UK govt bans all drugs that exist or could conceivable ever exist

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.

Yeah, saw that - should probably just have posted the link and left it at that.

Psychoactive Substances Bill postponed indefinitely due to being utterly fucking unworkable:
http://volteface.me/psychoactive-substances-bill-postponed-indefinitely/

Corpsey said:

Legalise - or at least decriminalise - every substance IMO

The only argument AGAINST this would be making alcohol illegal also. Otherwise these lawmakers haven't got a leg to stand on.

It's a perfect example of a law being dictated by the government pandering to the ignorance of the electorate.

Not to pretend that drugs are all great and harmless, but I think they would be a lot less harmful if removed from the black market.

Also, I think some drugs are actually POTENTIALLY a lot more beneficial to people than the state sanctioned booze and fags. See, e.g., the therapeutic effects of hallucinogenic drugs on terminally ill patients: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/09/trip-treatment

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All excellent points, all of which have been ignored for decades by authoritarian, paternalistic governments whether openly conservative or notionally 'liberal', and all of which will most likely continue to be ignored as far as I can see.

Although this passage from the Volte Face piece is very telling:

the passage of a similar piece of legislation in the Republic of Ireland. After the introduction of a blanket ban there, hospital admissions involving ‘legal highs’ dropped – something which the Tory government in the UK, in particular Mike Penning MP, were very keen to stress – but reported use of such substances increased. It was clear to everybody except those intent on banning everything that all the Act had done was to deter people from seeking help when they needed it the most.

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Never mind the fact that the only reason people take legal highs in the first place is the artificial scarcity, high price and/or low quality of proper drugs, caused by their very illegality.

Corpsey said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...leaders-say-the-drug-war-has-been-a-disaster/

Meanwhile, political leaders declare the drug war a 'disaster'.

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That's great news, but couldn't they have waited just two more days to publish the story?

I've had a growing suspicion for a few years now that reality is on a mission to put The Onion, Daily Mash, Chris Morris etc. out of business. It started to crystalize between Tony Blair's appointment as UN Peace Envoy to the Middle East, the appointment (for about five minutes) of Andrew W. K. as UN Cultural Ambassador to the same region, and Bibi's comedy bomb presentation to the Knesset:



(N.b. no particular reason all my examples are to do with the Middle East, I mean crazy shit goes on there all the time but it's hardly as if the rest of the world is a perfectly sane and happy place.)

(E.g.

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