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Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

theguardian.com

191–200 of 316 posts

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#191
post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Wait, are you saying you can’t write negative things about the GOP?

I think he's complaining that when you write things in support of the GOP's racist and bigoted policies, you get flagged, but he hasn't made the connection that it's the racism and bigotry and misogyny that gets you flagged, not the fact that it's the GOP that supports those policies. If he has a problem with the GOP's brand getting tarnished by their association with racism and bigotry, then he should take it up with the GOP themselves, not people who don't tolerate racism and bigotry and misogyny.

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/01/stand-where-he-tells-you-to...

>"Stand where he tells you to stand": Why the GOP is doubling down on misogyny in 2024. Republicans placate an evangelical base that's getting nastier with sexism — even if costs the party women's votes.

>[...] It's not just the assault on abortion rights, which they can't seem to hold back from, despite the resounding unpopularity of the anti-choice stance. It's that the MAGA base is getting ever more vitriolic with its misogyny. Part of that is due to the more secular dirtbags of the Joe Rogan/Elon Musk variety, who have become such a loud part of the Republican coalition under Trump. But this escalation of boldly misogynist rhetoric is also coming from the evangelicals. Republicans can't win without keeping those people happy, since the Christian right is where the GOP's organizing power still mainly resides.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#192
post #72

While I think freedom is good, I also think there are more people destroying their lives with drugs than people who can regulate their use. I've seen so many people waste their life on weed and alcohol that I can't be very happy about this news.

In my mind either you are for legalization of all drugs or you are for criminalization of tobacco, alcohol, and sugar.

Either we have the freedom to consume what we like and deal with the consequences or state has to nanny us and prevent us from consuming harmful substances altogether.

People are fast to point out that prohibition don’t work, but if there were no legal ways to obtain sugar a lot less would be consumed and a lot of weight would be shed by our fat population

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#193
post #162

As a small l libertarian, I’m totally fine with any and all drugs being legal provided there is a clause that government doesn’t need to support you if they ruin your life.

The government already takes care of many people who ruin their lives in different ways. Cannabis being a bit more legal doesn't change this. I suspect it even lowers the overall cost, as it lifts some burden off of law enforcement.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there are more people destroying their lives with drugs than people who can regulate their use I agree with that for some drugs, but certainly not cannabis. That's observational; there are simply not enough reported cases of problems to make that true wrt cannabis use. Of course, that leaves the possibility that cases aren't reported. Again, based on personal observation, I would be amazed if the ratio of cannabis…

I think both are not addictive per se, so it's just people whose life is so bad they just want to tune out all the time. Alchol is more available so more people are alcholics. I think cannabis is preferable as it won't destroy your liver and there are ways (vaping, edible) to assume it without wrecking your lungs.

Alcohol is extremely addictive and once you are addicted it can cause such strong dependence that people can _die_ from quitting cold turkey.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#195

While scanning the comments, I observe one recurring argument against the step of legalizing weed: (excessive) use can and will have catastrophic psychological consequences on some of the consumers. I totally agree. It is, however a flawed argument in the context of legalization. One of the arguments for the legalization by the health ministry is that prohibition has been ineffective, factually not avoiding or even r…

My main issue since legalization is I find the smell disgusting.

It also imbues and latches itself onto to whatever is around you. Now legalization has people smoking it in my apartment complex or at restaurants and the smell just lingers around my house or on your clothes when your near it.

And then Every weed smoker I brought this up to told me tough luck.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of a law that would allow landlords to enforce that in a rental contract. Renting is heavily regulated in Germany. Consumption is different, but the new law is very specific in what is allowed and what isn't, and an unconditional ban is unlawful, as is already the case with cigarettes.

Landlords successfully get people to adhere to all kinds of technically illegal rules. If you need a space, you sign whatever they give you. Waiting times for a consultation with renters associations in Berlin are 3-4 weeks right now. For example, they often prohibit plants of certain sizes on balconies, and entirely elsewhere. Legal? Maybe not - but here in reality you have little recourse.

That is the nice thing about German contract law. If you as a private person (v.s. a head of a business) sign a contract, you are widely protected from unfair contract terms. This applies to any contract but especially employment or rent contracts.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#197

While scanning the comments, I observe one recurring argument against the step of legalizing weed: (excessive) use can and will have catastrophic psychological consequences on some of the consumers. I totally agree. It is, however a flawed argument in the context of legalization. One of the arguments for the legalization by the health ministry is that prohibition has been ineffective, factually not avoiding or even r…

My main issue since legalization is I find the smell disgusting. It also imbues and latches itself onto to whatever is around you. Now legalization has people smoking it in my apartment complex or at restaurants and the smell just lingers around my house or on your clothes when your near it. And then Every weed smoker I brought this up to told me tough luck.

Same problem with cigarette smoke though.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too have never tried cannabis, and I too support legalisation. Not because of the effects it has on the consumer, but because the effects it has on the producer. It depends on where you are, but where I am - the UK - the producers are primarily enslaved. A fact that is rarely talked about. Recently there was a big drug bust. The headlines all described how many dogs were freed - less than twenty. But deep in the ar…

Producers following the laws can not compete with illegal producers on price. So even if you make consumption legal, the illegal networks will remain and become even bigger as the market expands.

This presumes the market isn't satisfied already. I doubt the market will expand much. It hasn't been hard at all to get weed, before. Whoever wanted to smoke, got theirs.

In Germany, you always had a lot of "deutsche Hecke" (cannabis grown in Germany) on the market. Lots of small operations. While still illegal, it isn't unethical and certainly doesn't involve slaves...

While more or less impossible to have legal (non-medical) weed right this moment, I very much doubt cannabis grown outside Germany will be attractive much longer. Because it's ethically questionable, because it's been in someone's butt, because it's often cut with dangerous substances, because you can't trust its quality and because you don't want to get involved with street pushers. Technically, you will have a "black-market", but it won't be the ultra criminal gangsters running the show. It's gonna be a friend-of-a-friend who's growing more than they are allowed to, selling off the extra.

There will be a questionable market for "doctors" writing prescriptions for medical weed now. A situation you find in many countries already. That's just the parasitic business you get with still restrictive legislation. Many people will go this route. Not because it's cheaper, but because getting weed this way is trusted, convenient and reliable. Medical weed costs about the same as high quality weed on the street before legalization. Prices will go down, margins will be smaller.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#199
post #103

I watched other people smoke cannabis, and after producing some foul fumes, they were just passively lying on the floor with a stare of apathy. I decided to NEVER try this, and to this day I have no regrets; I enjoy being in full control of my senses (I also do not drink alcohol and do not smoke). The only thing hallucinating in my place is neural language models that I do research on. However, I do support the legal…

I've watched a fair number of weed smoker's lives (~10) and they fall into two distinct categories.

One set smoke weed and then partake in creative, explorative, or otherwise effort filled pursuits. Generally I feel that weed has likely improved their lives.

The other set smoke weed and consume... consume tv, consume video games, consume food, consume music. These people seem to fall into a slump that weed seems to participate in keeping them in. Weed lowers the bar to enjoy yourself and thus raises the bar for other activities. If weed and video games feels good, then why call up friends and go bowling? It's not addictive, but it does have a kind of gravity because it's an activity that participates in the economy of potential activities. For these people weed entertains them, at the cost of them becoming a more boring person.

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