• Question: do you agree with legal and illegal pot use?

    Asked by SAYr9 to Ellen, Elliot, Hazel, Rupesh, Thomas on 10 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Elliot Jokl

      Elliot Jokl answered on 10 Jun 2016:

      Hello and thanks for the question!

      I think the central thing to think about with this question is another question: why do we ban things in the first place? A lot of drugs are very harmful and addictive, so they are made illegal to try and stop people from using them and harming themselves.

      For cannabis, this is a bit of a complex issue. I think the balance of evidence suggests that cannabis can have some medicinal benefits and so it may be good to let some people use it as a medicine. However, there are also concerns that the more modern forms of cannabis are much more potent and there is some evidence to suggest this can have a harmful effect on mental health, particularly if children use it. I think this is one of the main reasons why cannabis is currently illegal.

      On the other hand, an interesting argument is that alcohol and tobacco are more harmful than cannabis, and yet they are legal whilst cannabis is not. If we ban things because they are harmful, doesn’t it seem strange to say that alcohol and tobacco are OK?

      I think I would make sense for cannabis to be made legal, but just like tobacco and alcohol, there should be rules in place to control who it is sold to and how strong it is allowed to be.

    • Photo: Thomas Biggans

      Thomas Biggans answered on 11 Jun 2016:

      I don’t think anyone should take anything that is currently illegal not just because it is against the law but because you don’t know where it has come from, you don’t know how much of it is actually what they say it is and because you don’t get any advice on how much or how often it’s safe to take

      Now whether or not cannabis should be legal is a different question. At the moment there’s uncertainty about how much harm it may cause particularly in how your brain works so it is illegal to protect people against these dangers but some people find benefits in using it which outweigh the risks for them so why should they be denied it? Particularly when cigarettes and alcohol are also known to cause significant health problems.

      There are many research projects on the effects of cannabis and I think it will be based on the results of these studies that cannabis may become legal in the UK however there would be a number of restrictions to ensure its safe to use.

    • Photo: Hazel Garvie-Cook

      Hazel Garvie-Cook answered on 15 Jun 2016:

      I don’t agree with illegal pot use, because it’s illegal. There’s a huge debate about legalising certain drugs. I don’t know much about the benefits of either way though, so can’t really express an opinion.

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