pdr said:
i just watched a thing on the news in the uk.
they're thinking of reclassifying cannabis as a category B drug due to its links with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia. they're also recognising that the active part in cannabis (thc?) is grown to be much stronger these days
I was living in the UK (if central London can be considered part of the UK at all) until last summer and spent a couple of years there. Overall, I probably spent 50% of that time smoking dope, with a few periods of heavy daily usage that lasted months.
It's true that what they sell on the streets has got much stronger these days. It's a wider European trend that originates from Holland. The culture is shifting from hash to grass and most of what you find on the London streets (at least if you're clever enough to avoid rip-off places like Camden and Brixton) is very potent skunk that sells 10 quid a 1/16 (they call it an eigth but it's clearly less than 2 grammes). A few years ago, hash was all imported from Morroco. They now import it from Holland or grow Dutch seeds locally. The Dutchies are really good at inventing new, stronger breeds and THC rates go as high as 30% these days. It's insane. Such strong "netherweed" will indeed blow you head off and possibly precipitate mental illnesses if you're the schizoid type.
I certainly don't want to generelaise here and I acknowledge that a fair number of people here have weed-induced DP, but I have never experienced dissociation for more than a few days, weeks at most, even after prolonged abuse. Well, nothing worse than my normal DP/DR symptoms at any rate.
I do believe that cannabis should be a controlled substance but honestly, the UK had better deal with its huge alcohol problem first, and urgently. I don't want to offend the Brits in any way, I have a profound love for their country, but I've never seen such a binge drinking culture in my whole life. Why is it that people drink so much in the UK? And why do they have to get so aggressive, pick up fights and throw up on the streets at 11:30 when they get kicked out of the pubs? Well, I suppose I'm being off-topic here. But come on, Britain, wake up to the fact that you're a nation of boozers, and that's not a pretty sight.
A European who loves that funny island off the Continent
