven't suffered any memory impairment.

Also, I should add that I've done ecstasy/ MDMA in my time and I haven't suffered any memory impairment.

I like what you did there! Perhaps the consumption of said drugs explains why you think Brexit is a good idea...




I'll grab my coat. :)
 

Xenophon PCDGS

Veteran Member
Joined
17 Apr 2011
Messages
32,268
Location
A semi-rural part of north-west England
The only people who thrive on the profits from the sale of illegal drugs are those criminal organisations who have for years had a ready market in those people who find themselves addicted to these drugs.

As one who is a teetotal non-smoker, I have never taken any illegal drugs in my life and have never seen or felt the reason for doing so.
 

61653 HTAFC

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Dec 2012
Messages
17,624
Location
Another planet...
Seems there's an early consensus building and people would be happy to see crack available in their local supermarket next to the fags and lottery tickets? Interesting.

Queuing up behind smackheads would be no more frustrating than queueing up behind scratchcard addicts is. Drugs and drug addiction should be a public health concern, not a law enforcement one.
 

trainmania100

Established Member
Joined
8 Nov 2015
Messages
2,566
Location
Newhaven
I didn't know how naughty some of community is :o hopefully every one is currently taking the nothing illegal drug or none at all
 

ChiefPlanner

Established Member
Joined
6 Sep 2011
Messages
7,768
Location
Herts
Decriminalising cannabis (following the Dutch / Spanish model) - i.e allowed to grow or purchase in a controlled (and taxed) manner- would I suspect reduce the level of crime associated with the present laws , and largely meet many recreational users requirements without delving into the murky street trade. Might even boost the economy as Colorado has shown

Nothing gets me more annoyed about double standards than to go to the newsagents see the cigarette display is now behind site (fine) , but the recent initiative is a wall full of vodka and cheap , strong wine in full view. Who wants to buy £4.80 worth of vodka with the newspaper....no one I know.
 

DarloRich

Veteran Member
Joined
12 Oct 2010
Messages
29,182
Location
Fenny Stratford
Drugs destroy lives, families and communities and legalising them isn't the answer. Addicts will still commit crime to fund their habit and people will always try to undercut the official sources and sell on the black market. It happens with cigarettes and alcohol and to expect it not to happen with hard drugs is extremely naive.
 

ainsworth74

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Global Moderator
Joined
16 Nov 2009
Messages
27,539
Location
Redcar
Drugs destroy lives, families and communities and legalising them isn't the answer. Addicts will still commit crime to fund their habit and people will always try to undercut the official sources and sell on the black market. It happens with cigarettes and alcohol and to expect it not to happen with hard drugs is extremely naive.

But making them illegal hasn't worked either! Plus I assume you wouldn't use the black market in cigarettes and alcohol as an argument to make them illegal? Further whilst people may always try and undercut the official source the vast majority of people buy their alcohol and cigarettes from official sources (upon which they pay tax and which are a lot less shady then a drug dealer round the corner). Why would we want to continue to perpetuate a situation where criminality can thrive off of this prohibition which clearly isn't working?

I must admit to me it makes far more sense to deal with them as a public health matter in the way we deal with smoking and alcohol than a criminal one.

Has Portugal descended into chaos? They decriminalised all drugs back in 2001...
 

DarloRich

Veteran Member
Joined
12 Oct 2010
Messages
29,182
Location
Fenny Stratford
But making them illegal hasn't worked either! Plus I assume you wouldn't use the black market in cigarettes and alcohol as an argument to make them illegal? Further whilst people may always try and undercut the official source the vast majority of people buy their alcohol and cigarettes from official sources (upon which they pay tax and which are a lot less shady then a drug dealer round the corner). Why would we want to continue to perpetuate a situation where criminality can thrive off of this prohibition which clearly isn't working?

I must admit to me it makes far more sense to deal with them as a public health matter in the way we deal with smoking and alcohol than a criminal one.

Has Portugal descended into chaos? They decriminalised all drugs back in 2001...


I don't believe we are hard enough on drugs, on drug users, on drug addicts, on drug dealers or on drug traffickers - that is why the system doesn't work. By being liberal and moving towards a position of decrimilisation we create an idea that using drugs is OK. It isn't.

BTW - I know lots of people who haven't bought a packet of fags "legally" for years. I could go in certain pubs at home and walk out with 500 fags for a fraction of the retail price. OK they might not be Marloboro but I am sure they do the same job!
 
Last edited:

ainsworth74

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Global Moderator
Joined
16 Nov 2009
Messages
27,539
Location
Redcar
Okay well America are by all measures much harsher than us on drug crimes and yet it doesn't appear to be working over there either? Plus do you disagree with the Royal Society for Public Health who recently came out in favour? Then there was the government report that had to be doctored by politicians to give the 'correct' answer because it actually came back saying current policy didn't work and decriminalisation might be a better alternative?

And what about Portugal? They decriminalised and it seems to be me only positives have resulted to me.
 

Harbornite

Established Member
Joined
7 May 2016
Messages
3,634
I don't believe we are hard enough on drugs, on drug users, on drug addicts, on drug dealers or on drug traffickers - that is why the system doesn't work. By being liberal and moving towards a position of decrimilisation we create an idea that using drugs is OK. It isn't.

BTW - I know lots of people who haven't bought a packet of fags "legally" for years. I could go in certain pubs at home and walk out with 500 fags for a fraction of the retail price. OK they might not be Marloboro but I am sure they do the same job!


We let people consume alcohol and nicotine, why not cannabis? There is evidence to show that cannabis consumption could be linked to mental health issues but I'm not entirely sure what the current stance on the issue is, although it's not like alcohol consumption is entirely healthy and yet I wouldn't want that to be prohibited.
 

ChiefPlanner

Established Member
Joined
6 Sep 2011
Messages
7,768
Location
Herts
We let people consume alcohol and nicotine, why not cannabis? There is evidence to show that cannabis consumption could be linked to mental health issues but I'm not entirely sure what the current stance on the issue is, although it's not like alcohol consumption is entirely healthy and yet I wouldn't want that to be prohibited.

Plenty of good evidence what inappropriate alcohol consumption does to health and crime .(let alone the contribution to poverty etc) ....there may well be consumption criteria applied on cans and bottles etc - but never has it been so easily and cheaply available. I find it quite worrying that 40% volume drinks are so aggressively marketed.

Prof Nutt tried a ranking system based on harm reduction for all drugs (including alcohol and nicotine) - clearly his message was off-side to commercial interests.

The UK has a fearsome record internationally on binge drinking and a cursory glance at the media this week proves that.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

Veteran Member
Joined
17 Apr 2011
Messages
32,268
Location
A semi-rural part of north-west England
BTW - I know lots of people who haven't bought a packet of fags "legally" for years. I could go in certain pubs at home and walk out with 500 fags for a fraction of the retail price. OK they might not be Marloboro but I am sure they do the same job!

I remember, about 10 years ago, reading a report on cigarettes illegally imported into Britain that had been seized in a raid by the authorities. The outer packaging was perfect, but what was inside the cigarette when subjected to testing but the non-tobacco additives that had been added would most certainly have caused far more harm to the smoker than normal tobacco.
 

Gutfright

Member
Joined
22 Jan 2016
Messages
639
I remember, about 10 years ago, reading a report on cigarettes illegally imported into Britain that had been seized in a raid by the authorities. The outer packaging was perfect, but what was inside the cigarette when subjected to testing but the non-tobacco additives that had been added would most certainly have caused far more harm to the smoker than normal tobacco.

Currently The Man takes a lot of money out of your pocket for buying alcohol and tobacco legally. A similarly punitive 'sin tax' on hard drugs would surely defeat the purpose of legalisation?
 

DaleCooper

Established Member
Joined
2 Mar 2015
Messages
3,507
Location
Mulholland Drive
Currently The Man takes a lot of money out of your pocket for buying alcohol and tobacco legally. A similarly punitive 'sin tax' on hard drugs would surely defeat the purpose of legalisation?

The cost of producing drugs is probably very small so even with tax they should be a lot cheaper than illegal drugs where importers and suppliers want a huge return for the risks they take, several middle-men take a cut and the pure drug is diluted with all sorts of noxious substances (as happens with illegal fags and booze), something that could be controlled if legalised.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top