Student Voices: Should the UK legalise recreational marijuana?

Student Voices: Should the UK legalise recreational marijuana?

Students at University of Arts London have their say...

Now Canada has legalised recreational marijuana, is it time the UK follows suit? Students have their say... 

This week Canada cemented its reputation as being a cool, laid-back kinda place by legalising weed. In 2014 Uruguay made history, becoming the first country in the modern age to make marijuana legal, and medical marijuana's now permitted in 29 US states. 

So is it time the UK took a chill pill and loosened the laws around cannabis?

The laws around medical marijuana have been headline news in the UK recently following the cases of Billy Caldwell and Alfie Dingley - two young boys who were denied cannabis oil to treat their severe epilepsy. Meanwhile, the international development organisation Health Poverty Action, recently released a report claiming that legalising weed in the UK could  earn the Treasury between £1bn and £3.5bn a year (which they suggest could be put into the NHS).

But are allowing medical marijuana and legalising recreational weed the same thing? And is the possible cash flow incentive enough? We headed down to UAL to see what students there think...

 

Adam, Architecture

“Yeah, I definitely think it’s a good idea. The government have no reason to ban it, it’s not in their interest as they’ll end up making more money from it being legal. Realistically it’s your body and you should do what you want with it, why should people control what you take?”

Edward, Jewellery Design

“Legalisation is a terrible idea, there’s so many mental health issues associated with weed. Medicinal use and legalisation are two completely different things and they’ve been lumped together by people who just want to smoke weed. The idea that it’s not addictive is completely rubbish.”

 

 

Lola, International Development and French

“Obviously there are issues with weed; it can worsen mental health and people can become addicted, but the way to deal with that isn’t to keep it all underground. So many people in the UK smoke it already and there’s so much money that could be made from it and put into things like the NHS. Keeping it illegal doesn’t make sense to me.”

Connie, Cultural Criticism

“I’m pretty skeptical about legalisation. Would it be legalised to control and manage the market or simply because a certain group in society can now profit from it?”

 

Aggata, Architecture

“I don’t think the government should be allowed to control what we take, so in that respect legalising weed is a great idea.”

Adullah, Cultural Criticism

“I don’t smoke it but a I know a lot of people who do, so I think it’s better to regulate it. I think it would also be important that those who were disadvantaged and trading in it before are still made part of the business side of things.”

 

 

Jacob, Architecture  

“Yeah, it’s a great idea. The only downside is that it might be more expensive to get weed. It would be a great way of getting more money into the economy, but I feel like it would just end up in someone’s pocket.”

Anna, Cultural Criticism

“I think if it's done, people who have been put in prison for distribution and possession should be released. If we are going to legalise weed, we’d need to decriminalise it as well.”

 

Jamie and Sabah, Womenswear

Jamie: “I think decriminalising weed would make it safer. People are going to smoke it anyway, so it’s better to have it available legally”

Sabah: “Yeah I agree, I think it’s a great idea”

Natalie, Costume Design

“Alcohol is legal, and that has loads of negative effects, so I see no reason why weed shouldn't be. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve had a lot of awful chemically induced weed, so being able to have better and safer weed is always a plus."

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