FYI – im glad he’s said it, but the courageous thing was sarcasm.
You can tell elections are round the corner. Empty promises galore!
Start with weed and that will swing you a good chunk of votes. Not that Labour aren’t going to win it anyway.
Make coke n pills legal the world would be a happy place
Yeah, while the usual idiots are frothing about boats, do something useful elsewhere.
It will certainly help Starmer win the young vote. Starmer does not exactly appeal to a lot of younger voters, who want someone more socially progressive, decriminalising drugs will at least offer younger voters something they care about when it comes to voting for Labour.
Aren’t most weed plantations in the UK owned by government officials? Why would they want competition for their drug dealing.
Decrim weed and you’ll get voted in with a landslide. Look at Canada as an example
Starmer? Legalize drugs?
We’re talking about a guy who asked if he’d decriminalize cannabis possession not only said no, but said that he thinks giving cautions for low level drug crimes isn’t an approach he’d take.
I couldn’t think of anyone less willing. Remember he’s the former director of public prosecution.
I got medicinal cannabis recently and it just made me think how ridiculous it is that this is not widely available. I don’t even use it that regularly but it’s great that you can pretty much choose what you want, get it delivered securely, without having to deal with some dodgy dudes off the street.
A welcome intervention from someone traditionally known for having very hardline views by Labour standards.
Yeah, let’s make drugs legal, works well for alcohol. Let’s decriminalise tax evasion too while we’re at it as having more money helps my mental health just like banging on a big’n. Doesn’t hurt anyone…
Weed yes but maybe think harder about heroin and crack.
It’s almost as if every country that has legalised cannabis has seen millions and millions of tax profit roll in.
It’s almost as if that’s exactly what this stagnating country needs right now. A completely new taxable industry.
A lot of people here not understanding the difference between decriminalisation (terrible idea) and legalisation (the best option we have).
Decriminalisation means the entire drug trade is still illegal and run by gangs, it simply means users are not arrested.
We need legalisation, age limits, licensing for suppliers, strict laws on where drugs can be sold, laws on their packaging and marketing etc. Basically, we need to treat drugs like we do cigarettes.
Decriminalisation is kinder to drug users and addicts than prohibition, but it doesn’t solve any of the big problems.
Starmer’s too frightened of the tabloids to do anything that revolutionary.
It’s astonishing how many progressive noises are made.. by ex MPs who could have made a difference if they did it when in the Commons.
The first forward thinking suggestion I’ve seen in a while
David B…
Former Home Secretary David B…
Who ruled out legalising cannabis in 2002…
But could have done so…
As much as I agree I can already hear the right-wing press popping champagne corks.
Listen, the ‘war on drugs’ has failed. Why not try something new? Why not decriminalise and focus on a harm reduction approach?
Won’t happen. It’s either Tory or ToryLite next time, and they aren’t interested in changing the status quo.
Decriminalization and legalization are two completely different things. For the user, it seems similar but once you get dig past the surface, you realize it’s a compromise that has the worst of both worlds.
Decriminalization in Canada where the attitudes were MUCH more relaxed than the UK vs Post Legalization in Canada.
Decriminalization – You could be relatively safe smoking weed in public in most of the major cities but a police officer could still technically charge you with possession if they wanted. Maybe he had a bad day, maybe you slept with his girlfriend in university, maybe he’s racist and you have a skin tone that he doesn’t like, maybe you cheer for a sports team he doesn’t like. You were at the mercy of the police in this scenario.
Post-legalization – You could smoke enough weed to kill an elephant in front of the Prime Minister himself and they’d have no legal ability to do anything to you.
Decriminalization – You had to source your weed from criminals and take their word for it that it was good. Maybe you were lucky and that criminal was a trusted friend or family member, maybe it was a neighbour who grew their own. Not everyone had this.
Legalization – You can source from legal or black market sources now. The black market is cheaper, offers more potent edibles (there’s a legal limit on edibles in Canada of 10mg) but it’s less transparent. The legal market offers transparency and edibles you can’t get like drinks. If you buy legal weed in Canada you can get an exact breakdown of the THC %, CBD %, CBN% and the terpene% and a breakdown of how hybridized it is. Is it 50/50 Indica/Sativa or 70/30?. It seems minor but certain people have different reactions to different strains.
Decriminalization – If you were a seller, even if you weren’t connected to criminal organizations and paid taxes, you had issues with banking because you were still a criminal enterprise. A lot of places pre-legalization were targeted because they had to hold so much of their funds in cash.
Legalization – Get your license and you’re good to go. People can buy with a credit card, cash or debit.
Other minor things:
– Legalization made things cheaper. I used to pay ~$200-300/ounce (~£120-180) depending on quality. Legally, I can now get it for $40 ounce and I’ve seen it as low as $10/ounce illegally.
– Growing used to be a hassle and came with a risk, now people do it in the open.
– There still used to be a social stigma in certain circles that kept people in the closet about it. Like I work in the cannabis industry part time for fun, that’s something I never would have been able to get away with confessing pre-legalization at my full time job. Post-legalization? I give most of my co-workers gifts of weed. Usually edibles since I don’t like to assume that people smoke.
– You can ship it from coast to coast with no restrictions or fear of a packaged being seized. You can also take it with you on DOMESTIC flights.
Biggest change though? The conversations people are having around drugs in Canada now – not just cannabis but all, drugs are much more rational and mature.
Not a good idea. Anyone seen the zombie city YouTube videos?
It’s awful.
SKS ruled this out. He is clearly on the side of drug cartels and having them making huge tax-free profits.
I wonder what’s in it for Labour to let it continue?
No government is going to stop drug use, no government is going to stop me smoking weed when I want to either. May as well control it as best you can. I’m not holding out any hope for it, but I totally would pay VAT on a 1/8. Right now it’s tax free however so I guess I win.
Honestly though, look at the US , they have shops to buy weed and tax them, puts dealers out of business and adds a sgit load of money for other things.
26 comments
FYI – im glad he’s said it, but the courageous thing was sarcasm.
You can tell elections are round the corner. Empty promises galore!
Start with weed and that will swing you a good chunk of votes. Not that Labour aren’t going to win it anyway.
Make coke n pills legal the world would be a happy place
Yeah, while the usual idiots are frothing about boats, do something useful elsewhere.
It will certainly help Starmer win the young vote. Starmer does not exactly appeal to a lot of younger voters, who want someone more socially progressive, decriminalising drugs will at least offer younger voters something they care about when it comes to voting for Labour.
Aren’t most weed plantations in the UK owned by government officials? Why would they want competition for their drug dealing.
Decrim weed and you’ll get voted in with a landslide. Look at Canada as an example
Starmer? Legalize drugs?
We’re talking about a guy who asked if he’d decriminalize cannabis possession not only said no, but said that he thinks giving cautions for low level drug crimes isn’t an approach he’d take.
I couldn’t think of anyone less willing. Remember he’s the former director of public prosecution.
I got medicinal cannabis recently and it just made me think how ridiculous it is that this is not widely available. I don’t even use it that regularly but it’s great that you can pretty much choose what you want, get it delivered securely, without having to deal with some dodgy dudes off the street.
A welcome intervention from someone traditionally known for having very hardline views by Labour standards.
Yeah, let’s make drugs legal, works well for alcohol. Let’s decriminalise tax evasion too while we’re at it as having more money helps my mental health just like banging on a big’n. Doesn’t hurt anyone…
Weed yes but maybe think harder about heroin and crack.
It’s almost as if every country that has legalised cannabis has seen millions and millions of tax profit roll in.
It’s almost as if that’s exactly what this stagnating country needs right now. A completely new taxable industry.
A lot of people here not understanding the difference between decriminalisation (terrible idea) and legalisation (the best option we have).
Decriminalisation means the entire drug trade is still illegal and run by gangs, it simply means users are not arrested.
We need legalisation, age limits, licensing for suppliers, strict laws on where drugs can be sold, laws on their packaging and marketing etc. Basically, we need to treat drugs like we do cigarettes.
Decriminalisation is kinder to drug users and addicts than prohibition, but it doesn’t solve any of the big problems.
Starmer’s too frightened of the tabloids to do anything that revolutionary.
It’s astonishing how many progressive noises are made.. by ex MPs who could have made a difference if they did it when in the Commons.
The first forward thinking suggestion I’ve seen in a while
David B…
Former Home Secretary David B…
Who ruled out legalising cannabis in 2002…
But could have done so…
As much as I agree I can already hear the right-wing press popping champagne corks.
Listen, the ‘war on drugs’ has failed. Why not try something new? Why not decriminalise and focus on a harm reduction approach?
Won’t happen. It’s either Tory or ToryLite next time, and they aren’t interested in changing the status quo.
Decriminalization and legalization are two completely different things. For the user, it seems similar but once you get dig past the surface, you realize it’s a compromise that has the worst of both worlds.
Decriminalization in Canada where the attitudes were MUCH more relaxed than the UK vs Post Legalization in Canada.
Decriminalization – You could be relatively safe smoking weed in public in most of the major cities but a police officer could still technically charge you with possession if they wanted. Maybe he had a bad day, maybe you slept with his girlfriend in university, maybe he’s racist and you have a skin tone that he doesn’t like, maybe you cheer for a sports team he doesn’t like. You were at the mercy of the police in this scenario.
Post-legalization – You could smoke enough weed to kill an elephant in front of the Prime Minister himself and they’d have no legal ability to do anything to you.
Decriminalization – You had to source your weed from criminals and take their word for it that it was good. Maybe you were lucky and that criminal was a trusted friend or family member, maybe it was a neighbour who grew their own. Not everyone had this.
Legalization – You can source from legal or black market sources now. The black market is cheaper, offers more potent edibles (there’s a legal limit on edibles in Canada of 10mg) but it’s less transparent. The legal market offers transparency and edibles you can’t get like drinks. If you buy legal weed in Canada you can get an exact breakdown of the THC %, CBD %, CBN% and the terpene% and a breakdown of how hybridized it is. Is it 50/50 Indica/Sativa or 70/30?. It seems minor but certain people have different reactions to different strains.
Decriminalization – If you were a seller, even if you weren’t connected to criminal organizations and paid taxes, you had issues with banking because you were still a criminal enterprise. A lot of places pre-legalization were targeted because they had to hold so much of their funds in cash.
Legalization – Get your license and you’re good to go. People can buy with a credit card, cash or debit.
Other minor things:
– Legalization made things cheaper. I used to pay ~$200-300/ounce (~£120-180) depending on quality. Legally, I can now get it for $40 ounce and I’ve seen it as low as $10/ounce illegally.
– Growing used to be a hassle and came with a risk, now people do it in the open.
– There still used to be a social stigma in certain circles that kept people in the closet about it. Like I work in the cannabis industry part time for fun, that’s something I never would have been able to get away with confessing pre-legalization at my full time job. Post-legalization? I give most of my co-workers gifts of weed. Usually edibles since I don’t like to assume that people smoke.
– You can ship it from coast to coast with no restrictions or fear of a packaged being seized. You can also take it with you on DOMESTIC flights.
Biggest change though? The conversations people are having around drugs in Canada now – not just cannabis but all, drugs are much more rational and mature.
Not a good idea. Anyone seen the zombie city YouTube videos?
It’s awful.
SKS ruled this out. He is clearly on the side of drug cartels and having them making huge tax-free profits.
I wonder what’s in it for Labour to let it continue?
No government is going to stop drug use, no government is going to stop me smoking weed when I want to either. May as well control it as best you can. I’m not holding out any hope for it, but I totally would pay VAT on a 1/8. Right now it’s tax free however so I guess I win.
Honestly though, look at the US , they have shops to buy weed and tax them, puts dealers out of business and adds a sgit load of money for other things.