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| TPQ's Belfast Rockabilly Frankie McKIllen |
Fuck it, I quit.
Charlo Greene famously said those words live on KTVA after she reported on a segment about pot to concentrate on legalizing marijuana in Alaska. What she said before dramatically quitting her job was ...
Everything you've heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska. And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice but, fuck it, I quit.Earlier this year Professor Nutt gave a lecture in the Isle of Man called The truth about drugs. In October 2009 he was the Labour Governments chief medical adviser and was sacked from his job because he wrote paper and claimed that alcohol and tobacco were more harmful than many illegal drugs, including LSD, ecstasy and cannabis. In the paper he argued that some top scientific journals had published "horrific examples" of poor quality research on the alleged harm caused by some illicit drugs, Nutt called for a new way of classifying the harm caused by both legal and illegal drugs. Part of what he said in his report was ...
Alcohol ranks as the fifth most harmful drug after heroin, cocaine, barbiturates and methadone. Tobacco is ranked ninth. Cannabis, LSD and ecstasy, while harmful, are ranked lower at 11, 14 and 18 respectively.
Richard Garside, director for Centre for Crime & Justice Studies had this to say about Nutt's report ...
Professor Nutt's briefing gives us an insight into what drugs policy might look like if it was based on the research evidence, rather than political posturing and moralistic positioning. The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies is a strong advocate of research evidence informing policy making and it is delighted to be publishing this very timely and important contribution by one of the country's top drugs experts.I personally smoke pot openly, I've never hidden the fact. I'm at a total loss as to why in certain countries it's illegal. It is only a 'gate-way' drug because it's illegal. It doesn't lead people to harder, more harmful drugs. That is one of the biggest myths.
The Truth About Heroin - UK documentary is an eye opener. It is a bit long but worth a watch. And listen to experts not government spin doctors.
Durham chief constable Mike Barton claimed the war on drugs had failed and decriminalisation was the best way to wrestle power away from criminal gangs. "Not all crime gangs raise income through selling drugs, but most of them do in my experience. "
So offering an alternative route of supply to users cuts off the gang's income stream. If an addict were able to access drugs via the NHS or some similar organisation, then they would not have to go out and buy illegal drugs.
"Drugs should be controlled. They should not, of course, be freely available. I think addiction to anything - drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc - is not a good thing, but outright prohibition hands revenue streams to villains."
What doesn't work is prohibition and the war against drugs is as phoney as the war against terrorism. What is needed is a proper debate with fact not fiction.
Now I'm going for a spliff ... but I'll never smoke weed with Willie again.
Is the Gerry 'I never had a beard' Adams in the photo lol
ReplyDeleteNice one Frankie and an interesting topic. Strange that ecstasy was ranked as less dangerous than pot though
ReplyDeleteFrankie,
ReplyDeletethe massive profits made in the drug trade would be an incentive not to win the war on drugs as the cash gets woven into the economy one way or the other.
Pablo Escobar had enough cash to finance a small country, after they stiffed him where did all his cash go the same for any drug kingpin they catch or kill.
Any dirty money seized has to end up somewhere I am fairly certain it is not to feed the poor, more likely it ends up funding some covert ops.
I know one bloke who smokes the weed and has done so longer than I care to remember his other drug of choice cigarettes and the drink. I think when they figure out how to get the maximum profit they will make things legal.
The cigarette industry has something in common with the impure dope peddlers they lace tobacco with all sorts of dangerous chemicals with about 70 known to be lethal.
I am not saying weed is chemical free but I don’t know if a person would smoke 20 or 40 joints a day like a chain smoker.
frankie me aul flower, i quit last christmas eve (taxi broke down and i nearly did too) feelin great thank God but still miss it. i do think the skunk thats out there now is lethal and can drive delicate people schizo. I think grass is a very dangerous drug to be honest. I only met a few people who cud have the odd joint and i wish i cud have done that instead of being a big fatskinny baked bean every night. i useta be a total paranoid hemaroid. i took magic mushroooms 20 years ago and i actually wanted to go over to serbia and give some to all the different factions coz i was convinced theyd stop fighting. however the next trip i had was a living nightmare and havent touched them since. i love paris, u are a lucky swine.
ReplyDeleteWell I had heard the stories of the Ulster pirate Auld Green Beard, but I dismissed them as folklore… are you sure the spliffs have no undesirable effects Frankie?
ReplyDeleteu luk like a cross between jim morison, gerry adams and darby o gill
ReplyDeleteLarry, Daitih & grouch... I bet you'd all love to grow a beard like mine. And before anyone ask 'is it photo shopped?' Nope. It's totally natural and Daithi is on the right path. It's a side effect from smoking too much Purple haze.. Any resemblance to Gerry Adams is down to the lighting.
ReplyDeleteFrankie, I might like it (though not green), but missus would kill me. Plus I don’t think those lovable eccentrics are so loved post-Saville (im not calling you child abuser).
ReplyDelete@ Frankie et al
ReplyDeleteI’ve tasted Hate’s Street Hanging tree yes I have – 14 long years of using from 14 yrs of age through to 28 yrs of age when got and stayed clean. So here’s my voice on it all.
Note well: Marijuana may or may not be a gateway drug – all drugs illicit and licit have potential to lead on to greater usage and entrenched dependency. The factors precipitating addiction are varied as each person is a unique and their chemistry/DNA (family of origin history of chemical dependency =’s there is a predisposition for dependency in a child or young adult dabbling in drugs)
Trauma may predispose a person to addiction. Excessive usage will create structural changes in a person’s chemistry and create dependency on a substance.
NB No-one can claim marijuana is ultimately harmless for everyone just like you cannot say the same for alcohol.
I support decriminalising usage of marijuana and regulating opiate and other drugs such as crystal meth SOLELY to stop the prolific govt. funded drug trade, deaths, mental illness (drug induced) diseases (hiv/hep c etc) and incarceration of young men and women for experimental usage of illicit or incarceration of victims of addiction – they are addicts. Victims by their own hands yeah sure but tell me this:
What kid dreams of being an addict? You dream of escapism yes but not the drudgery and tragedy of the life an addict. Also who flooded the lower socio economic areas with drugs Join the dots JOIN THE FREAKING DOTS. You effectively kneecap generations not one generation with drug dependency.
Even if you are poor (I am lower socio economic person tho well educated now so live what I am saying) even if you are poor take pride in your dignity, right to a life free from the bullshit of drugs. Live a fulfilling life. Live clean is the key.
Now for the Shit Hit: Don’t glorify the weed there’s nothing glorious about it. I cringe at all the old hipsters toking away like they r cool daddies. Grow up is what I say. U don’t have a freaking clue You aint the new shit This shit is old shit and boring. Smoke yerselves into psychotic coma’s for all I care BUT never think you won’t be challenged on your promoting bullshit. Never mess with old ex street junkies They seen it all baby and lived it.
PS Frankie u looked like the poxy Gerry in that foto haha Song for you and anyone interested Song is all about the using and one of the earliest ANTI drug songs with a twist. Listened to it in detox and rehab detox rehab etc for years. Enjoy It’s a cracking great take and dead on. Honey they’re playin our song again and I think the stench of ganja has a line or two precipitating the outcome …LOL Pig and hose – street slang = tourniquet and fit/needle.
The inner city birthed me
The local pusher nursed me
A dime, a dollar they’re all the same
When a man comes in to bust your game
The turnkey comes, his face a grin
Locks the cell I’m in again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNcIzQk5bEY
@ Grouch u r smart... u got the insight... U aint cut out for the ganja or any mind altering chemicals. Never mind There's always food LOL stuff yer gob with food Learn to sit with how you feel Do relaxation stuff. A bar of chocolate versus being high and paranoid. Go for the chocolate everytime bro.
ReplyDelete@ Frankie you know Rodrigeuz is singing about Haight Ashbury San Fran BUT in Aus and Sth Africa he was enormously popular in the 70s and 80's but not in the US. We reinterpreted it as Hate Street and it stuck. Now they have reclaimed him ... He was/is a master of the art of dialogue for the common ppl. Beats Elvis hands down. Elvis was a prolific addict who ODed on the toilet and his chickadee girlfriend stuck ice cubes up his anus to try and resus him. The mythical resus ice cube number. Nah Elvis was wasted and I just want u to know that
ReplyDeletemary, i do zhang zhuang. its cosmic. check it out. from being out of my tree to actually being a tree. how mad is that.
ReplyDeleteWhatever works for ya 'grouch'.
ReplyDeleteEqually whatever works for Mary M.
And the same applies to Frankie the incredible hulk!
Here is a report in yesterdays Guardian.... British drugs survey 2014: drug use is rising in the UK – but we're not addicted
ReplyDeleteAnd some of the findings may 'shock people'.. What I know is the whole policy on drugs has to be re-examined. Apart from the fact it's out dated, it's flawed and not based on fact but on fiction. I can take on board some people go OTT with drugs but thats not the case for 50+1%. A lot of people who take recreational drugs hold down jobs, function normally and don't break into houses to fund their habit.
Mary I take on board what you are saying. But with respect it kinda reads like someone who stopped smoking or gave up drinking and preaching.. Almost akin to a born again christian. There are properties within weed and LSD than have been scientifically proven to help people with MS, treat depression and a whole range of medical illnesses. The reason why they aren't legal is simply big Pharmaceutical companies will lose money. It is as simple as that.
I can go to Spain and walk into a 'grow club' and sit with adults, drink a beer and smoke a joint. Portugal isn't much different, several states in the USA are the same.. Yet if I smoke a joint on the streets of Belfast I'd end up getting a fine, maybe hauled before a court and put in jail or even kneecapped. Yet I can go to an off license buy a bottle of JD and 20 ciggies and do more damage to my health.
i disagree about the 50+1% frankie. we are fuc*in disasters here in this country. all herbs have medicinal properties, green is no different, but when used to excess will bring nothing but health problems, especially psychological. i held down a job when i was a stoner but id get half a heart attack if i had to run for the bus. as for the paranoia. man i was bad. the week i gave it up i stumbled across this site. id imagine if i grew up in belfast weed wud hav been a great escape from stuff. id luv to hav the odd joint now but ive learned the hard way that dusnt work for me. i try not to be a reformed hoor but i suppose i am. keep her lit frankie, pun intended, but not all the time i hope.
ReplyDeleteGrouch you hit the nail on the head when you said this.." but when used to excess will bring nothing but health problems" .. it's like anything done to excess. If you take too much sugar or salt it will lead to serious health problems up to and including death.. Same as you said here "but ive learned the hard way that dusnt work for me" If you go to your GP and he/she prescribes you some form of medication it may work you. Then again it may not.. You may end up with a new prescription and a new drug..
ReplyDeleteKeep the faith Grouch I will keep her lit but not in Ardoyne. Solely because I value my kneecaps. I understand why PFR don't want illegal drugs in the area but this is the problem I can't square in my head. If I went to any 'Republican' area in the 26counties I could in all likely hood buy a bag of weed with out too many problems...
Recently The W.H.O published findings from a 20year study into smoking pot.. And what they are saying is true in certain respects but deeply flawed at the same time. They talk about the harm it (smoking weed) can do to teenagers.. Same arguments can be made for teenagers who use alcohol or tobacco..
Stoned and kneecapped frankie, now that's punishment
ReplyDeleteThat would deffo kill the buzz grouch. I wouldn't smoke at home but it'd be more for my parents sake than any thing else. I have heard 'stories' about some knee cappings. One went like this (around 87/88) someone was knee capped and the found him in a bar in the New Lodge and not only did the 'hit squad' allow him to finish his pint. They (the hit squad) bought him another. I've no idea if it's true but that's what I heard sometimes happened.
ReplyDeleteIts good to read serious objective comment on the drug issues.i would rather sit with a stranger who was smoking a j than a angry man full of whiskey
ReplyDelete