OK, Andy – why are you surprised? It’s not black and white to me.

Though I presume you argue for the delegalisation of tobacco – a drug that kills millions more that any other and makes massive profits for the likes of BAT .

Or are you just one of those pragmatic unprincipled shits like what are in New Labour?

See how fuckin’ tolerant you’d feel if you were given the wrong drugs for your child at a chemists because the pharmacist serving you was toked up to relieve the boredom of serving. Thats just one case why “retail customer service” can be on the same level as traffic/rail sagety ….. silly cunt.

BTW I think taking of all drugs should be fully legalised.

There is a differnce between decriminalisation and legalisation.

The dividing line is between people who are quite happy to see drugs rip the heart out of communities and destroy people lives and rising gun crime – this camp include the government and everyone else who backs the current utterly failed policy of criminalisation and prohibition.

The other camp are those who want to reduce drug dependency and addiction, reduce organised crime, reduce drug related crime generally and help the victims – this is the policy of decriminalisation.

No serious person is arguing for legalisation that I kknow of.

Were all drugs legalised , then it would be legitimate business to produce, sell and advertise them, and perhaps provide premises where they could be consumed, and there would be an exploasion of use, and huge profits made – ultimataly out of addiction and misery.

Decriminalisation makes possession and use by individuals legal, but does not make the trade legal, and for example illegal import or wholesale distribution would continue to be as illegal as now – but with much lower profits. There might be a lot of nuance here, for example if addicts were given diamorphine on perscription, it would reduce crime, undermine the profits of the illegal heroin trade, and gretaly reduce the number of new addicts (becasue the doctor would only prescribe to existing addicts, and the illegal trade introducing the drug to new people would be commercially unattractive)

I am surprised anyone could not know where they stand on this, unless you can perhaps produce some eveidenc ethat the current policy is working?

But I forgot, it is not supposed to actually work, it is only supposed to appease daily mail editorial writers. you know, swing voters in marginal seats, that is all Labour stands for now isn’t it. Not reducing human misery, just wining elections by appeasing the prejuducis of ill informed swing voters in middle wallop.

Although it might make them a bit vague and inattentive, and even foster lack of interest in the job.

“He said My oh my, I’ve suffered too long

(This cigarette seems to be very strong)…”

Anyway, I don’t see what proletarian credentials have to do with it. Most of the heavy weed smokers I’ve known have been as middle class as you like, including most of the students at the grammar school I attended.

How often do stoned people ‘abuse’ someone else? What you don’t like, LOTB, is that the shop staff won’t snap to attention when you walk in. I hate all that forced obsequiousness, that fake ‘customer service’ stuff that people on the minimum wage are forced to engage in. I’m not trying to claim proletarian credentials, but I have done several shop jobs as a part time student and it’s absolutely fucking shit – you may be dressed down by a supervisor for ‘not smiling enough’ or not using the correct (company recommended) ‘greeting style’ for customers.

Anyway, I just thought it was very revealing that a Blairite puts retail ‘customer service’ on the same level as traffic/rail safety – says it all really.

And there’s surely a difference between smoking one or two spliffs and being stoned? It’s not really going to make someone abusive.

The way the media makes such a fuss about these things is ridiculous. Is it really a surprise that numerous members of the cabinet- young people in the 70′s and early 80′s- have tried cannabis? Plenty of cabinet ministers, and at least one PM, have been alcoholics.

Drop the prolier than thou guff. Or maybe you all love to be abused at the counter.