Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32919712
So. I don't imagine there'll be much wailing and gnashing of teeth about this around these parts, exactly, because let's face it, none of these products is a patch on the traditional drugs that have been illegal for decades, and some of them are downright horrid. But really, is this bill actually going to do anyone more good than harm? And as a friend of mine pointed out on Facebook last night, the implications go far beyond drugs: it represents a complete change in the philosophy of law from a model in which any activity not explicitly proscribed by law is assumed to be legal to one in which there is a defined list of legal activities and any activity not on that list is illegal by default.
Apparently the wording of the bill even contains that obnoxious and ubiquitous shibboleth, "hard-working people", as if that's got anything to do with what substances should or shouldn't be illegal. I bet some of the hardest-working people you know are drug dealers, and now they'll have more work than ever. In fact it's hard to think of a piece of legislation better designed to delight dealers. Meanwhile David Nutt must be tearing his hair out, assuming he's still got any left.
So. I don't imagine there'll be much wailing and gnashing of teeth about this around these parts, exactly, because let's face it, none of these products is a patch on the traditional drugs that have been illegal for decades, and some of them are downright horrid. But really, is this bill actually going to do anyone more good than harm? And as a friend of mine pointed out on Facebook last night, the implications go far beyond drugs: it represents a complete change in the philosophy of law from a model in which any activity not explicitly proscribed by law is assumed to be legal to one in which there is a defined list of legal activities and any activity not on that list is illegal by default.
Apparently the wording of the bill even contains that obnoxious and ubiquitous shibboleth, "hard-working people", as if that's got anything to do with what substances should or shouldn't be illegal. I bet some of the hardest-working people you know are drug dealers, and now they'll have more work than ever. In fact it's hard to think of a piece of legislation better designed to delight dealers. Meanwhile David Nutt must be tearing his hair out, assuming he's still got any left.