Is it time?????????

[ardmhachaabu]

The Dutch model has a lot going for it on both counts.  They allow prostitution but their earnings are taxed and the prostitutes are licensed by the councils (or equivalent) and have to undergo health checks every year

WRT cannabis, it's not illegal to be in possession of it or smoke it but it is illegal to supply it.  So, the only time coffee shops there get closed down is when the cops raid them as they are getting a delivery.  Likewise, the coffee shops are licensed through the councils and cannabis is taxable

[Lawrence of Knockbride]

A massive YES on both counts. Pintofguinness you say no to marijuana. Why? I've never heard one good reason why.
It's a pipe dream as none of our politicians have the balls to even bring it up except for Ming in Roscommon. It makes too much sense. Stick to the lung and liver damaging drink and smoke. Sure us Irish love that.

[boojangles]

A massive YES on both counts. Pintofguinness you say no to marijuana. Why? I've never heard one good reason why.
It's a pipe dream as none of our politicians have the balls to even bring it up except for Ming in Roscommon. It makes too much sense. Stick to the lung and liver damaging drink and smoke. Sure us Irish love that.

Would have to agree here.tax it all and the country makes money on it.Its better than the Millions of pounds worth of raids that are 'destroyed' every few weeks. If people are gonna spend money on it(which they are by the bank full) then the Country should make money on it.The Drugs trade in Ireland would be worth Billions to the economy.FACT.
Another thing I can't understand is how the Licensing laws have not been changed back to previous times.We are trying to make people spend more money on everything in this country yet if I wanna go for a bottle of wine or a few bottles at 11 o clock from the Off-Licence I can't.
10 o clock is finishing time for off-sales.We should be loosening the licencing times in a recession,not restricting them.

[pintsofguinness]

A massive YES on both counts. Pintofguinness you say no to marijuana. Why? I've never heard one good reason why.
It's a pipe dream as none of our politicians have the balls to even bring it up except for Ming in Roscommon. It makes too much sense. Stick to the lung and liver damaging drink and smoke. Sure us Irish love that.

Because theres enough problems in the country without creating more by making marijuana freely available.

If people are gonna spend money on it(which they are by the bank full) then the Country should make money on it.The Drugs trade in Ireland would be worth Billions to the economy.FACT.

So what, we'll legalise drugs? Have you thought about the cost of drugs on the country? By your logic we should be encouraging people to smoke and drink.

[ONeill]

I'd legalise both.

[boojangles]

A massive YES on both counts. Pintofguinness you say no to marijuana. Why? I've never heard one good reason why.
It's a pipe dream as none of our politicians have the balls to even bring it up except for Ming in Roscommon. It makes too much sense. Stick to the lung and liver damaging drink and smoke. Sure us Irish love that.

Because theres enough problems in the country without creating more by making marijuana freely available.

If people are gonna spend money on it(which they are by the bank full) then the Country should make money on it.The Drugs trade in Ireland would be worth Billions to the economy.FACT.

So what, we'll legalise drugs? Have you thought about the cost of drugs on the country? By your logic we should be encouraging people to smoke and drink.

What is the cost of drugs on the Country then??
Im not saying legalise it,I was enquiring how it could be regulated.Maybe certain chemists could sell the stuff.
You obviously don't live in Ireland if you think people aren't encouraged to drink in this country. Alcohol and Tobacco cause far more deaths in this country each year than any illegal drug has ever but because it is morally acceptable and its a taxable product then its AOK.

[pintsofguinness]

What is the cost of drugs on the Country then??
Im not saying legalise it,I was enquiring how it could be regulated.Maybe certain chemists could sell the stuff.
You obviously don't live in Ireland if you think people aren't encouraged to drink in this country. Alcohol and Tobacco cause far more deaths in this country each year than any illegal drug has ever but because it is morally acceptable and its a taxable product then its AOK.

What drugs would you legalise then? Them all? You don't know the cost of the drugs on the country? The deaths and health costs, the crime associated with drugs etc?
There must be changes in Ireland since I moved, do the government encourage people to drink? Go out and have ten pints to help the economy?
Alcohol and tobacco may cause more deaths but that's because they are freely available so it's hardly a fair comparison.

[ardmhachaabu]

I'd legalise both.

I dunno if that would work WRT to prostitution - what I mean is there will always be women who don't want to be licensed and wouldn't want to do yearly medical checks etc - if they are plying their wares on some street corner and earning the same as a woman who is licensed, works in a licensed brothel, undergoes health checks etc... what would be the point in any woman going through all of that when they could earn the same money and not have the hassle?  Do you get me? (not trying to patronise btw)

WRT cannabis, decriminalising it worked for the Dutch.  The Dutch police would tell you the same thing

[boojangles]

What is the cost of drugs on the Country then??
Im not saying legalise it,I was enquiring how it could be regulated.Maybe certain chemists could sell the stuff.
You obviously don't live in Ireland if you think people aren't encouraged to drink in this country. Alcohol and Tobacco cause far more deaths in this country each year than any illegal drug has ever but because it is morally acceptable and its a taxable product then its AOK.

What drugs would you legalise then? Them all? You don't know the cost of the drugs on the country? The deaths and health costs, the crime associated with drugs etc?
There must be changes in Ireland since I moved, do the government encourage people to drink? Go out and have ten pints to help the economy?
Alcohol and tobacco may cause more deaths but that's because they are freely available so it's hardly a fair comparison.

Again-you must not live in this country. Most drugs are freely available.Far more crime associated with Alcohol.That is proven. I never said Id legalize any drugs.We all know the horrors and suffering associated with Heroin abuse etc but some drugs such as marajuana/cannabis could be worth looking at. My main point is, if the gangs are making Millions out of the Drugs trade then why shouldn't the Government?
There should be an open discussion in this country at least on it.But thats never going to happen is it??

[pintsofguinness]

What is the cost of drugs on the Country then??
Im not saying legalise it,I was enquiring how it could be regulated.Maybe certain chemists could sell the stuff.
You obviously don't live in Ireland if you think people aren't encouraged to drink in this country. Alcohol and Tobacco cause far more deaths in this country each year than any illegal drug has ever but because it is morally acceptable and its a taxable product then its AOK.

What drugs would you legalise then? Them all? You don't know the cost of the drugs on the country? The deaths and health costs, the crime associated with drugs etc?
There must be changes in Ireland since I moved, do the government encourage people to drink? Go out and have ten pints to help the economy?
Alcohol and tobacco may cause more deaths but that's because they are freely available so it's hardly a fair comparison.

Again-you must not live in this country. Most drugs are freely available.Far more crime associated with Alcohol.That is proven. I never said Id legalize any drugs.We all know the horrors and suffering associated with Heroin abuse etc but some drugs such as marajuana/cannabis could be worth looking at. My main point is, if the gangs are making Millions out of the Drugs trade then why shouldn't the Government?
There should be an open discussion in this country at least on it.But thats never going to happen is it??

You'd know where you'd get heroin or coke now if you wanted to?
Drug dealers make their money on the backs of others suffering and you dont see the problem with the government doing the same thing?

[PadraicHenryPearse]

http://www.nisnews.nl/public/030508_1.htm

This article shows how much the Govt. come make from drugs. If govt. run the Govt. could make a hell of alot more.

[redhugh]

Aye - legalise them to fcuk.Make it a friday and giive me a couple of weeks notice so that I can book the monday off.

[Lawrence of Knockbride]

Pintofguinness, we're talking about cannabis here not all drugs. Cannabis has never killed anyone in this country. If you take it with tobacco then that's another matter. What problems could it cause. When you're stoned you're stoned and you can't be arsed fighting with anyone unlike drink.
The problem is we live in the nanny state. Who the f**k is Mary Harney, health freak herself, to tell me what I can or can't put in my body. As boojangles says you can't get drink 24 hours a day so what happens? People rush to the bar for all they can get (esp young people) at the one time, leave the pub at the one time and there's potential for oln-street problems.
If we were smoking cannabis, we'd be at home vegetating harming nobody else which should be our choice.
And I would say that Guinness sponsoring one of our national sports is encouraging people to drink, sensibly of course.

[boojangles]

What is the cost of drugs on the Country then??
Im not saying legalise it,I was enquiring how it could be regulated.Maybe certain chemists could sell the stuff.
You obviously don't live in Ireland if you think people aren't encouraged to drink in this country. Alcohol and Tobacco cause far more deaths in this country each year than any illegal drug has ever but because it is morally acceptable and its a taxable product then its AOK.

What drugs would you legalise then? Them all? You don't know the cost of the drugs on the country? The deaths and health costs, the crime associated with drugs etc?
There must be changes in Ireland since I moved, do the government encourage people to drink? Go out and have ten pints to help the economy?
Alcohol and tobacco may cause more deaths but that's because they are freely available so it's hardly a fair comparison.

Again-you must not live in this country. Most drugs are freely available.Far more crime associated with Alcohol.That is proven. I never said Id legalize any drugs.We all know the horrors and suffering associated with Heroin abuse etc but some drugs such as marajuana/cannabis could be worth looking at. My main point is, if the gangs are making Millions out of the Drugs trade then why shouldn't the Government?
There should be an open discussion in this country at least on it.But thats never going to happen is it??

You'd know where you'd get heroin or coke now if you wanted to?
Drug dealers make their money on the backs of others suffering and you dont see the problem with the government doing the same thing?

Unfortunately Heroin is available in nearly every medium sized town in Ireland.It is the drug that causes suffering and anybody who sells it should be locked up.But I am not talking about the Govt legalizing it.Not all drugs cause suffering Pints.
Cannabis and Marajuana could be regulated and decriminalised and therefore put the power back in the hands of the Government.That would also cut out over half of the Criminal gangs business.Therefore eliminating crime. The product could also be improved as there is less cutting and mixing,like goes on when Cannabis reaches Ireland.

[pintsofguinness]

Pintofguinness, we're talking about cannabis here not all drugs. Cannabis has never killed anyone in this country. If you take it with tobacco then that's another matter. What problems could it cause. When you're stoned you're stoned and you can't be arsed fighting with anyone unlike drink.
The problem is we live in the nanny state. Who the f**k is Mary Harney, health freak herself, to tell me what I can or can't put in my body. As boojangles says you can't get drink 24 hours a day so what happens? People rush to the bar for all they can get (esp young people) at the one time, leave the pub at the one time and there's potential for oln-street problems.
If we were smoking cannabis, we'd be at home vegetating harming nobody else which should be our choice.
And I would say that Guinness sponsoring one of our national sports is encouraging people to drink, sensibly of course.

Smoking cannabis is believed to cause the same respiratory problems as smoking tobacco, it's also linked to mental illness.  Why would we want to make it freely available and have a lot more problems to deal with? I'll put it this way, if you could take a time machine back to when cigarettes began would you say it was a good or bad idea to make them freely available?
You can talk about living in a nanny state, you can put whatever you want in to your body but it becomes other people's business when their taxes have to go on your medical bills. 
Whether you can or not get alcohol 24 hours a day is not a factor in the drinking culture in Ireland, the problems with drink stem from people's attitudes.  The attitude that you can't have a good night out unless you're puking up in the street at the end of it.  To argue that poor young people only have about 12-13 hours in the day to get drink makes them over indulge is a very childish argument and ironic coming from someone complaining about being in a nanny state, have some responsibility for yourself.  Most pubs where I live are earlier shutting times than at home but I wouldnt see nearly as many drunk people as I would at home so your argument doesnt make sense. 

Boo

Unfortunately Heroin is available in nearly every medium sized town in Ireland.It is the drug that causes suffering and anybody who sells it should be locked up.But I am not talking about the Govt legalizing it.Not all drugs cause suffering Pints.
Cannabis and Marajuana could be regulated and decriminalised and therefore put the power back in the hands of the Government.That would also cut out over half of the Criminal gangs business.Therefore eliminating crime. The product could also be improved as there is less cutting and mixing,like goes on when Cannabis reaches Ireland.

You claimed in a post that drugs where freely available in Ireland, I asked you did you know where to get drugs right now and from your lack of a answer I assume you don't.  I don't know where to get drugs now nor would I have a clue if I was at home so they're not that freely available.  If they were legal I would know, I may be tempted to take them, younger people certainly would and how would that be good for society?

We have problems with tobacco, we've problems with alcohol how would introducing another drug in to society help?