Should Cannabis be legalised?

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                                  Should Cannabis be legalised?

        Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United Kingdom, fact. However, use of it is on the up and more and more people are campaigning to see it legalised or at least decriminalised, much like the situation in Holland. These people have many arguments that could give good reason for the drug to be legalised, but these are contradicted by the argument that it is a type of drug and therefore dangerous in many ways. Either way, there is no way to decide who is right or wrong unless the deciding party is in full awareness of the benefits and disadvantages that legalising the drug could bring. In this essay I will try to put forward a fair and balanced argument concerning the question of whether or not a potentially harmful drug could be legalised and then try to put forward my personal opinion on the matter. Then of course it is up to the reader to decide, are they for or against the legalisation of Cannabis.

        The drug itself is cultivated from the Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana) plant, which is mainly grown in the North and South Americas but can be grown and harvested in a British climate under the right conditions. Many common substances are derived from the plant besides from the drug itself, for

example: - Hemp is taken from the stem of the plant and can be used to produce rope fibres, while Cannabis oil is extracted from the seeds and can be used in the manufacture of varnish, paints and soap. The actual drug (from which the user can derive a temporary ‘high’) is extracted from the plant’s leaves and flowers. The drug derivative comes in three forms: - 1) As a herbal/grass form (extracted from the leaf of the plant), 2) As solids in a brown-black lump (taken from the top of the flowering plant) and 3) As a thick viscous black oil extracted from the seeds of the plant. The ‘grass’ form is possibly the more commonly used and the more expensive of the smokable forms, with street prices ranging from anywhere between £15-£45 for a 1/8 oz. It can be rolled up with or without tobacco and smoked to give the user a temporary feeling of light-headedness and euphoria, which can last for anywhere in the region of fifteen minutes to three hours. It is around five to eight times more potent than a joint rolled with a similar amount of solid cannabis but is not as easily available or as cheap as the other smokable ‘hash’ form. The solid hash form is not as strong as the grass variety but is more easily available and cheaper, making it much more appealing for first time users looking to ‘experiment’ with drugs. Street prices for this solid form of the drug can vary from as low as £8 or up to £25 for a 1/8 oz. However, this form of the drug can also be ingested as well as being smoked, but this method is risky as the user can never be very sure of how long the effects will take to start or finish from the point of ingestion. The third and final variety of the drug can be bought as thick, viscous, black oil. This oil (or the seeds from which it is derived) can be used to cook with, but the effects of this method are not as potent as the other two forms.

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        Cannabis in a grass or solid form carries a class C penalty, meaning a 15-25 year imprisonment sentence and/or a fine for supply of these forms of the drug. If a user is arrested in possession of the drug then they can be sentenced to a 2-5 year imprisonment sentence and/or a fine for personal possession of the drug.

        As I have already stated, there are many people who would like to see the drug legalised or decriminalised in this country, but it is important to understand what either of these two actions could result in. If the ...

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