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NUI GALWAY STUDENTS’ Union has announced it will hold a referendum on 5 March to ask students if they feel the SU should adopt a position on the legalisation of cannabis.
The SU made the announcement yesterday, telling students they would be asked if they agreed with the following proposition:
“That NUI Galway Student’s Union actively supports the legalisation and regulation of the cultivation, sale and possession of cannabis for adults age 18 and over.”
It will be a simple Yes/No vote.
Ahead of the voting, the college’s Students for Sensible Drug Policy society are hosting an information night. Cannabis legalisation advocate and MEP Luke Ming Flanagan will be outlining his views on why students should vote Yes.
Flanagan has previously brought legislation before the Dáil as a TD, which would have seen the legalisation and regulation of the sale of the drug in Ireland.
Garda whistleblower John Wilson is also scheduled to speak at the free event at the university.
The students’ union said the referendum was requested by 500 of its members.
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Don’t see why the govt won’t legalise it and we can smoke our way out of austerity. Look at Colorado. It’s raking it in.
Not only are colorado raking it in there issuing tax rebates, building schools and investing into the health system.
Maybe I will be ate for saying this but doesn’t weed cause massive mental health problems for regular users?
Isn’t it dangerous to drive under the influence of weed, and to mind children?
I don’t think it’s just as easy as saying let’s legalize it. Perhaps allow it to be legal in the case of medicine but let’s not end up stoned out of our tree and not able to get out there and work or study.
What about all the psychosis it cures ?
Alcohol does pretty mucj the same thing, neither should be consumed regularly or in excess, but I would rather see someone stoned than pissed, stoned people usually don’t start fights
// Maybe I will be ate for saying this but doesn’t weed cause massive mental health problems for regular users? //
I think it can, but so can many things. If legalised it will be much easier to treat people suffering from the onset of such problems as they will be able to openly seek help if needed.
// Isn’t it dangerous to drive under the influence of weed, and to mind children? //
I reckon so. If it was legalised there will be regulations.
// I don’t think it’s just as easy as saying let’s legalize it. //
Of course not, but people are just using that term to refer to the whole legalisation and regulation process for brevity.
// but let’s not end up stoned out of our tree and not able to get out there and work or study. //
Of course, but some people can get up for work the next day or study, just as some people can spend the entirety of Sunday drinking and go to work on a Monday :-)
Read this factual account of how it can cause a wide range of issues. It inhibits a student’s ability to concentrate, organize information, and use information.
It can cause a series of paranoid moments that last for hours after the drug is used and users that have used weed are twice as likely to crash and die in a car than alcohol related fatalities.
If people want to feel good go for a run, eat better, lift weights, and/or have a laugh with friends. You don’t need some stinky smell bellowing off you to have fun!
Regulations are not going to solve all the issues with the effects of the drug Paul.
I think its funny that people want to deregulate the weed laws yet they come back in debates with let’s regulate it!? :)
Spiderman, it doesn’t cause mental problems. If you have them, it makes them worse. Simple as.
The driving and minding children stuff, yes. You not drive while stoned. If you have to deal with an emergency conveying a child, being stoned will leave you in poor shape for quick thinking and action. However, alcohol in either of those situations would be several orders of magnitude worse.
// Read this factual account of how it can cause a wide range of issues. It inhibits a student’s ability to concentrate, organize information, and use information. //
How on Earth did I get a 2.1 in Physics while working 20 hours a week?! That guy scammed me! It must have been lettuce I smoked!
On a more serious note though, for every study you can provide to support one side of this you can provide another one for the other side. I won’t get caught up in a link swapping debate :-)
// It can cause a series of paranoid moments that last for hours after the drug is used and users that have used weed are twice as likely to crash and die in a car than alcohol related fatalities. //
Can you reference this for me, and is this relating to Ireland? Maybe it’s true, but I hear much more drink driving related deaths than weed-driving related deaths.
// If people want to feel good go for a run, eat better, lift weights, and/or have a laugh with friends. //
I do all those things. Do you use this argument against alcohol too? Or sky diving?
// You don’t need some stinky smell bellowing off you to have fun! //
Really? You just advocated going for a run or lifting weights :-)
Absolutely Spiderman. But the same could be said to a much greater degree about alcohol. I am an ex toker and drinker and know that you cannot get paralytic on cannabis.
All the laws regarding use of an intoxicant while driving for instance would still be in place and rightly so.
As we see by the drug seizures, many people in Ireland do smoke and it has been legalised in many American states.
The only problem here is getting any sensible policy out of those who see it as a vote loser in the Dail because of the propaganda that has been perpetuated for years.
I’d certainly rather they were on spliffs than the savage ammount of alcohol they seem to have the need to tip down themselves before important votes that impact on the futures of many.
It might humanise them a bit.
Conveying supposed to be concerning. Autocorrect/stoned.
// Regulations are not going to solve all the issues with the effects of the drug Paul. //
No, they won’t. Of course I didn’t say they would — I said it would be much easier to deal with these issues — I didn’t say the issues will disappear. Should we ban driving until we eliminate raod deaths entirely? No, that would be silly.
// I think its funny that people want to deregulate the weed laws yet they come back in debates with let’s regulate it!? :) //
Not me of course, so if you want to discuss or debate with me on it, you’ll have to work with what I’m saying.
Hi again Spiderman. You seem to have ignored the human rights issue. Yes you can feel good doing any of those things you mention, I go mountain biking just as I did when I smoked weed, I worked long hectic and stressful hours as a chef and used to smoke when I got home in order to wind down.
It’s not, either you smoke dope and do nothing with your life or not smoke it and become CEO of several companies.
Back to the human rights issue. I don’t feel that any legislature should have the right to tell me what I can or cannot do with my own body. I am part of the state, I am not owned by it.
I think that important reasoning is why the USA is ahead in this regard. The rights of the citizen, as long as they are certain individuals, is enshrined in the constitution.
We have replaced the church state with its b*st*rd offspring. That is why it is so difficult to get any forward thinking in the Dail. That’s why most of our politicians are old, ignorant and stupid.
Indeed Charlie — too many arguments try to enforce a dichotomy of extremes, not just relating to this particular topic.
People who haven’t been exposed to weed sometimes assume everyone smoking it is a complete waster. I reckon a lot of people have co-workers they have the height of respect for without realising those co-workers go home and smoke a few joints every evening.
We’ve managed to accept that not all people who have a few pints at the weekend glass people and then go home to beat their partner and neglect their children. This confusion is something that will be alleviated somewhat if it’s legalised, as it will be much clearer who smokes it.
trevor. problems with weed is that its currently produced to very high levels so that smugglers can get more money for what they bring in. Some of the weed is unsmokable in that it will completely knock you out for a good few hours. with legalising it, you will get craft weed of different levels. so smoking a mild buzz will be a lot better and not push the schizophrenia agenda.
hash is a much better smoke in my opinion, and a lot more work goes into the production of different types of buzz, and not just get wasted as quickly as possible that comes with current weed. go to Amsterdam and the selection you get is massive and caters for every taste and level of buzz.
@ spiderman “Regulations are not going to solve all the issues with the effects of the drug Paul.”
yes they are .. see my above post.
I can’t understand how people still have that mindset. Holland has allowed coffeeshops for thirty odd years and tell me is everyone over there suffering from psychosis and running around naked, the opposite is true, they have a good economy and weed use is less than ours. Please don’t tell me more studies are needed as this is going on longer than an Irish tribunal. The reality is that our system doesn’t work. Go there and look for yourself.
This is long overdue a serious debate. Even if the outcome of a national well organised debate is that it’s not a good idea and that the majority of people don’t want it, I’d take comfort in knowing the debate was had.
Hahaha never in my life have I heard so much sh! Te .
It was america who started the war on drugs.
Spiderman-irish. Due to the fact that t is illegal these super strains have been developed, A bit like prohibition in the USA where the gangsters produced gin/moonshine of dubious quality as opposed to Europe where we had the finest of wines being produced in France, Italy and elsewhere or Germany with its purity laws for brewing master quality beers and still do.
Without a doubt excessive cannabis use is bad for you but excessive use of anything is to also true to some degree. Chocolate, red meat, alcohol, sugar or fat yet all can be beneficial. We don’t make sports illegal because every so often a young man tragically suffers sudden death nor alcohol despite it being a serious debilitator in many people’s lives. I would be more concerned about the amounts of tar & nicotine in cannabis and the fact it is generally smoked without using a filter. nothing a sensible education campaign couldn’t deal with.
For those who think it would generate massive profits for the government, think again. Garda values of cannabis are nonsensical in how puffed up they are.
@ Barry. stop speaking out loud then.
Can I just add my actual real world experience here? I have suffered depression and anxiety among other things for a long time and have seeked professional help. The only thing that ever stopped me from feeling crap is weed. I’m not the stereotype stoner you have in your head from cheap movies, I work out, I eat healthily, I work 9-5, I have a degree as well as a 1st class honours h.dip. when I’m not at work I am in the process of working my ass off trying to get my own business off the ground. Last year I slipped discs in my neck,the pain was unbearable. I did physio,took meds but the only thing that subsided the agony was weed. I wish it was legal so it could be regulated. So that people could know what they geT, for some a sativa may be best for others an indica, it’d be nice to know what one is getting. No weed user wants it just legal,every weed user tends to stress the idea of regulation,of attaching rules and boundaries to it much the same as alcohol
Ten . I always liked this graph of prohibition in the USA. shows how making something illegal or restricting it made it more appealing. and your also right , moonshine thrived under prohibition as smugglers need to move less to maximise profits
http://totalpict.com/pict/if-the-first-graph-made-prohibition-look-bad-this-graph-427067
Speak up, I’m in the same situation as in my mind goes overtime without it. I analyse everything and think people have hidden agenda all the time, I cannot sit still and can be very controlling, argumentative and always right. A bit of a smoke clams me down and puts things in perspective, I concentrate better and my work output is better. You’d be surprised at the job I currently hold and what qualifications I have. I also work shift and would much prefer a smoke that going to the doctor to get some other drugs they might prescribe.
It is here already in the most risky context. We should swap this for a regulated model.
Yes weed causes paranoia and isolation after prolonged use.
Lovely attractive picture the Journal went for there. A woman smoking with dirty nails.
Sativa can cause psycosis-if abused.Indica never.
@deerhounddog For some it do. What extent has stigma and illegality on this?
Hi I knew I was going to get eaten for expressing my opinion!
However issues from factual medical do differ from the common misconception that weed is a good thing. If it is used I suppose every now and again in absolutely low to medium use great no problem with that, however I doubt that it is a safe substance to use regularly just like tobbacco or alcohol. Someone flagged it as a human rights issue which is interesting and I don’t quite understand this to be honest, but each to their own.
To be honest if it is legalized that is fine. I personally won’t use it as I don’t like the smell of it and what it does to my outlook on life. That is why I eat better and exercise and if people want to feel better I would suggest they do some light to moderate exercise instead of smoking weed. It will make you feel better, look better and you won’t smell of skunk.
That’s a straight up crap pamphlet, Spider-Man. Serious studies show cannabis actually improves road safety.
You are confusing decriminalization with your new word deregulation. Make a choice for YOU, that’s what everyone else does.
Doesn’t alcohol do all the same things?
Andy come on seriously. If you can prove that I’ll shake your hand and acknowledge I was wrong.
But that’s the crux of the issue isn’t it? How can anyone say that having taken marijuana makes you a dangerous driver? where are the concrete studies on this?
The RSA have never conducted any studies in relation to this issue. The people who added Marijuana to the list of ‘can’t drive after taking’ substances have absolutely no proof of the alleged fact
I know a person who was ‘busted’ for possession back in 1970/72, more than 40 years ago! He got a University BA in the late 80′s and then an MA and now runs a successful business and gives talks. He still smokes almost daily, and drives, and has never had an accident
People sometimes are so naive they just won’t accept that people from all walks of life have been using MJ for decades and have normal successful lives. The whole anti grass thing is a myth and a lie.
SpiderMan,
You don’t like weed and the effects it has on you. That is fine, no one is forcing you.
So why do you want to force others not to do something just because you don’t like it’s effects/smell?
Ok it does some harm to a very very small percentage of very regular users…. So What? So does nearly everything in life.
I could show you studies on the negative effects of over exercising. Yet I don’t believe you should be prevented from doing it.
If it did then there would be no need to regulate Cannabis. As comparable as a bike and a car.
The best thing about being a duck is the gards dont bother me when im down the park pond smoking an auld spliff……..
About time for Wison to swallow his whistle.
So you promote censorship John O’Neill – why are you on a Charlie buzz ?
You are not allowed to watch this -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j393lNECNGw
Nope..just don’t like seeing a person that I previously respected getting involved with spliffheads like Ming.
Why ever not?…
Cannabis being illegal doesn’t help anyone but dealers. Worried about your kids smoking it? Legalize it so they’ll be asked for Identification if they try to buy it. You’re daft if you think a dealer is going to have a problem selling to any age!
Really… Exactly how hard was it for you as a teenager to find someone’s older brother to buy you beer?
But sure, a kid doesn’t even need an older brother to go buy weed now, or any other drugs!
Look at the prohibition of Alcohol in America, a prohibition that was a complete failure. During this time, people who were shipping in illegal alcohol into the states, needed to do so as efficiently as possible. Now what’s better for sales, shipping in a load of beer, at 4% alcohol rate, or a load of moon shine at 80 % ? You can bet they went with the moon shine every time. People’s aim during this prohibition was just to get ossified, and when the dealers are the regulators of this, they choose what you consume.
It’s the same for weed. There are very strong strains of cannabis going about, that are all produced to give the best high in a small amount. Now although weed is still the safer option out of the two, doesn’t it just make sense to legalize it, control the potency and give people an option as to stay inside, smoke a joint, cause no harm to anyone and eat a bit of food. Cause at the moment it’s perfectly acceptable for me to head out every weekend, pollute myself stupid with drink, and cause permanent damage to my liver by repeating this weekly.
Whatever side of the fence your on regarding this topic, it’s not going away, if I could get my hands on hash/green 15 years ago easily in rural Ireland you can be sure it’s on every street corner these days .. It’s definitely worth looking into legalising and regulating this soft drug , alcohol is much more detrimental to society than weed, especially in Ireland. There are so many benefits medicinally also to this drug, Ms sufferers ,cancer sufferers , epilepsy.. The list goes on and on and on, there are some not so pretty sides to it though and I’ll be the first to admit it, having been a heavy user for years up until very recently, it can be an amazing relaxant and socially bonding thing to do , but it can get a hold of you to the point where you can rely on it too much, having said that, I’m sure some people feel the same way about drinking tea, I think it all depends on your individual tendencies.. I still have a smoke now and again with friends but I’ve tried to cut out smoking on my own etc.. Recently I’ve had some extra pressure on me regarding things that are outside of my control .. Which prompted me to stop because it wasn’t helping me in my mental wellbeing, but I can honestly say I can put this down to the extra stress in a usually very happy and rewarding life. Just my two cents..
For the poster boys above who bang out the line “The stuff they produce now is so strong it causes more problems and we are concerned for their health” educate yourselves. The available strains in decriminalised country’s are enormous. Each strain has a different effect dependant on individuals tolerance and the chemical make up of the plant. I encourage every one who spouts this line to look up leafly.com. Ireland is and advanced educated nation with massive pharma, biomed, agriculture, science, R&D all ready in place. The potential for development both for industry and individuals is off the scale. Keep your opinion in check till you research it. Don’t forget you can legally buy seeds over the net on .ie websites. It is illegal to put that seed in a pot and put it in your window, but I’m neither a lawyer or a cop so work away.
The most incredible thing here is apart from Ming no political party is investigating this in depth to make it a viable option. There are a large amount of individuals who imbibe the sacred herb who also can vote. Congrats to NUIG SU for taking the time to educate and open discussion.
Art students no doubt. They tend to have a lot of time on their hands.
They probably have paint on their hands if they’re art students.
Arts I assume you mean, not art.
N.U.I.G is one of the finest places on the planet to study the Green Arts !
Well jake, I’m an art graduate, and when I was an art student I found the students who smoked more cannabis than us were the ones studying medicine and they were also very keen on LSD.
Stop assuming as you clearly do not have a clue what you are talking about.
Don’t know about paint on the hands, but look at the fingernails of yer wan in the photo – she looks a bit feral…
She is left handed – that is the hand she uses to crumble her hash.
Feral has nothing to do with it .
I’d be a regular smoker 2 or 3 joints most evenings, and have no problems getting up for work at 6.30 mon to fri. I have no mental issues and am fairly confident in my work and social life. But I’ve had tenancies to grow a beard lately.
Slippery slope? :-)
Growing the beard is the slippery slope? sense of humour people?
Bob marley summed up why governments made it illegal…. “They say that you mustn’t use it because you have to work and have a pension and them say it make ya rebel…… Against what???”
With the potent strength of the nsw skunk cannabis, means that todays new users are being exposed to illicit ‘poteen’ type use straight off.. skunk is multiples stronger than hash… Regulation would give users the ability to use ‘beer’ strength cannabis without the added worry of any dangerous additives. It also isolates them from potential routes to more harmful dangerous drugs and it cuts revenue to gangs.. legalise and regulate is the way to go..
What a surprise, John Wilson is speaking.
Is there anything he’s not stuck at and how did he ever have the time to do his job as a garda ?
Seen him on TV the other evening at the protest outside the Central Bank. Comes across as a bit of a lost soul unsure about what to do with the rest of his life.
That’s commonplace.
Just some facts about the situation:
1. Trafficked workers/slaves are being used by foreign gangs as gardeners/fall-men. We are regularly imprisoning these people while the gangs just get a new slave and a new premise. If they get even one harvest (do-able within 8 weeks), they will have made a profit.
2. Adolescents find it much easier to acquire cannabis than alcohol and become dealers whenever they like, often with no start-up cost as the product is given with the threat of violence if non-payment occurs.
3. The majority of cannabis is high-strength as it gives dealers the best ‘bang for buck’. At €20 per gram, we have the highest prices in world, attracting foreign gangs.
4. Cannabis accounts for roughly 80% of the money in the black market.
5. Cannabis is regularly found to contain all kind of contaminants, many of which have left users hospitalised.
6. Cancer patients, MS sufferers, people with seizure disorders and many more are often left with no choice but to buy from the black market as they find cannabis to be the only effective, safe medicine to treat their illness.
All regulating cannabis will do is provide lower-strength cannabis (which is not associated with mental illness) and greatly limit the availability to underagers. It’s no-brainer.
As has been said before… Let’s hold a referendum proposing banning christmas among turkeys.
Flanagan is a perfect example of what this drug can to to the mind.
Yes Tap. He’s an MEP. Shot yourself in the foot there Pat.
Get elected to the Dail, and then on to European parliament. A good parent to his family.
i think Alaska has recently joined the states that have legalized.
Does eating marijuana give you a pot belly?
No Tap. But it can lead to ice cream munchies and that really chills you maan.
3 story’s about cannabis today @thejournal I tip my hat to u, keep it up the more talk and debate about it the better understanding people will have to push for legalization
A society that simply says NO to all drugs and thinks that will be that, is saying YES to organised crime.
I know of at least 5 lads who i get my weed from all of whom only do it to get their own for free .. they’re far from being the nxt gilligan only working class lads selling to their freinds nothing more than that
Where do you think they get it from, theres nothing wrong with the guys buying the ounce or the guy buying the bar but the guy with the kilo probably isn’t very nice
Exactly, so it should be taken from their hands and made legal,that way the gov can put a tax on it and not make the person who enjoys a smoke a crim8nal in the eyes of law. Id much prefer a joint witb my freinds at home rather than getting pissed up in the pub
I thought you were arguing that legalisation wouldn’t help reduce crime, I agree with you entirely
Cannabis is widely available as things stand. I would like to see it legitimized in society, not so much for the civil liberties of those who like it, but to silence and hopefully annoy the bigots who do not.
Cannabis has received serious reputational damage whilst it has been criminalized (this was intentional). People know the law is ineffective, so stigma and suspicion are tools that prohibitionists have used to sabotage the lives of users.
First step onto heroin
Assif, absolute rubbish.
No Aasif. The first step into heroine is desperation, curiosity or perhaps, the company one keeps.
I know lots of cannabis/marijuana smokers of all ages who would not go near heroine.
You are just repeating a long dispelled myth.
Aasif, usually one wanders to the fridge after smoking a joint, rather than their nearest heroin dealer.
Only if you choose that step.
You sir are an idiot, good day.
@ asif
The process of criminalization are severe and powerful, we use it to control things like murder and theft. What would happen if you put a popular, gentle herb into such a scenario? What would be the consequences from a sociological perspective?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZxH1Un25EI
A documentary on the early life of the KING –
His attack on the Nazi Propaganda machine in the West was indeed a good battle –
It also contains him getting the blessing from my father – no force can stop him after that !
I shall send a spy sniffer dog – no pigs allowed !
7 little bonahms watching this page – “soooey , sooey !”
And the King returns to his people !
The head of the NUIG students drug group is not all he seems …..
have your say