http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11660210


Or so the experts say.

Is it time now to criminalise alcohol and ban it? Surely in Ireland at least, given the harm it has caused in broken marriages, drunk driving deaths and other crimes as the defendants most used plea is "My client had drink taken".

Should we now legalise a harmless recreational drug like cannabis instead of drink?

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 01/11/2010 18:32:21    807429

Is it the most harmful as in a every 100 users of alcohol compared to every 100 users of drugs? Or is it more harmful because more people use it

derryman (Derry) - Posts: 3246 - 01/11/2010 19:07:37    807457

Alcohol is the most damaging drug in this country and it is freely available.

Cannabis is fairly harmless in comparison but is illegal.

Legalisation would take a lot of money away from the dealer scum and would be a boost to the exchequer. Simple really.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13796 - 01/11/2010 19:14:22    807466

patrique.
i think on a personal level whats worse is whatever the addiction is , i am currently myself off the drink 3 years , and at the start it was very hard , but thank god i am doing ok now , there is a lot of temptation as far as drink concerns , more off licences , more supermarket deals and proomotion , nearly everthing centres around alcohol these days , based on that , and myt personal experience pat . alcohol is a huge problem that is underestimated .

ta32 (Tyrone) - Posts: 4907 - 01/11/2010 19:20:11    807469

This report has been ridiculously sensationalised by the media - the key point that your headline failed to mention was that the survey in making that claim was considering the effects on society rather than the individual. Since alcohol is more prevalent, it does more damage.


Anyone who wants a less sensationalised version I would direct them to this morning's 5live interview with Professor Nutt.

Big Iano (Cavan) - Posts: 188 - 01/11/2010 19:45:13    807488

MORE DRINK

pidge (Cork) - Posts: 543 - 01/11/2010 20:04:05    807504

Drugs and alcohol are as bad as each other. People always UP the alcohol dangers to lessen the criminality of their own drug taking but both are bad especially if abused !!

Cavan_Slasher (Cavan) - Posts: 10253 - 01/11/2010 20:07:41    807507

bring back the opium houses!

stranmillis29 (Antrim) - Posts: 788 - 01/11/2010 20:53:22    807552

Amazingly enough it is possible to enjoy alcohol sensibly and in moderation, can the same thing be said about heroin?

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 01/11/2010 21:12:58    807582

Drinks and drugs are bad but drugs are worse in my eyes and poeple well most poeple can drink in moderation.

Dellboypolecat (Tyrone) - Posts: 15069 - 01/11/2010 21:15:23    807586

Drinks and drugs are bad but drugs are worse in my eyes and poeple well most poeple can drink in moderation.

I am pretty sure many people can take other drugs in moderation also. They do not all fit under this 'drugs are awful' banner. Drink is a drug, isnt it? Simply being legal doesnt change that fact. So shouldnt it also fit under this 'drugs' tag?

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 01/11/2010 21:41:01    807617

brendtheredhand
County: Tyrone
Posts: 2769

807582 Amazingly enough it is possible to enjoy alcohol sensibly and in moderation, can the same thing be said about heroin?

Excellent point Brend. Alcohol for most people is something that is part of a normal life. You cannot take heroin and function normally. Dublin city centre is infested with junkies to extent that certain streets off O'Connell Street are not safe at any time of the day. This argument that 'oh alcohol is legal so we should legalise all drugs' is a silly one.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 02/11/2010 08:22:09    807651

Dellboy have you seen any nightclub in Ireland? Alcohol moderation me hole.
Yes, a lot of people can moderate their drinking, a lot of people cant either.

bosch (Derry) - Posts: 873 - 02/11/2010 08:26:43    807653

MesAmis
County: Dublin
Posts: 2130

807466 Alcohol is the most damaging drug in this country and it is freely available.

Cannabis is fairly harmless in comparison but is illegal.

Legalisation would take a lot of money away from the dealer scum and would be a boost to the exchequer. Simple really.
_____________________________________

Absolutely spot on Mes Amis.

I'd go one step further and make Dublin into the new Amsterdam... Set up drug tourism. We could make a new district inside of the city dedicated to the selling of Cannabis ie... Coffee shops etc... plus have you ever in your life seen a couple of stoners having a fight in the middle of the street and causing public disorder!!

I havent...

Dublin has been voted in the top 10 party cities in the world. We should take advantage of that... we need to start thinking outside the box in this country.

We could have the capablity of making literally hundreds of millions of of euro in this city if Cannabis was legalised... many factors would contribute to this!

Take the multi billion industry out of the criminals hands and pump that money back into our economy. Instead of it sitting in some sort of dodgy off shore account.

The Drugs are already here folks and are easily accesible... why not take the control of it and pump millions into our economy.

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 02/11/2010 11:14:00    807721

hurlingdub
County: Dublin
Posts: 2590

807651 brendtheredhand
County: Tyrone
Posts: 2769

807582 Amazingly enough it is possible to enjoy alcohol sensibly and in moderation, can the same thing be said about heroin?

Excellent point Brend. Alcohol for most people is something that is part of a normal life. You cannot take heroin and function normally. Dublin city centre is infested with junkies to extent that certain streets off O'Connell Street are not safe at any time of the day. This argument that 'oh alcohol is legal so we should legalise all drugs' is a silly one.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

The only reason why heroin is so dangerous is because of the chemicals it is mixed with... in order to turn into Heroin.

The pure form of the drug "Opium" is far less of a danger... and you can get up and go to work in the morning.

You could easily legalise Opium...

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 02/11/2010 11:17:37    807725

bosch
County: Derry
Posts: 526

807653 Dellboy have you seen any nightclub in Ireland? Alcohol moderation me hole.
Yes, a lot of people can moderate their drinking, a lot of people cant either


I agree however i believe it be easier to be hooked in drugs than drink.

Dellboypolecat (Tyrone) - Posts: 15069 - 02/11/2010 14:30:59    807897

People who drink are only putting money into the pockets of publicans and the state.
People who take drugs, whether it's Heroine or Cannabis, are funding the scum who are terrorising parts of the country, they are contributing indirectly to the violence which is ruining areas of our cities.
Possession of illegal substances should hold far greater penalties and maybe these idiots would realise the consequences of buying Cannabis extends beyond the damage it inflicts on themselves.

Inactive x5 (Cavan) - Posts: 1452 - 02/11/2010 14:49:24    807914

jimbo, opium is highly addictive and almost destroyed China when the Brits fought a war to force them to buy it from them! Ah, the Brits, don't you just love em :-)

Jonsmith is right. Anyone who buys drugs is supporting the gangs. I don't think DIAGEO have gotten around to torturing and murdering rivals yet???

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 02/11/2010 14:58:10    807923

Dellboypolecat
County: Tyrone
Posts: 13385

I agree however i believe it be easier to be hooked in drugs than drink.

Drink is the easiest of all the harmful drugs to get a hold of.

Also a certain level of dependency on alcohol is socially acceptable in Ireland.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13796 - 02/11/2010 15:02:41    807926

MesAmis, humans have been drinking alcohol almost as long as there have been humans. It is part of our culture but like all other parts there are minorities who cannot cope with it or who abuse it. There is really no up side to addiction to heroin, cocaine, morphine etc.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 02/11/2010 15:14:38    807941