Posts by SimonD
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“despite there being no precedent within the capitalist system” Welcome to the bold new world of doing something that no one else has done.
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No much to be frank. It’s a pretty harmless plant compared to gorse, old mans beard or privet to name just a few that are growing unchecked in rental properties across the country. It’s not poisoness like Castor oil plant and unless smoked or baked is pretty innocuous. If my tenants had it in the garden I’d be pretty relaxed as long as they didn’t smoke inside.
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No Uruguay is not a commercial model. The cannabis is supplied through chemist shops to registered purchasers and grown by order of a government agency. Nothing like a commercial model. And no the current directive to treat drug possession as a health issue rather than a criminal one is by no means a law change to allow personal cultivation. A good first step but not what Mt Beets so eloquently argues for.
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No because if you can grow it for nothing the why would you buy it. To keep the price high there would need to be some sort of Cannabis OPEC in order that the market isnt flooded with excess bud. This is becoming a bit of a circular argument. However I maintain that to institute this regime would cost very little and would risk very little. If in a year or two there are still tinnie houses all over the place and nothing has improved then take the next step and all commercial sales but I truly fail to see how commercial selling wont result in big tobacco moving in. Maybe not overnight but the next time we have a tory government its a done deal.
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Speaker: Cannabis: make it legal but…, in reply to mark taslov,
Yes I get that its a new market and an opportunity for the North particularly but I dont think it is likely to solve any financial woes. My guess is that once legal the price will likely drop to a unprofitable level and it simply wont be worth the weight. For a start there is unliely to be a massive uptake in use, I reckon that most who want to smoke already do. Moreover the big profits thought of when one thinks of fields of weed are based around a high risk illegal industry, no risk no reward.
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Speaker: Cannabis: make it legal but…, in reply to mark taslov,
Yes there will always be a black market it is the nature of humanity. The point is what is the way to achieve the most equatable solution that causes the least harm. Surely looking at alcohol and tobacco would tell you that letting in big business is a recipe for disaster. Ive just returned from Uruguay and I didn’t notice any queues outside chemists. The biggest complaints I heard in the various cannabis museums and shops that sold related materal was that the law didn’t allow the growing of hemp for fibre and food. As for the failure of production to meet demand that is something that will sort itself out. I agree that if you want to promote the use of recreational cannabis then this method won’t provide a massive flood of product into the market and in fact I believe it will eventually likely reduce consumption overall as it will no longer carry the thrill of illegality, but for those of us who like a puff we can grow, keep and share a relately harmless plant without risk of prosecution
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Speaker: Cannabis: make it legal but…, in reply to mark taslov,
Well thats not really correct as the Uruguayan model I mentioned is most of the way there and seems to function quite well. The other point is that this model is extremely easy to implememt. No major institutions need to be put into place nor regulating bodies. The police can basically turn down the volume on enforcement depriving the prisons of numerous criminal apprentices. If it turns out to be a failure then it is reasonably easy to repeal and replace. This is certainly not the case with a full comercialized model. Once the lid is off that bottle the genie is out.
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Speaker: Cannabis: make it legal but…, in reply to bob daktari,
Interestingly that is much like the Uruguayan model. You can grow 6 plants for personal use or you can form a cooperative and grow up to 90. However if you register as a user then you can buy a certain number of grams a month grown by (or on behalf of) the state. The question is though should the state be involved in the cultivation and supply of recreational drugs? The word in Uruguay was that people were a bit queesy about registering as users as it wasnt that long ago that their government wasnt that friendly.
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Speaker: Cannabis: make it legal but…, in reply to mark taslov,
Even the most socially anxious can manage a pot plant surely?
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Speaker: Cannabis: make it legal but…, in reply to mark taslov,
Seeds will become more available over time. We discussed this at the pub the other night. It is an issue and as Russell sort of said it is easy to see them being given away with other products such as potting mix and 20ltr tubs. Not sure that needs to happen. One thing is for certain there will be a ton of seeded head out there when people are planting out all over the country.