General Chat

A very sad but true poem Susan.

Due to orthopedic trauma, once due to pelvic fractures caused by RTA and in a separate avoidable accident that crippled me I've spent a long time in trauma wards
often needing morphine.Was also on codeine and IV drip.Some other accident
victims I shared the ward with were nicotine addicts. Smoking within the hospital is prohibited. Ive patients leave their bed, down the corridor, into the lift, out the building,
to have a couple of cigarettes. Such is the strength of the addiction. I might joined him
if A) I could walk and B) I hadn't quit the habit in 1996 :-S

Those in authority (or so they think) have chosen as their objective to control the supply of dangerous and addictive drugs rather than the demand for them. The 180 U turn happened under Thatcher. This "war on drugs" has been lost at vast cost and general degradation of crime fighing and administration of justice.

Focus must be shifted back to reducing demand. It can be done and is being done in some jurisdictions.

David should be aware that there is V little overlap in supply between NHS opiate drugs and organised crime which has other sources.

David mentioned morphine and I have always wondered what heroin addicts have available to them if they suffer extreme pain.

I think it's only a matter of time until some Chancellor of the Exchequer finds an

acceptable way of legalising many drugs in return for tax revenue.

Maybe cannabis, but hard drugs? I don't think so!!

I'm not qualified to say. The only "drugs" I know are prescribed. How they work I don't know.

No government of any stripe will ever legislate in favour of legalising class A drugs for the expediency of tax revenue. The downside is far too high. I myself am dubious about the commercial legislation of cannabis for general use ( as in Canada, Colorado USA) as opposed to medicinal use where a good case has been made.

Prior to Thatcher addicts could get a fix on the NHS - being an addict in no way broke the law unless the addict started dealing. As there was not much demand as a consequence organised crime had sparse involvment with drugs. Directly addiction became effectively illegal a market was created and the beginnings of the current disaster were laid. As a bonus for the criminals the NHS brought in methadone as a subst. for the now illegal heroin. Methodone is not an acceptable substitute for serious addicts BUT it can be traded illegally for the real thing. Beginners often start now with methadone.

Medical diamorphine and street heroin ( smack, horse ) are not the same thing apart from both being poppy products. Most legal medicinal opiates are made from Turkish poppies.

Anybody thinking there is some sort of rough equity between cannabis and heroin for sure has no knowledge of the subject. Nicotine and alchol addiction while serious is junior league in terms of effects on an individual and crime.

Heroin addicts can function as a viable human being for years and years often with a decent job so long as they have a reliable connection. The common perception of instant disaster is way wrong. A downside on the street with heroin addicts is that they do not seem to feel pain in the usual way. As a result getting into a street fight with these people is a really bad move especially as most carry.

Then there are several other mainline class A drugs plus all the here today kill you tomorrow such as crystal meth and popup drugs,

Suggest Dave stays safe at home with Channel 5.

I am in favour of prescribed drugs for sufferers of things such as Multiple Sclerosis as long as the condition of the sufferer shows a marked improvement.

I am against drugs in general after having two members of my family attacked and injured while at work by people 'off their heads' on illegal drugs. I had no compassion when one of the druggies was killed a while later; in fact I was pleased because he had obtained personal details of my children and me.

When I hear MPs mention legalising soft drugs I always wonder which member of their family they need to (a) keep out of jail or (b) prevent him or her from getting a criminal record. It's no good them saying that no one dies of cannabis addiction because that is mostly the gateway to harder drugs so the death rate due to cannabis is actually much higher than statistics lead us to believe. They often also point to the fact that drink and smoking are drugs that are killing people and they are legal. They can see the problems so why would anyone want to legalise drugs and add to society's problems not to mention extra stress on the NHS?

Thank you all for your contributions

CBD the non high part of cannabis is available on prescription and been shown to reduce tumours in people with cancer. My mother in law is hoping to be allowed it to help with her Neuro Endocrine Tumours (NETs). However people who take illegal drugs recreationaly cause a lot of problems in society and some of them don’t want to be helped.

I did however hear of one success story. A man and his partner liked getting high and after their daughter was born they took it in turns to look after the baby one and get high the next. One morning the man got up and it was his day to get high whilst his partner was supposed to look after the baby. He got up that morning though to find his partner had already taken his drugs. Instead of looking for more drugs he took care of the baby again. He admits himself that going cold turkey like that was hard but he realised he had someone important in his life who needed him. He eventually got given a council house for him and his daughter and he went through regular drug tests but has never gone back to drugs. He credits his daughter with his success and doesn’t know where he’d be without her.

Was once in the Chemist waiting for my prescription when a man in his 20's came

into the shop looking ghastly. The Chemist immediately gave him his dose of
Methadone which he took, then turned and left the shop. I'd never seen a man looking
so ill. He looked dreadful :-0 :-S