
Could Iran be the next country to legalise cannabis and opium? - smollett
https://theconversation.com/could-iran-be-the-next-country-to-legalise-cannabis-and-opium-49183
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0xFFC
Iranian here, it is highly unlikely to happen.but right now something going on
under the cities skin which is low enforcement mostly don't show any interest
to arrest ordinary users of herbal drugs( for chemical and modern drug it is
whole another story,for example X pills.they will find and arrest you.and if
you are distributor they will executive you 100%).but they vigoursly arrest
and track distributers even herbal drugs.

p.s. if you have questions I would be glad to answer.

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aianus
Another ridiculous drug policy.

Opium is considerably more dangerous than Ecstasy (which was noted as being
'no worse than horseback riding' by the head of Britain's drug advisory
board).

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duaneb
Habitual use of ecstasy seems to have significant effects on the seratonin in
the brain. Furthermore, dopamine receptor burnout is a real thing. Do enough
ecstasy and you'll have a harder time enjoying yourself.

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anigbrowl
A shrewd move if they do; significantly reducing use of the death penalty
would significantly improve Iran's standing on human rights which would likely
pay significant diplomatic dividends at zero strategic cost.

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tim333
>The current regime already envisages the prescription of opium tincture to
drug abusers registered at state addiction centres

It amazes me that that policy is not more widely adopted for opium / heroin.
It stops addicts having to deal / steal to feed their habit and so the whole
thing kind of dies out whereas otherwise it tends to grow exponentially. Seems
a bit of a no brainer but it's only intermittently adopted. I see about 120
Americans a day are dying of heroin and going the prescription route would
rapidly reduce that towards zero.

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0xFFC
As I said in another comment I am from Iran.the thing you are talking about
can have huge consequences for regime.(I mean really huge).if they do
something like that it will have huge media attention in Iran.people will
raise other demands.why not legalize alcoholic drinks?why government keep
trying torture girls and boys who have sex outside of marriage in various way?
All so many other question . I assure you.if regime agrees to something like
that(which I don't think at all,there is no way absolutely). I assure you it
is end of Islamic government.

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personjerry
I suspect Canada is the next country to legalize cannabis.

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hackerboos
Doubt it. It might not happen until well in Trudeau's term if it happens at
all.

They have to create a regulatory framework and all the provinces will want to
handle it differently. Ontario government will probably be selling it
themselves like they do alcohol and since there's no suppliers of cannabis
globally then they'll have to create the infrastructure to cultivate it.

I expect a long drawn out process.

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drewrv
What would happen if one province (like BC) just legalized it, similar to
Washington and Colorado? Would Trudeau stop it?

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hackerboos
Provinces in Canada don't have that kind of power. Canadian federalism is
considered incomplete and is therefore not like the US.

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lbradstreet
Interestingly, Iran is the only country in the world that allows its citizens
to pay for someone to give up their kidney
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_trade_in_Iran](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_trade_in_Iran).

By some accounts it works rather well, see
[http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2015/09/tina_rosenberg.html](http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2015/09/tina_rosenberg.html).

(It is true that they do allow other nationalities to pay for a kidney,
however someone of their own nationality must give up the kidney, preventing
at least some level of medical/tra splant tourism).

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piyushpr134
Opium (afeem) is something that is very prevalent in rural parts Iran,
Pakistan. Cannabis (ganja) is something that is available easily too. It about
time it is legalized and controlled.

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ZeroGravitas
Does the strictness of drugs law correlate with general political repression?

Some people suggest drugs are pushed by governments to pacify their
populations, but I'm not aware of any governtments on the west's "bad-guy"
list that take that approach. Would it actually work?

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jccalhoun
Could there be a worse way to write a headline than starting it with "could?"

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tsotha
The _next_ country? I'd bet good money against that proposition.

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eru
How much? What odds do you offer?

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tsotha
At 1:1 I'd bet every dollar I have.

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eru
I'd be more interested if you would give at least 20:1 odds against it.

In any case, you should heed the Kelly criterion
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_criterion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_criterion)).

~~~
tsotha
I would still be pretty comfortable at 20:1, but I probably wouldn't bet very
much since the payout is so small.

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venomsnake
A theocracy is easier to maintain if your populace is stoned.

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unfunco
Any citations or reading that supports this? I've always thought that cannabis
lends itself to a freer thinking, it's often associated with more liberal
attitudes.

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eru
I know plenty of stoned neonazis in Germany.

