Cannabis should definitely be legalised for medicinal use.
Those who say it has side effects do not seem to realise the problems that the potential users already have.
It is effective for MS .
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Well, thereâs been some interesting information⊠thanks everyone.
On the face of it⊠if there are medical benefits, I reckon it should be available via prescription. (maybe it already is). Prescription does not mean it automatically gets paid for by the State/Mutuelle⊠but it does mean itâs distribution is somewhat regulated/controlled⊠and gets to those folk who really need it.
Iâm wary of making any drugs available too freely⊠and we are supposed to be cutting back on other stuff⊠tobacco/alcohol⊠even sugar⊠for the sake of our health⊠
I watched a very informative The Wright Stuff (UK Channel 5) this morning on this very subject.
On the panel was a GP who explained a few things about the various derivatives of what is commonly called âcannabisâ.
The âstreetâ version - skunk - is definitely not the sort of stuff people should be using. Itâs highly addictive (quite a lot more so than the whacky baccy so favoured by the sandal wearing hippies of the 60âs) and should be avoided at all cost.
The problem as I see it is that to give carte blanch legalisation would send out the wrong message.
There were some fantasy tales from the Tax Payers Alliance in particular who suggested vast savings to the NHS and the Justice system by decriminalising it citing dubious evidence from some US States.
No. keep it within legal boundaries; if it really does help, medical grade substances should be placed under proper supervision but giving a wide spread authority to use it would be very wrong.
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if France would legalise it, the profit with taxes would allow us to vote for Frexit huhuhu 
Iâm quite surprised at the level of cannabis use in our quiet little towns in the middle of nowhere, but itâs done privately and rarely causes problems.
The strength of the skunk these days is wicked, about 10 years ago I was offered a puff, and after a couple of draws was reduced to a gibbering wreck - always used to take the piss out of 2 toke tommiesâŠ
Not had any since
Iâm from Colorado, and five years into legalization, the doomsday scenario has simply not panned out. Yes, there have been more traffic stops, but fewer teens imbibe than in 2012 (maybe theyâre all vaping, which is a lot scarier), the precautionary/security systems seem to be working, and there are proceeds flowing into schools and nonprofits. On a personal note, as the mother of a young man with Crohnâs disease, I can tell you that his use of marijuana when first diagnosed back in 2001 was a HUGE help in his regaining his appetite. He had wasted down to 120 pounds on a 5â11" frame and couldnât eat anything for fear of cramps and diarrhea. It was a short-term aid that didnât result in prolonged or addictive use and, 17 years later, he manages his symptoms by avoiding stress, watching his diet, staying fit, and eating yogurt every day. After a referendum vote last year, we are moving forward with legalization here in Maine, where I now live.
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Thatâs an interesting response⊠thanks Nancy.
We had 3 cousins in Canada⊠and all 3 suffered with Crohns. The elder 2 had operationsâŠand seemed fine⊠but we spent holidays with the youngest, who took loads of pills several times a day, rather than having an operation⊠He eat like a horse and looked thinner than a blade of grass as well as being tall for his age.
Sadly, for unrelated reasons the elder 2 have died, but the youngest, now early 60âs, has obviously managed to sort something out, as he looked quite chunky in his last photo.
Glad to hear that your son has sorted his Crohnâs into something he can handle⊠
Perhaps someone at Sud Ouest reads our Forum⊠this is in the paper todayâŠ
Thanks , Stella. Fingers crossed that he can hold off on medication until absolutely necessary. Sometimes the side effects can be worse than the cure!
Recently there was a little boy who was having multiple seizures a day and who had been in Holland and using cannabis which gave him huge relief.
In UK he had to go to government for help and I remember Theresa May saying that they hoped they could give his doctor permission to prescribe in a monthâs time.
How many more potentially lethal seizures was that poor boy condemned to endure because of such an inflexible attitude in UK?
I canât remember hearing anything more about this story, does anyone know the outcome?
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Shouldnât be controversial, in itself, really.
After all medical uses of morphine (and a whole lot of other controlled drugs) are legal and have been for a long time.
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I sometimes think that political opposition to everyday cannabis use is its effect in reducing anxiety. Pervasive widespread anxiety is a great stimulus to retail sales, buying stuff brings relief, but the relief is short-lived, a bit like the deep relief felt by a smoker on lighting up.
So mildly but chronically anxious types need a regular retail fix. âRetail therapyâ. Dope-heads donât need to traipse round shops to chill.
I may, of course, be very wrong.
Hello peopledom
From what I know, which isnât much, medical canabis isnât dispensed by a pharmacist in the form of a handful of Bob Marley Specials. Certain canaboids are isolated from specific plants and administered by oral drops, atomized or possibly vaped. You DONT get stoned. Itâs development is still at an early stage. I stand to be corrected on this.
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Portugal seem to have the right idea.
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Portugalâs drug policy has clearly worked but that doesnât mean the same type of approach would work in the UK.
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I smoked it on and off for about 40 years so I speak from experience. As Mark Robbins says, legalising it will make no difference to those who are likely to go on to harder stuff regardless. Cannabis is not in itself addictive, or at least not the stuff I have used but a real risk exists if the source of supply is via some sort of underworld dealer that has more profitable wares to peddle. Way back when, a friend of mine fell in with a bad crowd that had access to heroin. He tried it and became addicted for a time. He warned me against trying it even once. âIt will make you want moreâ. Having said that in recent decades there have been new strains of weed developed that are so powerful I feel they could well be leading users into dangerous situations. I donât advocate its use by anyone under 18 years or so. Iâm not convinced that legalising it will cause a huge increase in the number of users. I doubt many people that have fancied trying it since the fifties were put off by the fact it was illegal in fact for many that probably added to their curiosity. Once enough people tried it they knew the old hype about it automatically leading us on to hard drugs was just lies because unlike tobacco, it was easy to grow your own, and big business couldnât make a profit out of it and governments couldnât tax it. One final thought. I would rather see people smoking a little ganja than swallowing some new designer drug that someone knocked up in their bedroom. People die from stuff like that.
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I agree RichardâŠsmoking it wasnât for me but I knew quite a few people who smoked it and never even considered moving on to anything elseâŠI do also know of several who started on prescription drugs and moved on to heroin and then methadoneâŠI also know several people who have cured their own cancer with cbd oilâŠ
But when weâre talking about medicinal cannabisâŠand cannabis oil and the difference between hemp oil and cannabis oil and a mixture of both then I think weâre talking about something else entirelyâŠsmoking it has been shown to help multiple sclerosis sufferers but also if smoking it for medicinal purposes then much of the medicinal effect is lostâŠ,.
We have an endocabbinanoid systemâŠwe have receptorsâŠour physical bodies are receptive to this plantâŠ
When a âgovernmentâ demonises a companion plant and places it in similar categories to heroin and cocaine and spice and ecstacy then we have a problemâŠ
In the city where I was born there are often reports of âcannabis farmsâ in attics and âunknownsâ diverting the electric supply and fires and damage to rented property and all sortsâŠit doesnât helpâŠ
Several times over the last 4 years we have considered raising the money to send my daughter to one of the states in the USA who have legalised/decriminalised cannabisâŠbut itâs such a minefieldâŠ
How much better would it be for the medical community to work hand in hand with the cancer sufferers and sufferers of other ailments who want to try cannabis oil but are prevented from doing so by the outdated demonisation and criminalisation of a plantâŠ,???
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There have been similar initiatives in the city where I was born in ukâŠ,last time I was there which thankfully wasnât for very long I walked my Collies past council caravans set up just outside the city centre where young people could enter for a chatâŠI walked them past the elderly who didnât speak English sitting on the streets on plastic garden chairs pissing their trousersâŠthe latest concept of care in the communityâŠI was walking my Collies through streets full of discarded needles and cocaine packets and only the great goddess knows what else was in those nightly discarded plastic bagsâŠI was subject to death threats against both me and my border collies by âethnic minorityâ out of city students studying lawâŠ
Nightly I met lovely people walking their dogs trying to shield them from the insanityâŠ
The article about Portugal doesnât seem to be discussing the therapeutic benefits of cannabis oil on cancer autism epilepsy etcâŠ,âŠ???
Letâs get high !