Tuesday 11 May 2010

Selling legal products gets you a life sentence.

Only in Ireland.

The Irish government have not banned the 'legal high' drugs. Instead, they will arrest and imprison anyone using them, and arrest and imprison for life anyone selling them. The drugs are still not illegal in themselves. Good, eh?

With tobacco, it's legal to buy it and carry it around but illegal to smoke it. This is only one step further. The substance is not banned as such, but possession and sale are crimes.

At the end of the article is an interesting line:

"The righteous fuming over these products is never applied in the same way to the products sold in the local pub which are just as lethal and dangerous when misused and abused," Irish Times journalist Jim Carroll said on the newspaper's blog, referring to the consumption of alcohol in bars.

Typical of the attitude of people nowadays. Not 'It is outrageous - these are legal products, you can't ban them'. Instead we hear - always - 'if you're banning my stuff, why don't you ban his stuff too?' As if that is going to help. It's children's logic, not adult logic. It applies to the child who is powerless to prevent confiscation of his toy so resorts to the only revenge he can get - demand that another child's toy is confiscated too. The child cannot fight for himself. Adults used to be able to.

If I get punched in the face, it does not lessen my pain to know that you will also be punched in the face. Unless you're one of the Brown Gorgon's goblins. Or the Brown Gorgon himself, for whom I would accept a few whacks as part of a deal.

However, Irish enraged child Jim Carroll has missed something.

Under the new legislation, the sale or supply of substances that do not specifically fall under existing drugs legislation, but which have "psychoactive effects" will land users with up to 7 years in prison and suppliers with a maximum life sentence.

The legislation does not name the drugs. It merely refers to 'psychoactive effects'.

Others are questioning how the group of substances with "psychoactive effects" would be defined.

Why, that's easy. They will be defined as any substance that has an effect on the workings of the mind.

Such as tobacco.

And even more so, alcohol.

You have your tantrum-derived wish, Jim Carroll. That legislation can now be expanded to arrest and prosecute tobacconists and pub landlords. The wording of it makes its extension easy. It will get support because it's about 'drugs' but once it's in place and set into the law books, the Puritan State takes Ireland.

Watch the Cameroids for signs of this sort of thing. It's no good doing a CAMRA and shouting 'Do it to them instead'.

This time, they will 'do it to them' as well.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Psychoactive effect" doesn't tea have a Psychoactive effect ?

JohnW

Leg-iron said...

It could be extended to tea and coffee and maybe even cream cakes.

It's one of those laws that could go anywhere.

The Boggart said...

This is all reminds me of the steps leading up to prohibition in 20's America, but how many people realise it was the criminals whipping up the righteous into a frenzy?.
They had already dug the tunnels to transport the grog (using public tax money)10 years before hand. Then spent the that time winding people up to get the bans in place.
They were called the Grey Wolves Criminals/poloticians in chicago.
The same idiots calling for the ban of alcohol were calling for the laws to be repealed 12 years or so later when they realised the damage it did and the power they handed to the mob.
I wonder if there have been many tunnels and speakeasy joints built
here already?

Junican said...

I do not know if I believe it, LI. It seems to be too rediculous for words. "This substance is banned even though it is not banned. If it is not banned, then it is banned" Actually, what it is saying in a roundabout way is that only substances which are allowed are legal. The Spanish tried it, but nobody took any notice. They tried to say that tobacco is an addictive drug and so non-smokers need to be protected from second-hand smoke in case they become addicted. Of course, they did not take into consideration the fact that there is no known case of a non-smoker saying, "God, I could die for a fag!" This idea was quietly dropped.

From a politician's point of view, this law (if it is indeed a law as yet) is perfect. The penalties are horrific, but no politician is responsible. The police will be resposible. Much like the smoking ban - the local authorities are responsible.
It will go the same way as all other similar generic laws - a few very public prosecutions and then quitely forgotten when the police prosectute someone for chewing grass.

Henry North London 2.0 said...

There is a solution

Grow hemp everywhere Sow it like the weed it is

Infest Britain with it and make it a green and pleasant land

What will they do? Crop spray the cities?

Luke said...

Speaking of banning perfectly legal things, you'll love this crock of shite on the BBC website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8637969.stm

Anonymous said...

Coming soon... chocolate eclairs presented as evidence of Mr Bun the Baker's guilt and mass nationwide arrests at Weightwatcher Clubs

Jay

Antipholus Papps said...

It's basically an Enabling Act, isn't it? Everything has a psychoactive effect. Tea and coffee, booze and fags, not to mention the alfalfa sprouts my sister guzzles down to help maintain a calm and balanced sense of well-being, or the dopamine-flooding chocolate she guiltily feasts upon when she's on an alfalfa-rebound, everything!

Leg-iron said...

Boggart - the tunnel to transport the grog now runs under the English Channel. I wondered what that was for.

Junican - yes, it is too ridiculous for words but then so is this.

Unfortunately, in this modern world, most of reality is too ridiculous for words but it happens anyway. If he was alive, Kafka would be making documentaries.

Leg-iron said...

Freewoman - that is a brilliant idea. I remember, years ago, an old lady dumped budgie seed in her garden when her budgie died. The seeds included cannabis and it grew. There was much pointless recrimination.

If she had only dumped it on waste ground where nobody could be blamed.

Leg-iron said...

Luke - Dick Puddlecote got to it first so I've settled for a link.

Jay - if Labour were still in that would be guaranteed. Now it has been relegated to 'likely'.

Antipholus - all those new laws are enabling acts. That's how laws intended to watch terrorists can be used to watch your bins.

The Cameroid promises a Great Repeal Bill. He had better not be lying. It was his councils that kept popping up in the news about these vicious applications of law.

none said...

" Anonymous said...
"Psychoactive effect" doesn't tea have a Psychoactive effect "

Everything has a psychoactive effect...

Henry North London 2.0 said...

Better still Sow it in the homes, gardens and the lands of the righteous.

Then report them

Have real fun screwing them They can't beat mother nature

Anonymous said...

One of the protesters, on hearing the news of the ban, turned to her fellow protesters cheered and said 'right lads, let's go to the pub to celebrate!' The irony was lost on the dumb cow.

Damo

Anonymous said...

I'm even more fed up now.

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/gardai-swoop-as-head-shop-drugs-ban-come-into-force-2176782.html

Some quotes:
'As a result of the Cabinet-approved order, it is an offence to import, export, produce, supply or possess the prohibited substances where they are to be used for human ingestion.'

'It will give gardai powers to close the shops, with the onus being placed on proprietors to then prove they were not selling illegal drugs.'

Whatever happended the maxim innocent until proven quilty?

Damo

Leg-iron said...

Freewoman - brilliant. Many of them have 'nature gardens' because they are too lazy to cut the grass. They won't notice.

Anon - innocent until proven guilty was abolished in the UK by Labour. We have 'strict liability' offences where you are guilty no matter what.

Sounds like your lot are at the same game.

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