At the risk of reiterating what's been accounted for a dozen times already, a lot of that paranoia will be as a result of the substance being grown by criminals. The government would ideally regulate it properly and even out the THC content, so the problem actually stems from illegality.

Not to mention the fact that dope clearly isn't for everyone and anecdotal evidence isn't really a useful barometer for measuring the effectiveness of this system. Person user experience differs from person to person and looking at the wider picture gives a clearer idea and chances are marijuana won't cause any mental health issues unless you already have them (in which case you should never have begun).

I just find it hard to justify ruining lives for millions because of a plant when ruining lives is exactly what these rules are meant to protect against. :shrug:

Ideally, people would choose the drugs that best agree with them.
We're all rational beings, so we'd buy the best drug that suited us. We'd be educated, so that we didn't indulge in harmful drugs. Education seems to be the problem.

Agree. I certainly wouldn't be wasting time and money on cigarettes if weed were readily available.

The problem begins when you build up a tolerance, what happens when the you no longer feel the nice buzz from the THC content of legal cannabis?

only give it to people who need it for medical reasons
if you do it for fun then how about you stop trying to be hard and sort your ****ing life out
I don't want more druggies on my street and the absolutely FOUL stench of weed everywhere

I wouldn't even smoke weed. I'd eat it in brownies.

Don't see who's trying to be hard by wanting to get high, though. No one even suggested it's a form of escapism for addicts, so why aren't you telling people who drink alcohol to get pissed to sort out their lives? They're both fun past-times for many people worldwide and to tell people to 'sort their lives out' because you don't like the smell is ridiculous.

I'd sooner solve the issue of alcoholics out on our streets causing total mayhem than this bizarre, ill-informed view you have of cannabis smokers being morphed-out zombies.

At least the likes of Claudia on this thread can give thorough, well thought-out posts that make me at least understand that point of view (even if I don't fully agree), rather than making sweeping 'oh I can't stand the smell!!' statements.

I endorse you Redway.