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WE ALL KNOW people who we describe as having ‘lots of personality’, and others who we describe as having ‘no personality’. But what exactly do we mean when we say that? Are we really able to evaluate it?
What actually is a personality?
Psychologists describe it as a relatively enduring predisposition to behave in a characteristic manner that is situationally dependent.
Take anger, for example; some people are very prone to getting angry, some are not and others are fairly average. The person who is very prone to getting angry is liable to ‘fly off the handle’ at the slightest provocation – yet not all the time. The person who is not prone to anger nevertheless can get angry on occasion. In fact, we all have an innate predisposition to getting angry but the occurrence varies widely among people and across situations. We all know those among our acquaintances who are more prone to anger than most, and in that sense we have some crude knowledge of what personality is.
Psychologists have found that a person’s personality has five dimensions and these dimensions can be measured. The five dimensions, or personality traits, are commonly referred to as ‘the Big Five’.
They are:
1. Openness
This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight, and those high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests.
2. Conscientiousness
Common features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed behaviours. Those high in conscientiousness tend to be organized and mindful of details.
3. Extraversion
This trait includes characteristics such as excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and high amounts of emotional expressiveness.
4. Agreeableness
This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other pro-social behaviours.
5. Neuroticism
Individuals high in this trait tend to experience emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness.
It is important to bear in mind that all of us have the five dimensions to our personality but the amount of each dimension that we possess varies widely. For instance, a person can be very low in Neuroticism, very high on Agreeableness, average on Conscientiousness, and high on Openness. It is this wide variation in individuals in the five dimensions that makes humans so different from each other.
Shedding more light on an individual’s personality
To get a sense of where you stand on the five dimensions just go to and complete the on-line questionnaire. You will get from this an indication of what your standing on the Big Five.
For a more accurate break-down you would need to undergo a detailed assessment by a qualified psychologist, because each of the broad dimensions has a number of sub-dimensions or facets which shed more light on an individual’s personality.
The Big Five affect outcomes in the different domains of life. Research has shown that people who are low in openness prefer an environment that is stable and predictable. Those who are low in conscientiousness live for the moment and seldom plan ahead. People who are high in neuroticism are more prone than others to stress and anxiety. Extraverts are more stimulated by the external environment, while introverts are more stimulated by their mental internal world. Although the ‘Big Five’ represented a significant advance in understanding personality, it is not the full picture.
Think about it this way: if you know that someone is moderately high on extraversion, moderately low on neuroticism, moderately high on agreeableness, high on conscientiousness, and high on openness, do you really know the person? Not fully, because of the role of situational effects.
For example, you might be very annoyed at your boss over something or other, but you are very unlikely to act out the emotional experience of your anger because of the possible negative consequences. You are more likely to vent your anger elsewhere and to someone else. Yet in a different situation you might vent your anger if the same level of situational constraint is not present.
Although very helpful, the behavioural manifestations of our underlying personalities are more complex than a superficial examination of our trait profile might suggest because of the effect of the context provided by different situations.
A specific case
As an example of the value of understanding an individual’s personality, the case of Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in the US, is informative. A total of 245 practising psychologists rated Bundy’s Big Five profile and the average of individual psychologists’ assessments showed that he was extremely low on the dimension of agreeableness; he was very extroverted, so he was well able to charm most people, including many of his victims, and win their trust; he was judged to be above average on conscientiousness, meaning he was well able to plan his killings and cover his tracks; he was just above average on openness and below average on neuroticism – so he didn’t get stressed easily and he didn’t panic when things were not going to plan.
An examination of the facets of each of the Big Five showed that Bundy was a very angry person, full of hostility in general, as well as a highly organised thrill-seeker. Most insightful was the finding that he was very, very low in empathy – to such an extent that he simply saw other people as objects to be used rather than as human beings. These Big Five characteristics of his personality better inform our understanding of Bundy’s behaviour.
Understanding ‘personality’
As the Bundy example shows, the Big Five dimensions have been shown to be of value in understanding personality, and in recent years have provided a far better understanding of human behaviour in relationships, the workplace, and in helping people better deal with unpleasant events in their lives.
If you score high on neuroticism then you should avoid jobs that are highly stressful. If you score high on agreeableness, you would be better suited to work that involves one of the ‘caring’ professions where getting along with people, rather than getting ahead, is important – compared to those that require a more adversarial approach such as the legal professions. High openness would be a prerequisite in jobs requiring creativity, such as the world of advertising. The work of a research scientist would require someone who is high on conscientiousness because of the need for attention to detail. Obviously, jobs that involve dealing with the general public require some degree of extraversion.
With respect to romantic relationships, two people who are both low on agreeableness would not make for a conflict-free romantic relationship, but high openness can be good. Interestingly, successful outcomes in psychotherapy are related to conscientiousness to some extent because of the need to actually apply what is learned in therapy to one’s life.
Gerry Fahey is an occupational psychologist and a graduate of TCD and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
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For once why can’t the likes of Alex White be made to come up with evidence to support his claim that cannabis use leads to ‘increased experimentation with other drugs’? From the Minister of a State that rakes in VAT from alcohol sales I refuse to accept this
Yep -a typical ‘slippery slope’ logical fallacy. We really deserve a better class of politician in this country.
Yes we do! White and Collins are just spouting glib uninformed populist rubbish
All the FG puppets all came out with the same line. Bad for health, Gateway drug (really) and the effects on young people, even tho this bill is only for over 18′s which makes this argument invalid. I think at best we might get decriminalsation
The only thing this cannabis is a gateway to is smoking cigarettes if you’re stupid enough to mix it with tobacco (which I did!).
I can give up anything except nicotine. E cigarettes are saving my life.
We ‘deserve’ a better what? We deserve nothing. We live in a democracy – we deserve precisely the political parties which we’re willing to get off our arses to set up, and we deserve precisely the parties and politicians that we have voted into parliament. THAT’S what we deserve.
He said there was “a body of evidence” that says cannabis use is detrimental to health, both physically and mentally and making this drug available “could lead to increased experimentation with other drugs”.Absolute rubbish any negative health implications from cannabis has been discounted in scientific studies many times over.Its time to stop infringing on people’s basic human rights and just let people make their own decisions.Can’t believe the backwardness of the government.
I personally think we should criminalize the use of public buses as they may well lead to people buying a car to drive themselves and the stats prove that far too many people are losing their lives every year on Irish roads.
We should also consider criminalizing Tobacco too. That alone is causing serious detrimental and fatal health problems in Ireland yet at present it is freely available for consumption.
Alcohol can get the boot too. The consumption of alcohol is a major concern in Ireland, a country that has serious social issues as a result of alcohol. Alcohol is also a major factor in the road deaths in Ireland not to mention the profoundly negative impact on one’s health too.
88 Deaths a month in Ireland are attributed to alcohol.
7,000 people die every year in Ireland with a smoking related disease.
161 people have been killed on the roads of Ireland so far this year.
0 people have died as a result of Cannabis.
We allow the ‘production’ of drugs that are proven to kill yet somehow we have made it illegal to consume a natural plant that nature has given to us that not one scientist can prove has ever had a death related to it.
The reasons the government gave for opposing the cannabis legalisation bill “Underage use being harmful”, “Gateway drug theory” and “Effect on overall health” are in fact all good reasons why the cannabis industry needs to be regulated in Ireland; kids as young as 10 or 12 can currently obtain cannabis without any difficulty, easier than they can obtain alcohol, the gateway effect is caused by the fact that criminal drug dealers also supply harder more addictive substances and have a financial incentive to encourage kids to start using them, it’s a gateway “supply” problem, not a gateway “drug” problem and although the anti-cannabis health claims were completely exaggerated (Cannabis does not cause cancer, strokes or schizophrenia as the government would like you to believe), the fact that cannabis is completely “unregulated” is not going to make it any safer, in a regulated market place adults would be able to choose a cannabis strain & potency level that suits them and would not be faced with the risk of buying contaminated cannabis that’s only found in the criminal black market.
Personally speaking, cannabis has never been a gateway drug for me. I’ve no desire to binge on it, nor do I want to continue on and do “harder” drugs after smoking or ingesting any. And I’m saying this as someone who drinks regularly, and very occasionally smokes cannabis.
My greatest vice has always been alcohol. If there was ever a “gateway” drug, alcohol is it. Anything reckless I’ve done, fights I’ve been in, arguments had, regrets, I can say that nine times out of ten alcohol has played a part.
The only time I’ve had “mental health issues” with cannabis is when I depressed with life, and I felt uncomfortable one evening after a personal smoke. It forced me to engage with my chronic anxiety, and at that point I sought treatment for it. It helped me engage with the idea of mental illness. All alcohol has ever done was drown the idea of seeking help. Anything that helps Irish people engage with the idea of mental illness is good, in my books at least.
It is embarrassing that many of the TDs discussing this topic are wilfully ignorant, but I suppose they’d rather believe that “you can have your drink, you can have your fag, but stay away from that cannabis shite. I have it on good authority (the parish priest) that it’ll make you go crazy”.
Well said, Keith
I agree that was a ludocris statment theres no such evidence lol
And FF dont forget, or do we just pretend they dont exist.
Hats off to Ming but we may as well face facts – this is Ireland, one of the most conservative states in Europe. We simply don’t do radical change, and when we do, we tend to make a complete balls of it. There is no way on earth any of this will ever sink in to the ultra conservative christian democrats we have in government. FG/FF are just one rung above bible bashes on the evolutionary scale. On that note, I’m off for a spliff and tomorrow I shall go about my business as a productive member of society.
Conservative in every way except fiscal responsibility.
Then again, conservatism has many meanings depending on who you ask
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Too stoned.
So they make nature illegal, and then recreate nature in a lab using chemicals, put the illegal part of nature into a pill, patent it and make millions.
Brain doesn’t understand…
Yep big pharma know what they’re doing and Governments seem to be powerless to react for some reason!
Brain is smoking too much weed
Money talks. And big pharma have shed loads a cash. One of the big hurdles for the legalisation of marijuana is that big pharma have not been able to chemically copy the exact effects of the cannabinoids in cannabis. Therefore they have not been able to patent the chemical reaction and cannot make any money from it. And once it’s legal why would you buy a chemical cannabis pill when you can just grow some.
About the arguement that modern weed is stronger then before, this can be accurate only depending on which strain you smoke. In the last 20 years seed banks have sprung up and they supplied the demand. The drug dealers wanted stronger stuff so they got it. As the seed banks became more legit by basing themselves in countries where they were breaking no laws, they started to breed plants to make strains that they wanted. And now the holy grail of seed banks is cannabis that has no active substance in it. So weed that won’t get you high or stoned. I know of at least 2 strains that were created in Spain and licensed to America for growing and selling in the Californian medicinal system. Both of these strains are very light and this is what makes them interesting for the medicinal market.
I just don’t see how the old arguements are still being rolled out when the information is out there. How much money have we spent on the war on drugs and how much have drug dealers made in the same time. All that money should be Ireland’s.
Dead on.
Davo ur full of crap!! U haven’t a clue wat ur on about.
So enlighten us there Tayto.
Where’s your evidence tayto? I speak from my own personal experience of working in the business for the last 10 years. So please elaborate on how I am full of crap!
Stupid silly people!
He’s not full of crap. What dave has said is fact. For anyone interested google gw pharmaceuticals, makers of sativex. This is the drug that will be available to ms sufferers in ireland. On their own website the ingredients of sativex are listed. THC 2.7mg. CBD 2.5mg. Ethanol. Propylene Glycol(same stuff that’s in e-cigs), and peppermint oil(to mask the taste of cannabis). The method that’s used to extract the cbd and thc is exactly the same as is used to make cannabis oil. This is cannabis. There not using any magical scientific extraction method. Just a good old fashioned tincture. You should see their grow room! The absolute bs about this is the price. 10mls of it is about 150 euro for what they say will work for 4 weeks. But in reality only lasts about 2 weeks. So 300 euro per month. You can plant a seed and keep that plant for years, and ms sufferers feel smoking it or eating it works better for their symptoms. You can grow a plant high in cbd and low in thc that wont get you high. Costs to grow are tiny. Kids in America are being treated for epilepsy with remarkable results. And the people supplying the drugs are asking for only what the families can afford to pay. Oncologist friend of mine tells me there is great success using it to treat certain types of cancer. For anyone that disputes what i have said. This is fact. I have no links, do the research yourselves.
Richard if the pharmaceutical companies and pharmacists can make that much money out of the extract, I’d say it’ll be a cold day in hell before we get legalisation. On the other hand it would suit the government to legalise and tax as they wouldn’t have to subsidise the remaining €170 under the drugs payment scheme.
The truth about Sativex – http://www.clear-uk.org/the-truth-about-sativex/
Lets face it, poor old Ming would need a few puffs to suffer that bunch of old stiffs.
How will I make a living. This better not pass. I might have to get legal work.
Oh give it a rest jaysus look your not the real john ! your comments are nearly all the same on every post.
10p says your a big fat hairy dude sitting in your bedroom @ a PC with stained y fronts & a Tshirt up to your moobs that you owned when you were 9!!!
No actually. I am a balding 26 year old only in from work. Quite thin my friend and highly addicted to cannabis. Watching sunny side of phildelphia on netflix. It is hillirious.
Clearly your not a good advertisement for legislation of it, you can even get the name of the show right.
Huffing glue like Charlie are you?
Ha! you’re just in from illegal work? :-)
Ming needs a bullet in the head if he thinks people hate FF enough to make drugs legal
Lots of drugs are already legal. In fact I’m having a cup of drug and two pills of drugs now cause I had a lovely bottle of red drugs last night.
Very good, Daniel, lol! Had several glasses of that same red drug myself last night while watching the tennis!
Great show ” Mac and Dennis buy a timeshare” season nine is brilliant! Frank gets the best lines, he s talking to two kids who s house he has just repossesses ” first I am going to paint ur room a colour that isn’t stupid, them I’m gonna throw all ur toys in the traaaaaassssh”
I wonder where Alex White has his body of evidence hid. I have never found it! Mentally and physically? What are the physical dangers of vaporising some cannabis? What are the physical dangers of eating some in a cake?
Mental dangers are only proven in minors, this law will make it harder for them to get it.
It’s time to legalise it .
larry murphy called,,,
he says we should legalise rape
D1ickhead
Michaels a phone buddy with Larry Murphy? Creepy.
Back again Zod u troll
The whole argument about ‘duty of care’ is laughable. Next time you look at the list of ‘side effects include’ that comes with a box of prescribed chemotherapy tablets, think of how much paper it would take to print the word ‘mellow’. Niall Collins is an idiot, and he’s from my constituency. I hope he comes knocking next election…
Where is the referendum on this?
there might be more than one reefer i mean more than one referendum
1-gay marriage
2-make drugs legal
I nearly vomited hearing Noel Collins try to speak of the “common good”, as if those eejits, or anyone has any idea of what that might look like. The way he spoke about the people who resisted the Dutch councils, when they tried to back track their cannabis laws, as if they were a bunch of junkies who needed a fix. What really happened was the Dutch rightfully told people who were trying to nanny them to “f**k off”.
Ive a question for the Minister Alex White, you say that legalization of cannabis will lead to the use of harder drugs? Is he saying that drug users start out on hash/weed then move onto coke and heroin, is he 100% sure that none of them alcohol wasnt the first drug they used? And thats a legal drug.
I started out drinking before I tried illegal drugs. I only tried harder drugs cause the person I was getting my weed/hash off had some and offered me to try it. If you take the dealers out of the picture harder drugs wont be offered so easily.
Nice suit Ming
Ming…Nidge is a fictional character son…put the Columbian Woodbines away will ya?
Is John Gilligan fictional too?
Columbia is more associated with cocaine, not cannabis, Tony.
the likes of Nidge (who we all love) murdered veronica guerin and roy collins
It’s Jamaican woodbines, tony. Get with the program. :)
I noticed legal highs been referenced by the NO side in relation to how great they were by criminalisation the sale/use of these legal highs. I would like to thank Fine Gael for making us the country with the Highest (excuse the pun) Legal high use in Europe!
Link: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/use-of-legal-highs-highest-in-eu-160772.html
That is a very old article.
Laughing at Ming because of his appearance or, at times, poor judgement merely deflects from the debate, and does a disservice to proper discourse on the matter at hand. What we have here is mainstream party politicians taking the easy route, putting before us a multitude of catastrophic outcomes to the legalisation of cannabis, all of which are based on absolute fiction. The likes of Alex White are looking over their shoulder at what they deem to be the views of the majority of the electorate, and pandering to the same, they know they can’t call door to door come election time and say ‘Hi, we’re in favour of the legalisation of cannabis, vote for us’, so instead they take the cowardly approach of mocking propopnents of what is essentially progressive legislation. Ming is out there on his own, I have no doubt cannabis will be legalised in Ireland in the future, but it will be at least 10, if not 20 years before we get there. The wheels of progress turn very slowly in this country, and all the while thousands of Irish people will buy cannabis ‘illegally’ every week, and the government will miss out on millions of euro of tax per annum in the meanwhile. Quelle surprise, bienvenue en Irelande.
The fact that it is a gateway drug has, in the medical world, been long disproven, I no longer smoke because it fuelled my already existing anxiety, but that’s just me, with weed legalised and regulated there are pro and cons. The main pros are more obvious (regulation, revenue, relief off penal systems etc., the real con is poor information on weed for beginning smokers (eg. Gateway drug, Chemically addictive etc.) which means when beginners learn these “cons” don’t affect them they feel safe (safer also due to stoner propaganda). This masks the actual cons i.e. habitual addiction, potential loss in self drive, stimulation of underlying anxiety etc. …I myself think legalization alongside ACTUAL real risk education would result in a better outcome than leaving it to happen illegally and waste state money to futilely tell ppl to not do what they want to choose to do
You’d have more chance of getting a blow job off the pope then this passing in Ireland.
the pope doesn’t GIVE or receive blowjobs to anyone… over 13
Tell you why you could say its a gateway drug. One gets used to meeting a dodgy drug dealer!!
Sarah, I would think that ciggarettes and alcohol are the first drugs people experiment with first or do you disagree?
‘Who is Nidge from Love/Hate accountable to?’ – the director of Love/Hate presumably.
If everyone read this short work, there wouldn’t be drug laws.
http://www.lysanderspooner.org/VicesAreNotCrimes.htm
“Vices Are Not Crimes
A Vindication Of Moral Liberty
I.
Vices are those acts by which a man harms himself or his property.
Crimes are those acts by which one man harms the person or property of another.
Vices are simply the errors which a man makes in his search after his own happiness. Unlike crimes, they imply no malice toward others, and no interference with their persons or property.
In vices, the very essence of crime — that is, the design to injure the person or property of another — is wanting.
It is a maxim of the law that there can be no crime without a criminal intent; that is, without the intent to invade the person or property of another. But no one ever practises a vice with any such criminal intent. He practises his vice for his own happiness solely, and not from any malice toward others.
Unless this clear distinction between vices and crimes be made and recognized by the laws, there can be on earth no such thing as individual right, liberty, or property; no such things as the right of one man to the control of his own person and property, and the corresponding and coequal rights of another man to the control of his own person and property.
For a government to declare a vice to be a crime, and to punish it as such, is an attempt to falsify the very nature of things. It is as absurd as it would be to declare truth to be falsehood, or falsehood truth.”
Education is key, and it needs to start with the supposed ‘law makers’, who are CLUELESS.
I’m with the government. Criminalisation is clearly working, we just need another hundred years and another couple hundred thousand garda and surveillance in every home in the country to enforce it. Everyone’s a winner!
Backward, backward, BACKWARD people. Term limits NOW. It really is noticeable who’s for and against and who’s actually lived in real Irish society in the last few decades.
And for the record I don’t partake, it never agreed with me, so Niall Collins can shove his sneaky remarks towards the other side.
Anyone else smoking a joint while reading this?
These arguments against the legalisation of cannabis are so rediculous, total misinformation and lies with no evidence to support them. Then to top it all off they want to to alter a natural medicine, fill it with chemicals and make profit. Greedy pigs
I honestly do believe it to be a fact that anyone that is going to smoke weed already is. There is virtually no problem acquiring it anywhere in the country. And it’s good to see that everyone here sees the old, rehashed excuses about the negative effects of the drug for what they really are. While I would completely agree that the misuse and abuse of this drug can be detrimental to your health, it is no more so, in fact less damaging, than alcohol or nicotine. As I said, anyone that wants to smoke it, already is. But at least the medicinal properties are finally being recognised. And people who would benefit from those should have the option to avail of it.
How can cannabis be detrimental for ones health? I’d doesn’t have side effects, doesn’t kill, one can’t even overdose it.
If you honestly believe there a zero side effects to smoking cannabis, well then I’m sorry but youre a fool.
Firstly, simply the act of smoking it is bad for you (again not as bad as tobacco, but there you go)
I have also seen, first hand, its effects on someone already prone to paranoia, as well as personally experiencing its effects on depression.
I know people that are addicted to it. While one cannot form a physical addiction to it, mental addiction is possible.
But this is when its abused and overused. No worse than alcohol or tobacco. So I’m still very much in favour of legalisation, as all of the above are already going on, regardless of its criminalization. In fact, all of the above problems might be dealt with more effectively if the stigma of using it were lifted from the older generation, so it could be discussed publicly.
Agreed of course it leads to problems when abused. Anyone who says otherwise clearly has no idea what they are talking about.
Smoking causes cancer.
“How can cannabis be detrimental for ones health? I’d doesn’t have side effects, doesn’t kill, one can’t even overdose it.”
You could say the same for sugar, saturated fat etc. Point is anything can be detrimental to your health if you misuse it/are an idiot. THe difference between drink, cigs, salty food and hash is that the first three got in before we turned into Nun Island.
I agree with you Conor. Besides I dont believe that cannabis causes paranoia. I know too many long time smokers who are perfect citizens to believe that
According to the W.H.O. emissions from the internal combustion engines in cars is the biggest cause of lung cancer (and fetal abnormalities) on Earth , but I dont hear anyone screaming for the sale , supply and use of cars to be banned.
Ah well hope it all works out for everybody
Dope.
You holdin’?
A conservative estimate of the value of cannabis sold on the black market in Ireland every year is €2 billion , making it one of the biggest markets in Ireland , it seems the politicians are happy to allow the criminal underworld have that €2 billion and then wonder why people are being gunned down on Irish streets every day , for €2 billion a year a lot of people are going to die as criminals fight to control that market.
While this market is underground there are no controls on it what so ever , cannabis is not only freely available in our secondary schools but has now found its way into primary schools as well with 11 year olds saying they find it easier to buy cannabis than cigarettes (underground dealers dont look for proof of age) , this needs to be stopped but will not be so long as the Irish state sticks its head in the sand and hopes it will go away , since the Irish state began to clamp down on drug use 30 years ago , having spent billions on the war on drugs all they have achieved is a 50 fold increase in the number of regular users and 100,000 people with criminal records meaning the social welfare system ends up supporting them for decades after.
Listening to the various politicians speaking against the cannabis legislation in the Dail makes me wonder are they really that far removed from the reality of the situation or have they been bought off by the criminal underworld that control the drugs trade as they are the ones who stand to loose billions of Euro if the state regulates the use of cannabis , knowing how easy it is to buy an Irish politician I suspect many of them are being paid / financially supported by drugs cartels to keep the status quo as they have put up no evidence what so ever to support their arguments against cannabis.
The question that needs to be asked of the government is this , 10 years from now Ireland will still have a cannabis problem , do they think the government should step in and regulate the use of cannabis and gain a substantial revenue stream from it , or should the state let the criminal cartels keep control of it , in which case hundreds of people are going to die violently in drug feuds and illegal dealers will continue to target schools and children and the courts will continue to be tied up with cannabis related cases keeping real crime out of the courts and allowing dangerous criminals to continue to walk the streets?
Either way Cannabis is here to stay weather the government likes it or not.
Luke “Ming” Flanagan. Leader of the Joint Party.
All he’s looking for is a joint coalition on the matter.
Just legalise it for Christ sake.
He looks like a stoner !
Frank, don’t know why people are disliking your comment. That idiot is a sell confessed stoner!!!
And vacuously snearing about someones appearance and not addressing the issues at hand is exactly the intellectual rigour we can expect from the slack jawed prohibition supporting sheep.
Many of us, all around you, go to work each day cleanly shaven, well dressed or otherwise and drive this economy and nation forward despite the hurdles in our path. On occassional evenings we enjoy a joint after dinner/the gym/socialising. Then we sleep well, go about our day and contribute to society. And it would be fantastic if this relatively harmless and often intellectually stimulating habit was also providing our country with millions in revenue rather than being diverted to organised crime.
And we’re not even addressing the enormous economic & environmental benefits of the hemp industry as a material!
Here’s some Carl Sagan :) – thinking is your friend, especially when it disrupts your current belief system.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/carl-sagan-marijuana_n_3367112.html
Great link but sadly its clear that many on here have no idea who this guy is! The same ones who are either currently drunk or dying to get drunk (and possibly cause some mayem!) at the weekend! Gotta love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning!
I am an ex toker myself. I had to give it up because it bloody fried my brain. Excessive consumption of cannabis can lead to increased feelings of paranoia and other mental health issues including depression. People who may be genetically predisposed to schizophrenia and other psychoses may have these illnesses triggered by this or other drugs. This has been proven with extensive research. I see this every day as a psychiatric nurse on the wards. I’m not saying it’s the worst drug in the world but I would be worried about it becoming freely available to anyone and everyone.
It’s already freely available in every city, town and village on this island. The dealers will give it to anyone. Anyone.
Drug dealers put all their efforts into high THC level cannabis for max profit, THC is the cannabinoid of the plant that is viewed as a psychotic. Balanced CBD strains are now available and they have amazing medicinal and anti-pyschotic effects, this would be available in a regulated system proposed. You should ask yourself does criminalising those patients help them in any way? schizophrenia is linked to substance use, cannabis, tobacco, alcohol etc. as one of the safest drugs on the market should the person at risk not have the option to buy the safer choice of cannabis with a safe level of CBD without the risk of stress of arrest and exposure to harder drugs?
Our current legislation saying now is smoke fags and drink booze but not too much there’s a good lad, we have a chance to tackle this issue instead of sending an unscientific hypocritical message. The natural reaction when one first realises this hypocrisy is of ambiguity to politics and of law, Einstein said the biggest cause of disregard for government is a law that can’t be enforced in reference to prohibition of alcohol. We need to start giving the third biggest industry in the world out of the hands of the least among us and make it safe as possible for the most at risk, giving impressionable children bandits as heroes is not the way we should be going as a modern society. Cannabis is the place to start as it is non-toxic and non-lethal.
Excessive consumption=abuse. What did you think was going to happen when you abused a substance. Bloody promotions and happy ever after? Your lucky it wasn’t alcohol you abused like the cannabis or you’d be in serious trouble
The link between cannabis and mental illness has not been “proven with extensive research”. There is a high correlation between cannabis use and mental health issues. But there’s also a high correlation between tobacco use. So much so that, as you know as a psychiatric nurse, psychiatric wards are one of the few exceptions from the smoking ban. We all know that correlation does not mean causation.
As someone who has family with mental health issues, thanks for being a psychiatric nurse. It’s hard often un-thanked work.
Excessive alcohol and McDonalds are pretty harmful too, the list is endless. Should we make those illegal? Your argument is invalid.
I’m sure flights to Amsterdam for a weekend aren’t too expensive. Damn hippies!
They’re not, around €120, have you ever been?
No. But, if I wanted to try weed I’d go to Amsterdam for a few days and use it legally in a café. So what if you can’t use it legally here. Go somewhere where you can. If you start using it regularly then it’s going to have deleterious effects on your brain in the long term. Tell me that I believe government propaganda if you want, but, it’s just science. Yes, alcohol is a drug too and can ruin peoples lives. But, because it’s so widely used (and it’s not underground) there’s more information available to you on the short and long-term effects. “Why ban nature?” Since when was smoking natural? You could argue eating the stuff is natural but not smoking. People love to be against the establishment and the status quo. I’m not outright against the legalisation of it. I actually would like to see hemp used as a cheap material to manufacture things. Smoking anything will still be bad for your teeth, gums and lungs. Even though it might not be as bad as tobacco.
Qwerty – lots of things are bad for your health. Pharma that are released are good for you in one way and bad in another – also we don’t know the long term effects of lots of pharma. So where do you draw the line?
So its a good thing alcohol is legal as its not “underground” so there is more information available, but you still dont think the same could be said if cannabis (NOT other drugs) was legalised?! Hmmm.
Thanks for the concern about OUR brains too by the way!
You’re welcome Ruth! Anytime :-)
@Scarr. I would use THC like I would any other drug or chemical where there isn’t enough research on the effects…i.e. I wouldn’t! Not unless I had a serious medical condition where the wanted effect would outweigh the possible unwanted side-effects. As far as alcohol is concerned, I only drink rarely. I don’t need THC for anything so I don’t use it and don’t intend to. Why do people feel the need to get stoned so they can feel mellow and relax a bit? It’s your own business, not mine, but why don’t you relax and mellow out a bit while listening to nice music or something. That way you wouldn’t have the risk of clouding your mind! Just my opinion.
Qwerty – tbh, I don’t smoke weed. I did years ago but stopped for no particular reason. You say you wouldnt use it (thc) and that’s fine, but I nor you should put ourselves in the position to dictate what responsible adults would put in their body (within reason – and by that I mean the risk ratio of young teens getting access to more dangerous drugs) – if someone wants to smoke a couple of joints on a Friday night, so what?
Jesus is this the only topic this idiot can debate there are more important issues happening today what a bloody waster as is the other useless stoner sitting next to him
More important than removing the income from violent criminals?
More important than reducing public expenditure and freeing up Garda resources to tackle real crime? More important than creating thousands of jobs across a range of Industries and giving the economy a boost that nothing else can even come close to matching? Tell me of these more important topics you have in mind Steven.
Steve didn’t think that through before posting. Poor Steve.
Give Gilligan back his money and make him promise to sell it cheaper. Jobs a good un! Viva la Gilligan
You really live up to your title.
High name-to-post-content ratio, there.
Legalise it!!
No matter what country yer in I think all politicians come from marriages between close blood relatives. Why not regulate n tax it n use the revenues for things like education n health care instead o lineing the pockets of gangsters n thugs ppl are gunna smoke regardless of the law.
Go home Flanagan, your stoned waaahaaaaa
Oh the wit. Stand up comedienne by any chance
swit swooooo
Moonie you are pretty !!!!!!!!!!
At least Ming wore a suit.
Ming… FFS!!! Would ya ever just go away and bring Wallace and daly with ya!!!
Wasn’t Ming buying off dealers when he toked???
Double speak from a politician…. Never..
He grew his own. A 1 man market where nothing is exchanged is not a market so basically Ming bought OFF the black market
”grew his own ”
and if he bought it from some dealer. would he report them ?
a member of the Dail breaking the law then more or less boasting about it
When he became a member of Dáil Éireann he made it clear he would not consume cannabis in Ireland. What time period are you wanting to ridicule?
What if he did find someone to report? Would the drug war end overnight because another young lad is in castlerea prison?
You are so stupid zod
legalise everything….wish i was living in russia for some peace and quiet !
Mentioning nidgey…fran will be round soon to soften his cough
He’s getting taxed!!!!
Did anybody bring up the poitin found today or was it all about the grow houses?
Niall Collins- “Cannabis is genetically modified….” 100% false, if this man can’t grasp the basics of the horticulture argument between conventional plant breeding and genetic modification then he is seriously under equipped in the understanding of the nuances of this debate. Put the question to the people of Ireland and us vote on the subject. Evictions, suicides and emigration are the legacy of the former government and a baton which the current government is happy to run with and they (the current government) talk about the social harm of legislating a new policy for Cannabis…
Stepping stone is what this debate is, I don’t believe it will be passed (will be praying that it will though) but at least the issue has been raised.
It’s rampant at the moment. The war on Cannabis is lost and will never be successful.
Legalise it, regulate it, tax it.
Makes complete sense. Ireland would save 100′s of millions in Garda, Court, Prison costs, generate probably billions in tax and it would hit the criminal gangs exactly where it hurts.
But lets face it, our inept politicians don’t do sense do they?
The supply of cannabis in Ireland has never been so free and easy , the war was lost when Ireland stopped importing cannabis through self sufficiency in domestic production , Ireland is now a net cannabis exporter , a lot of the cannabis bought in the UK , France and Spain is produced here in Ireland , the government lost that war and lost big,
Aside from the criminal empires being fueled by the vast amounts of money flowing from this trade (we now have drug gangs who have become so powerful , so well armed and well resourced that they are now taking on paramilitary groups like the INLA and RIRA , and winning , something the state was never able to do) , there is also the little matter of who is buying the cannabis , 11 year olds are now showing up on the drug addiction programs , this is completely unacceptable , everyone agrees that cannabis should not be used by people who are underage as this is where the mental health and other health problems from cannabis use arises , at this stage in the game it is so easy to get cannabis that a regulated and controlled method of getting cannabis will actually restrict the supply to those under age.
In the ideal world that we do not live in , supply of cannabis to anyone under 18 would carry very heavy penalties (would prefer under 21 but I dont that is realistically achievable) , supply would be tightly controlled by an agency of the state and a percentage of the revenue raised would be ringfenced for addiction treatment programs (for those who do suffer ill-effects from cannabis use) and a public education program to inform of the downside of cannabis (yes I know it did’nt work with alcohol but we do have to try) , the rest of the money raised would no doubt be used to pay down our astronomical national debt.
Leaving things as they are is not a realistic option , as the value of the cannabis grows (and it is growing year on year) the level of violent crime will increase with it , as we stand we are not far from the days when Gardai being killed by the drug cartels and we as a nation will end up with one of the worst drug problems in the whole EU (not to mention the fact we will be very unpopular with surrounding countries as we are already fueling their drug problems , which is also on the rise)
A Canadian Imam has stated that women need to ask permission from their husbands in order to speak, leave the house, or drive a car.
So why are we hating Muslims again?
Do they have to ask in writing for permission to speak ?
No they have to ask in braille
Ah now, that’s just one dimple too far!! Bloody chauvinistic maple leaf loving hair removal cream…
It’s worse than I thought
They probably have to hold up their hand like in class. What century to these people live in? Actually subtract 600 approximately from 2013 and you get the idea.Iin fact in the 1400s Islamic scholarship was light years ahead of Europe.
And yet alcohol is legal…
Dopes vs dopehead. Sounds almost as dumb as sharknado vs piranha 3dd
I suggest a quick read of this paper to help inform your decision on the merits of such a change. It is important to look at the experience that other countries had who have already leaped into the unknown. We are lucky since we can use there experience to help make a more informed decision :
http://m.bjp.rcpsych.org/content/178/2/123.full
It seems most people commenting on this are for legalisation. The day will come when the attitude of journal readers dictates new legislation. ;-)
Legalise it as long as you dont inhale it!
Can we get the politicians to read the internet response? Or is the Internet used primarily by “young males, early school-leavers with a poor employment record”. Maybe the existing Government is just a shower of cowards who are ill-educated school stayers? Lets use science and evidence and see where that leads us.
For all the scaremonger’s , LEGALISE WEED or BAN ALCOHOL…..as they say SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT !!
Luke it’s time to take off your pants and jacket
Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Ecuador are all set to follow suit of Portugal & Uruguay, this year. Inevitable really, only a matter of time before these old men are gone and fresh blood/ modern perspective will flood into government. It’ll be so gradual you won’t even realise it til it’s it’s completely legal and second nature.
The perfect drug. Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinant. All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects. Take a holiday from reality whenever you like, and come back without so much as a headache or a mythology. Stability was practically assured.”
ALDOUS HUXLEY ( Brave New World )
my comment will be number 100
woo hoooo
alcohol is d biggest gate way drug around,iv never smoked a joint then say to myself,hmmmm id love sum cocaine or ectasy right now,
“could lead to increased experimentation with other drugs”.
What a fool.
Much more likely to happen now with our current stance on drugs empowering criminals.If you want to smoke you have to get if off some dealer who probably has a few other substances to offer.
I think it should just be legalized with control and used as a proper medical benefit. Its a great profit for the economy if they just do it correctly. The country is riddled with little card board gansters selling weed for a few quid just take them out of the equation..There are bigger fish to get out there.. Bankers are the biggest gansters in the country.
Weve heard counter arguments to the usual negatives of gateway drugs etc but what does ming forward – a fictional character from love/hates accountability to make the point that the drug trade is involved with drugs? Having Ming Flanagan advocating for a cause is like hiring a blind person to proof read a screenplay. Can we have someone make an argument for legalisation that is actually capable of making a real argument?
Why are we advocating for legalisation anyway? First time offenders will likely get of with secion 1.1 of the probation act – resulting in no formal record and weed is currently cheap. In an ireland where we see photos of reciepts for pints costing north of seven euro shared on social networks, do you really wanna see a gram of weed cost 70 euro? Regulation will come with taxation.
Can we all just ingore ming, legalisation of cannabis and nidge from love hate? They all have the same amount of credability.
The heads on the two shams in the pic is fantastic…
Is threatening blackmail immune to prosecution when uttered in the dail?
have your say