Accrington is Dead!

[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes an addictive personality is the thing.

Well, I grew up in an age where almost everyone smoked tobacco....I never knew anyone who turned from tobacco to cannabis.

Maybe I am of the wrong generation.
I was never exposed to drugs.....and I was well into my twenties before I even tasted alcohol.

It seems that these days drug dealers get their clients at the school gates. That is a worry.
None of the habits(smoking....the use of alcohol) are without health risks, but in my opinion the mental health issues linked to cannabis are something that has been downplayed.

[cashman]

For my money the stuff downplayed these days, is the crap its mixed wi, its nothing like the cannabis yeh got in 60s thats a cert. To me the issues these days are in the main caused by this,

[Margaret Pilkington]

I am sure that has a lot to do with it too....but I do not know anyone who ever used cannabis in the sixties....no one in my circle anyway.

Liberal attitudes to drug taking are also implicated....the fact that the establishment wants to decriminalise the use of this substance.....because in the short term that makes life easier for the police....but in the long term there are sure to be mental health issues.
But of course these will not need to be dealt with by the police....or will they?

I think it will have a huge impact on all aspects of life....it already is impacting on life in the cities....gang wars are mainly to do with drugs.

[cashman]

Drugs has gone completely outa control these days, Scumbags know they can make good money outa them, so will sell to anyone and its much easier to target kids in my view,

[kestrelx]

Originally Posted by cashman

Drugs has gone completely outa control these days, Scumbags know they can make good money outa them, so will sell to anyone and its much easier to target kids in my view,

Well kids are now being used by drug dealers to distribute drugs round the country and linked to all the stabbings been happening this year - over 50 murders so far. Kids are lured in by easy money to buy expensive shoes and clothing etc. Theresa May cutting Police and closing down all the Police Stations hasn't helped, they've had to sell off Police stations to make money to replace cuts!

[Margaret Pilkington]

All this began before the current government came in.
The cuts you cite as being responsible were as a result of Labour governments poor budgetary controls.
The cuts were required because labour governments had spent up.
You can only have what you are prepared to pay for...So it was a choice of push up the taxes or spend less.

Now if large multinationals were brought into line regarding their taxes(all legal you understand) then there would be plenty of money to fund the services that we would all like to see.

Successive governments have known about the taxation inequalities....the loopholes.
All of them had the chance to do something about the big businesses being given leeway by HMRC....but none have acted to deal with this issue.

[Margaret Pilkington]

The difference between your (and my) taxation is that HMRC get their hands on their cut before we even get a sniff of our money....with big business the shyster accountants and lawyers get to dabble in the affairs before any business coughs up any dosh.
They get the chance to manipulate and massage the figures to reduce their tax responsibility.
So little flies get caught while the big boys break through.
HMRC admitted as much very recently.

[monkey hanger]

[QUOTE=kestrelx;1217576]Well kids are now being used by drug dealers to distribute drugs round the country and linked to all the stabbings been happening this year - over 50 murders so far.

the police have never really got on top of the drugs problem from the start. would actually legalising drugs clear the streets of these people as their profit has gone. may sound a little of a softly softly approach but young people and i was no different found if something was legal it wasn,t as exciting as when it wasn,t. pub visits at 16 and 17 were better than after that age.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes, young folk are always going to want to be seen as 'grown up'.
Legalising drugs would not(in my opinion) sort out the current situation.
Yes, those running the drug gangs might be deprived of an income....except they would not.
I think the government would apply a tax to any legalised drugs.
Drug gangs would ply their trade minus the tax....so would still be ahead of the game.
Every week you can see people who have been prosecuted for the sale of untaxed fags, baccy and booze.
Drugs would be no different...except perhaps there is little motivation by the police to chase drug dealers now, so I don't reckon it would be much different if they were legal and taxed.

I know, I know...I am a bloody old cynic.

[monkey hanger]

need to stop all these murders that have reached three figures now in london. carry on like we are doing is not the answer and a real hard approach is needed. if this cannot be done for whatever reason then legalisation of drugs is the only answer. the ones that get through illegally avoiding any tax will be fairly small and like fags they have almost dried up . funny though when tax is being lost something gets done. yes another old cynic.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I am truly against legalising something which is so damaging to developing brains.
Yes, like cigarettes an age limit could be set so that young people cannot buy it...but you and I both know that there are ways around the age limit thing.
The other thing about legalising drugs is...it sends out the message that the use is ok....safe even.
It is never safe to take drugs.
Heck, there is always a risk with drugs that are PRESCRIBED for you.

Legalising drugs would be the lazy, sloppy, line of least resistance option.

Laws are there to deal with the use, the sale and distribution of illegal drugs, but laws on their own are useless, it needs the motivation to catch the criminals.
Make no mistake about it, drug dealers are criminals because they steal the lives and the potential of our youngsters. They get these youngsters hooked at an early age....then when there is no money to buy the stuff they are addicted to....they rob, Mug and sometimes even murder to get their fix.
Not a good picture.
That can never be acceptable.

[monkey hanger]

could not agree more with your statement margaret but what has really been done to stop the drugs and their criminals who deal with them. i think the problem is actually bigger than you and i realise and for one i cannot see them being stopped. if a miners strike approach to police the thing came about then we might see real results.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes, I think you are right.
But the problem has got to be owned.
From where I am sitting it is NOT owned.
Maybe the answer would be a dedicated force separate from the main body of the police....a force who are only concerned with tackling the problem of drugs and supply of drugs. Maybe some of the customs officers dealing with searching out drugs coming into the country could be mustered....and if it means training and employing more of them....then it has to be done.
(In the not too distant future there may be 39billion quid going spare to deal with such issues)

What is clear to me is that many crimes have their roots in drugs and drug dealing.
Not addressing these issues means that there are more crimes for the police to deal with from domestic burglary to gangs and the murders they commit related to turf wars.

Drugs and the proceeds of drugs funds other crimes too.
So not tackling the cause of these crimes....namely drugs and drug dealing means that the perpetuation of other offences continues unrestricted.

[Less]

Haven't we already had a thread about drugs that was oversubscribed to?
Yes, accrington is dead, but come on, blaming it on drugs as a sole cause and repeating what has already been said will not remove the problems, we see around us.
Let's turn this thread a little more positive, yes, thanks to neglect from the powers that be we are turning from a dump to a midden and I shouldn't need to emphasise it's WE the people of this fair town that are the problem whether we use drugs or not our lack of contribution, our, 'I just don't really care attitude' has brought all of us to this.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Less, the general rot in the fabric of society is not all down to drugs...it is down to the dismantling of family values, the slide in the morals and ethics of society....the lack of people taking responsibility for their actions...always wanting to blame their situation on someone else's actions....blaming governments for everything...expecting government to do the things that many of us are quite capable of doing for ourselves.

The other aspects of local degradation are the inept use of public money for useless projects, the inability of local government to address the important issues.....not making enough (or perhaps) appropriate measures to regenerate the town.

As for contributing....there needs to be some kind of leadership.....some way to encourage and motivate people to join in.
Possibilities for public interaction need to be well publicised and aggressively marketed at the targets the activity wants to attract.

Much was made of the development of a town square.
It was supposed to bring people into town.....but it has no character and is as attractive as a paved wilderness.

I am sorry if this is perceived as negative....it IS negative.
Maybe if those who hold the money,listened to those whose money it is they are spending.
Then maybe...just maybe it could get better.
I think the town has slipped too far down the drain to be rescued.
Make it somewhere to be proud to belong to....invest in infrastructure.

Accrington used to be a proud Lancashire town.
It had people coming in from neighbouring towns to visit what was a vibrant market and town centre.

Yes, yes....I know shopping habits have changed...So the approach to marketing the place needs to change too.