Peter Hitchens debates drug decriminalisation
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ส.ค. 2021
- Peter Hitchens and Drug Science CEO David Badcock debate whether drugs in the UK should be decriminalised.
Download the GB News App to watch live wherever you are, catch up with all our shows and get the latest news from the GBN family. www.gbnews.uk/freegbapp
Don't forget to follow us on social media too!
Twitter: / gbnews
Facebook: / gbnewsonline
Instagram: / gbnewsonline
LinkedIn: / gb-news
The reason we have such high levels of drug deaths and usage is that many people live lives of utter misery.
Not true , a lot of happy upper middle class people take drugs
High relative to what? And we know which drugs kill the most people (the legal ones, that are also the worst ones).
@@jdlc903 it is true. The upper middle class take drugs for recreational use which seems to be more openly accepted! But many poorer people, especially homeless, take drugs to drown out their misery! Both alcohol and illegal drugs are heavily associated with mental illness! The biggest problem is that it tends to be paid for through crime! I don't agree with decriminalisation, but both sides of the argument have valid points!
Some by their own choices
@Tw1st3dxTc wtf? Go to any council estate work on any construction site drugs are rife because no law enforcement
Suddenly David Braddock has lost his hearing when asked if he takes drugs
That's what serious indica strains do to you, total disassociation, it's great.
@@bhante1345 lmao
By refusing to answer the question, he did precisely that.
whether he has used drugs is not important
i don't have to use drugs to understand this issue
@@robinsss It might be important if any shame or embarrassment about it impinges on his impartiality or there is a conflict of interests.
To be able to buy drugs that aren't diluted with poisonous chemicals would save lives, that cannot be disputed.
Our NHS will have a crisis on their hands if they keep dishing out opiate based pain killers for minor elements. Just look at America. The medicinal use of Cannabis wouldn't be addictive or cause the major side effects associated with opiate medication. Cannibis is easy to harvest & have many pain relieving chemicals such as THC/CBD. Epilepsy, Parkinson's & depression has been & is been treated with Cannabis & is proofing successful. Mild recreational regulated cannabis would also be a great for tourism & trade.
@@Human_Being__ but those who are already addicted will still look doe heroin
what do you do?
Why would you sell a 100% pure drug when you can sell it for 200 times the price but cutting it?
@@emiliawisniewski3947you'd sell a small amount. People would know what there getting.
This actually isn't true, if every drug was 100% pure overdoses would be WAY more higher, most coke people take is like 20/30%, same with heroin, imagine if you could buy 100% drugs from legal places? What a crazy idea that would lead to misery addiction and suffering.
The opposition to Peter wasn't the best person for the argument
I don't know why they let perter Hitchins speak on these matters.
Surely somebody who has always strongly fought against something without having any direct experience with drug users or using drugs himself has nothing to add on this conversation.
What!!!! "the opposition" was the CEO of Drug Science. An "expert" surely. Peter Hitchens is 100% correct.
@@DavidA-ps1qr It's what they always say whenever they taste defeat and it reveals their lack of honour. Had the same guy beat Peter they wouldn't be saying he wasn't the best person then.
@@HoratioKJV Absolutely right.
@@HoratioKJV Again you're spot on. I remember when he regularly appeared on Question Time and the audience used to boo and jeer at him. Then, once they started to applaud him, the BBC took him off. Typical of how scared the left wing are of him. I shall never forget how he completely destroyed Russell Brand. :-) :-)
Who do I go to for a lifetime supply of opiates and anti-depressants , criminals or doctors ?
Exactly equally addictive and dangerous.
why not both...!
If you don't think doctors should give out drugs legally (which are less harmful id argue but let's say there not) because you think that's wrong why would you let anyone give them out legally?
@@lukecockburn1140 Prescription drugs kill more people than anything else on the planet. Do some research. All have side effects too. Its no longer medicine it is drug dealing disguised.
@@lynncuthbert2307 that's not a argument for decriminalization & I've not looked at the data but if imagine they help more than harm which is why impoverished countries want & or get given them by charities but I belief we have major health issues in our country caused by food among other things & over & inadequately prescribed drugs is a problem the solution isint legalizing all or not prescribing any & there is a difference between drugs not all prescribed drugs are the same & not all are very different from illegal ones & not all illegal are the same I don't know pharmacology but there's huge variation between drugs legal or illegal & id assume most legal medicinal drugs are not psychoactive & if so are for Anastasia
All of society’s problems will disappear once we can buy crystal meth from Holland and Barrette
ahahahhaha
Yes, because the people who use crystal meth will all have won Darwin awards. But seriously, if previously criminalised drugs can be regulated and taxed like alcohol and tobacco, the harmful side effects can be mitigated in a more controllable manner. It is uncontrolled drug use that creates the criminality.
I think you missed the point. In your example Holland and Barrett would be in prison for drug dealing although their customers would not face any charges. In the current situation the customers would be in prison and the police find it too difficult to prosecute Holland and Barrett.
GB News should give Peter Hitchens his own show. The ratings would be very high.
Hitchens the covid sellout look what he said rewarding the vaccines
@@jeffoleg4881 So what? Do you think there is even one figure who is right on every single issue?
Agreed
I agree 10000000%
You must enjoy listening to idiots bully people in an attempt to sell very boring books about things he clearly has no understanding of.
They should be legalized instead. Both of them are wrong.
Exactly without regulation or taxation, decriminalisation achieves nothing long term, and if you regulate and tax it as is badcocks approach, the black market would be booming, get rid of the incentive to buy online by not taxing it or restricting it in any way
What's the difference between drug prohibition and alcohol prohibition?
None
@Leona Bastet Agreed. You cannot compare alcohol to heroin, even the law separates drugs into different categories based on their effect. It could be argued that western civilisation has evolved to cope with consumption of alcohol over thousands of years, smoking crack is somewhat newer.
@Leona Bastet People aren't generally alcoholics, but they still exist. Why make the comparison between crack/heroin and not cannabis? How many people have died of cannabis compared to alcohol?
Dont you think the health sevice has enough problems with the effects of alchohol abuse without adding cannabis abuse to that..? Do 2 wrongs make a right..?
@Leona Bastet do you have a peer-reviewed paper as evidence for your claims? Alcohol is known to cause memory loss, liver damage etc. yet it's still legal.
Tobacco causes cancer, cannabis doesn't need to be consumed with tobacco. Cannabis doesn't cause violence or aggression, unlike alcohol, it does the opposite. Clearly you haven't had any "first hand" experience. Your anecdotes aren't evidence.
The “it’s not their fault” approach is the problem. People need to take responsibility for their own actions
spot on peter hitchens as always
Absolutely. I'm pro-legalisation and regulation, but at the end of the day it's up to the individual to weigh up the risks and deal with the consequences, but this the problem with a society that mandates 'caution: contents hot' labels on cups of coffee.
Would you ban alcohol (the worst drug)? Do you drink?
The fact is society could be helped if drugs were legalized.
@@DeviantDeveloper I do drink, I don’t think it should be banned. However if it was illegal to drink, I would not drink. See the difference?
“thank you for joining us on that big debate,” he says. It was ten minutes long.
Oh dear. David Badcock can’t even prepare a minute-long concise summary of his view.
As opposed to Mr Hitchens' 'They're all legal in effect already! Reeee!'? Lot of respect for Mr Hitchens, even when I disagree with him, but he's so far off on this issue he's not even on the same planet. 'Stealth legalisation' indeed, what a load of utter horse crap.
hello hello..?? can you hear me..? crackle buzz
@Matt Washer mate you don't know what you are on about, the latest yearly figures show 102000 people were sentenced for drug offences, 10000 of which went to prison. You say you are worried about the harm they cause, well how is it helping sending a drug addict to the one place that is awash with drugs?
@Matt Washer "Who actually goes to jail for possession?" About 16% of the prison population? ~13,000 people p/month?
Is everyone who uses 'illegal' drugs caught and imprisoned? No, of course not, but then neither are 100% of murderers, and you'd hardly say there was a 'stealth legalisation' of murder, would you?
As for 'young people', why is that anybody else's problem? Surely the parents should be able to instruct and inform their children, or at the very least keep control of them, and I tell you now, keeping Pandora's box closed, and pretending that the box doesn't exist is futile and stupid, humans have sought out ways to alter their consciousness before we'd even come down out of the trees, and youngsters who feel the need to rebel against authority will be even more attracted to 'illicit' substances. Considering three times as many people die from alcohol than die from ALL other drugs combined, will you now be calling for for alcohol prohibition too?
*Statistics from ONS and Gov.uk. Just type 'UK prison population' in your preferred search engine and plug the numbers into a calculator at your own leisure, and yes, I rounded up to the nearest thousand, please don't bother if you come up with a discrepancy of a couple of hundred or less, hence the tilde.
@@testudohorsfieldii7052 We're discussing drug 'use, NOT drug 'offenses'!
There is no coherent argument where alcohol is legal and molly etc are illegal.
One was already in proliferation enough that it would be much harder to enforce legislation Molly isint there yet it might not be if criminalized properly
Alcohol has never been made illegal, Molly is still, currently, illegal. From a purely practical point of view, it would be impossible to ban alcohol due to its historical and cultural pervasiveness. Molly, being still illegal, simply only requires the enforcement of laws currently on the books. Wouldn't it be better to stop Molly becoming as widespread as alcohol, if you could?
You're making a great argument for alcohol prohibition
PH's smelled blood when David said "I don't know what to say to that"
Peter I love the sound of my voice Hitchens
HAHAHAHA coming from the guy with the most pretentious name on the internet. HAHAHA
Calm down bike boiiiii. HAHAHAHA
PH is wasting his time with these snowflakes.
He's wasting his time with his silly views.
@Shera There wasn't an ounce of reasoning in his entire appearance. Just lost of posh noise about how ridiculous it is from his subjective view, some deeply misleading context removed stats which become useless when given context, the citing of a single portugese politician who isn't happy with their model, and some thoroughly ridiculous claim that dictators like the populus on drugs (hence why not a single dictator worldwide has legalized or decriminalised great point m8).
That in your view is well reasoned?
I tell you what well reasoned is.
The war on drugs was invented in the late 1800s in america when a racist paper merchanct who had an alcoholic father and hated substance abuse felt threatened by the cheaper and more efficient hemp production which was taking off. He used his power and influnece to associate hemp and cannabis and went on a PR campaign to associate cannabis with crime, mental illness and lazy mexicans, hence the prevalence of the word 'marijuana". He was incredibly successful and continued to push for the criminalisation of all substances, eventually succeeding in getting alcohol added to the list. Prohibition America is the perfect example of why criminalising drugs is capital R Retarded. In the space of less than a year, a huge organised crime industry erupts. Murder is on the rised. Addiction is on the rise. Crime generally. Legalize alcohol and it all goes away. Not smoothly of course, but the organised crime didnt have a market anymore end of story. As America hadn't had a cultural obsession with any other drug besides alcohol prior to criminalisation, there weren't major problems being caused by illicit trades of other drugs. However humans like drugs. People will make them. Suddenly society has crack and heroin to deal with. And what do they do? Try to scare people from taking it. Try to punish people for taking it. Anyone who understands basic human (or mammal for that matter) psychology understands that isn't going to work. The amount of money that has been spent world wide on the war on drugs is tragic. Its literally pissing money down the drain. No one in their right minds claims that the war on drugs can be won, i'm sure the retarded Hitchens brother wouldn't even be dumb enough to claim that. Its pissing money down the drain because one racist arse 150 years ago had an alcoholic father and was a zealot.
Go watch a little dark age edit or something diddums
Peter Hitchens convinced me that there has been no war on drugs.
If anyone ever needed a Zoot it's Hitchen
@Champagne SOYcialist His brother Christopher is the total opposite and a fantastic orator
"People who come into contact with drugs " he makes it sound like its forced on unfortunate people. They CHOOSE to take drugs ffs! I grew up hanging around with people who all dabbled but I never once took so much as a spliffs. You have a choice to take or not!
Exactly
Oh yes, they always talk as if the drug abusers themselves are some kind of pets or children, as if they are just witless victims and that these are a kind of human or 'subhuman' that has no sentience and ought to be run by him and other elite controller humans. They can make or change all these subhumans have no choice but to do.
I'm with you, the actual issue is the drug users, they choose it, they are CHOOSING this or they are putting it away. They are not, contrary to these progressives smarties, they are not some foolish 'human pets' who simply blather into whatever direction they go. "We can make them do this" and 'We can do this to control their behavior" is just arrogant and so very dehumanizing. They think of themselves as Gods over the 'Pleb things' they want to toy with.
@@jonathandewberry289 Drug 'abusers', lol. Always loved that phrase, makes it sound like the drugs haven't consented. Drug 'users' is far more accurate, regardless of what you're using them for.
Spot on....
@Flaubert's Parrot Surely that's because the career people, consultants and lawmakers (they aren't called public servants anymore) but surely its because they mishandled your behavioral controls? After all, you're not really a 'real evolved person' and so there is no way you could be fully responsible for that?
The sad thing is I think David is a nice guy I like him but he's totally naive
Of course he seems nice, he smiles all the time and holds his head to one side like a girl! But he's not naive. David Badcock is the CEO of DrugScience and a professor in the Science faculty of Nottingham University. A dangerous wokeist with influence on government and access to the young.
@@hannannah1uk ok seems I was fooled , thanks for the info :)
@@hannannah1uk that's great thing about the internet even self delusion is punctured pretty quick
People who "come into contact with drugs". What in earth does this foolish man mean by that? Thank heavens for ex-Red Pete and haveMercy with her sharply pointed questions which the wokeist suddenly couldn't hear. Well done #GBNews!
Kids who have friends/family that take drugs, obviously
I don't think giving somone a drugs charge for using some cannabis is a smart idea, and drug addiction is a medical problem and not a criminal one
Same as alcoholism
It would also remove the source of income from gangs and the Mafia..prohibition never works
not every case, but not every addict is as you think. many are addicted to just 1 drug. and would engage if it meant getting there drugs on precription under the terms of any outside use terminates your script
You think the gangs wont just turn to robbery, prostitution, pimping, home invasions, ect. There have been idiots screeching about decriminalization since drug laws were put in place. Prohibition never works huh? Try going to an asian country that has severe penalties, they don't have anywhere near the addiction levels we're seeing in the west. You are a liar.
Will it balls
you clearly didn't watch the video
@@VinnyCarwash-js8op Psychic are you? Well I wouldnt rely on your powers were I you
Alcohol causes far more harm than most drugs.
Our NHS will have a crisis on their hands if they keep dishing out opiate based pain killers for minor elements. Just look at America. The medicinal use of Cannabis wouldn't be addictive or cause the major side effects associated with opiate medication. Cannibis is easy to harvest & have many pain relieving chemicals such as THC/CBD. Epilepsy, Parkinson's & depression has been & is been treated with Cannabis & is proofing successful. Mild recreational regulated cannabis would also be a great for tourism & trade.
Because it's easily accessible and legal.
@@spectralon7677 Because it is socially acceptable xD
@Leona Bastet drunks are unpredictable. They will beat you black and blue for no apparent reason!
😕☝I bet Peter loves a drink or two! Alcohol causes degradation & serious mental health issues. But he didn't mention that fact! But for example, Cannabis may cause mental health issues because it isn't regulated & controlled. The problem is the black market is producing stronger, genetically modified forms of cannabis such as Skunk & Spice. Ordinary regular cannabis is safe & has been used recreationally for thousands of years. Canada's approach to this issue seems to be the best.
I get you don't want meth/heroin on the streets. But having alcohol legal and weed illegal baffles me
then you didn't really listen to what Hitchens was saying....
@@thehealthstore6509 They never do.
Peter doesn't want alcohol to be legal, per se. You seem unaware of just how dangerous cannabis is.
@@HoratioKJV and how dangerous can cannabis be?
@@adamwedgwood4814 Check the website AttackerSmokedCannabis for a list of violent crimes caused by cannabis-induced psychosis.
All Drugs should absolutely be legalised because the government has no right to tell adult individuals what they can or cannot consume.
Very simple way to fix the problems of drugs, which have pretty much replaced alcohol and mean most of the population looks unhealthy, and are mentally ill only feeling happy or or confident when they take drugs/ alcohol. Target the middle class teenage kids who use drugs and think cool. It's really that simple.
No and worsen another poison in society? Life isn't about hedonism.
Should one use drugs? No probably not, especially hard drugs (herion, crack, meth etc), but still, one has the right to consume what they wish, who is the government to force some path upon them. This is also not a major issue in regards to individual freedom, especially as compared the socialised medice (NHS) and other abridgments of individual rights that currently exist in the UK.
@@idreeskhan8885 if that's the case why is it the most hard hit level of society by drugs the poorest?
Sorry Ross,I think you are wrong,drugs use and abuse,dealers,and everything related to them,we need to come down harder on the lot,no way should we decriminalise drugs
Hitchens plenty of people have went to jail for the freedom to use marijuana . You're a liar when it comes to drugs..
He never said they don't. What a stupid strawman. Get real
😕☝I bet Peter loves a drink or two! Alcohol causes degradation & serious mental health issues. But he didn't mention that fact! But for example, Cannabis may cause mental health issues because it isn't regulated & controlled. The problem is the black market is producing stronger, genetically modified forms of cannabis such as Skunk & Spice. Ordinary regular cannabis is safe & has been used recreationally for thousands of years. Canada's approach to this issue seems to be the best.
Believe me, it's barely enforced. I've know tens of people smoking it in public with police simply walking past!
@@Human_Being__ you can drink two pints without getting drunk and little ill effect. Cannabis causes insobriety immediately. People don't seem to think losing full control of your faculties is bad, which is an insane conclusion.
@@jesusistheonlygodamen3406 no it doesn't!
The druggy did not know what hit him!
watch 'big tobacco' firms move into the marijuana game.
Is this a video mate
@@Jaaammmbbbooo no
Has Scotland decriminalised drugs as it has the highest death rate in Europe, or is it just easier to cope living under the SNP if you are on them?
I was on the fence. Peter made great points. We currently have defacto legalization
its true! people are smoking weed out in the street and police wont do anything
Lol. Your complete lack of knowledge and experience of the issue is showing.
Feel free to wander up to the filth carrying drugs. Enjoy your time at Her Majesty's pleasure and don't drop the soap.
@@hereticdude2788 i see people blatantly smoke crack in the street. young people openly do drugs at gigs and clubs. its so rampant and i think it needs stricter rules.
the fact you call the police filth tells me everything about your ideoligical bias on the issue
@@hariwilliams8208 oh so no one is in prison on drugs offences then?
@@MrNPC it is when our streets are riddled with low lifes smacked up to the eyeballs on spice. its ruining society as a whole and that is too obvious to not see
60 seconds???? WTF is GB news playing at. What is the point in such limited time to discuss complex issues. Is this really what people want?
I guess this is some sort of experiment to try a bring some civility back to modern polical conversation.Not that great tho.
People die from drinking everyday it being legal doesn’t change that.
It does mean deaths and blindness are less likely to occur through illegal distilleries though. The control of the supply is also out of the hands of criminal gangs.
@@apebass2215 well that’s not true either criminal gangs supply knock off booze all the time to avoid tax.
And I bet fewer people would die than die currently if it were illegal. I’m not saying that I want it made illegal, I’m just saying there are fewer people willing to break the law than there are people who currently drink.
@@JosephStealin What is your position? For or against drug decriminalization?
@@derp8575 against.
@@JosephStealin I'm against your right to eat fast food. Now be a good prohibitionist or stfu!
This is about letting PEOPLE choose what to put in their bodies and about government putting money into helping people medically, not punishing them criminally.
What if that choice has a negative effect on their health, their families and wider society, including the taxpayer?
@@goodyeoman4534 Like obese people?
@@johnhalpin1 No. Not like obese people.
@@johnhalpin1 Being fat doesn’t lead to psychiatric breakdowns. My nephew ended up on a mental ward after smoking cannabis daily and my stepbrother is now depressed as a result of smoking cannabis.
@@goodyeoman4534 you clearly don't know of or understand the negative affects being obese has on their health, their families and wider society, including the taxpayer.
Hitchens made his case better than Badcock did, regardless of which side you're on.
I agree I support badcocks viewpoint but he wasn’t great for our side in getting the argument out their, someone more knowledgeable should have spoken and debated Hitchens
@@Secret19977 he shouldnt have made it a health issue. Obesity is a health issue far superior but we are yet to ban sausages. This is a liberty issue.
He manged to plug one of his books as well.
If all recreational drugs were legal, big pharma would start inventing and manufacturing recreational drugs that would make heroin look like sherbert.
@@headshot6959 they've already made fentanyl
What is the point of legalising potent drugs when we are trying to deter people from smoking and excessive drinking?
That is the purpose of debate, well done.
So why don’t they look across the pond to the US, where not only has marijuana been decriminalized but is now openly being SOLD IN STORES!!! I know that the sky hasn’t fallen yet, cuz I LIVE HERE!!! The best choice they ever made. We are still here guys!!
I do drugs sometimes. Then again, so do all of you. Alcohol would NEVER be legal if it was created today. So how can we be so hypocritical and keep things like weed illegal?
You can drink alcohol without getting drunk. Cannabis makes you high immediately
Why can't we just allow people to do what they want to do? People who want to take drugs will take them regardless of if it's illegal or not.. legalization will at least allow us to monitor it or more. If drugs are bad why not ban them all including alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and sugar which are all also bad for you
Sugar is not a drug. Absolutely anything, consumed to excess, is bad. You are seriously including caffeine in this argument? Why not just ban birth; then there will be no deaths? But, presumably, you inhabit the opposite polar extreme: "Let's allow anything!" Why don't you grow up?
@@DieFlabbergast firstly mate calm down lol. Secondly most of my post was meant in sarcasm to show how ridiculous the argument got at times which you also did so surely we're in agreement there. And thirdly, sugar might not be classified as a drug but it is highly addictive and consumption off it affects the brain in ways similar to certain drugs, same as caffeine.
@@cecila2450boz I get what you're saying, there will always be dangers to people consuming drugs of any type, but whether they are illegal or legal, people will always do it. Surely the answer is to try and moderate it and also take the income away from gangs who profit from it. There is the argument that there will always be a market for gangs to supply the stronger strength drugs but I don't believe that's a reason to not try and make the situation better
ONLY WEED FFS!!! As for the rest, LUDICROUS!!! Alex Belfield said it best. Decriminalising EXPENSIVE DRUGS will encourage an OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNT OF CRIME!!!
No ,legalise them all.why should criminals make money out of cocaine or heroin .
@Champagne SOYcialist NOT IF YOU GROW YOUR OWN WEED, which is VERY SIMPLE here in South Africa, given the incredible amount of sunlight that we're blessed with! 🌞🙏🥳 It grows here like weeds ... well, it is a weed!!! 😁🤣
If there has been a war on drugs in the last 50 years, it needs a wholesale review because we are losing it. BADLY.
if you are ready to issue punishment as harsh as Japan it can work
otherwise it won't
'violent crime due to marijuana use' what is that guy on he literally knows nothing about drugs
Exactly that is as logical as saying all dog owners bought a dog to use as a dangerous weapon.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6791067/PETER-HITCHENS-real-cause-knife-crime-hidden-fog-cannabis-smoke.html
Article on knife crime and cannabis use, think London... Cannabis induces psychotic tendencies as well as just generally scrambling people's brains...
Tell you who would hate decriminalisation, drug dealers and drug suppliers. Trouble is we don't ban all drugs, we are selective in what we ban, alcohol is a drug and ruins and destroys lives. Its a matter of choice there is no drug that I would take if you decriminalise drugs, if someone chooses to take a drug then that's their choice how ever dumb that may be, tax payers money could and should be better spent, and the Police freed up to focus on more important criminal offences.
And it goes without saying that causing death or injury under the influence of a drug, should continue to be punished as they are now.
Hitchens did counter this early in, in Colorado the gang drug supply hasn’t dissipated
@@EF-ce5ih Are all drugs decriminalised in Colorado ?
@@thomasmain5986 Are you confident that allowing people to openly sell heroin on the street is a good idea that will end well? I'm no psychic but I can't see that reversing his point.
most criminal acts are done whilst under the influence of drugs or need money to buy them
@@EF-ce5ih If it's not criminal it would not be sold on the streets.
I'm a social conservative but Hitchin is hugely out of touch here. Only a fool could deny the success they've had in Portugal. Shame that Badcock is so poor at debating the point!
P.s Cannabis is not a drug its a plant and should be excluded from this conversation entirely.
old gammons like him have a blinkered view of reality. they have never lived in the real world.
Hitchens definitely won this. And I say that as someone who is very much in favour of careful legal regulation as the least bad option. Badcock was hopeless. You wade through all the nervousness and the umming and erring, only to find there's little substance left at the end.
Next time, get Peter Reynolds on instead.
Mr Hitchens might be the most experienced public debater in the country, touring television, radio and university campuses for years, as well as his newspaper and social media stuff. In the sport of debating, it's like putting Real Madrid up against a Sunday League team.
"Do you do drugs"?
"Eeh... what? I can't hear you". 😁
thats the shitty production
Hague and the others should all be made to live with or next to drug users for a year. See if your so keen then on decriminalisation.
It's not the substances, it's the criminality that is the problem. It's the finding £400 - £500 per week to feed a habit, an illegal black market habit, that could be medicated on a licence for about 5% of that cost.
And yes, for about a year the house next door to me was occupied by a bunch of heroin addicts until the landlord got his act together and got them evicted. And it was a problem, comings and goings all hours day and night, dealing, stolen cars parked up, police raids etc.
You obviously don't realise how many politicians use drugs.
VIOLENT CANNABIS USERS versus NON CANNABIS USING VIOLENT LAW ENFORCEMENT ,
The difficult questions are always the hardest to hear.
Decriminalise. Far too much tax payers cash goes into the pockets of lawyers, drugs being illegal gives them their high value.
Is that your biggest issue with how the government spends there money? & is that worse than however many tax payers money going into drugs & the effects of that?
There's high value in them because there's such high demand from the youth who have been taught to like them through music and media where drugs are promoted.
Decriminalisation is absolute nonsense and should be opposed. The idea that making legal will end all the problems drugs have with crime and gangs (in particular) is based on absolutely no evidence.
@@WalterKhayyam You voted for a druggie PM.
@@WalterKhayyam The vast amount of money saved on police and lawyers is reason enough to treat damaging drug users medically, Portugal is a success story with less hard drug users now. Supplying drugs is cheap, less drug user crime shoplifting, burglary etc with tough conditions put in place. Strong border controls to stop trafficking, no excuses, this must be taken out of the drug lords hands. Cannabis should be legal for the millions of responsible adults that want to utilize it. Drugs are kept illegal as an excuse for a massive militarized police force - there to drop everything to protect corrupt politicians, elite fascists and those that pay no tax - neo feudalism.
I've always thought Peter Hitchens was a hypocrite, he also loves to play the victim. Strange how alcohol is never mentioned which kills more people than any other drug.
Peter Hitchens almost always mentions alcohol you just haven't listened to him speak on the topic enough.
He has pointed out that when something is legalised it is extremely difficult to ban it again. He also said that if alcohol was only created recently, we likely wouldn't allow it.
@@jplb96 Yeah that's pretty much what he usually says. Once the cat is out of the bag, it's never going back in.
He always mentions alcohol. Do better
Because this isn't about legalising alcohol. It's about legalising a drug that affects people badly
@@sw1000xg What? You don't think alcohol is dangerous? It's an extremely harmful drug. Levels beyond cannabis but alcohol is already legal and would be impossible to even try and ban.
‘Do you do drugs?’ That came off rude
The war on drugs is a waste of taxpayer money. It should end immediately. Legalise and tax.
What war? The war on drugs was never fought. Did you even listen to the debate? The drugs are basically already legal because of how poorly enforced the laws are. Therefore, we're actively seeing legalisation would be a catastrophe.
@@HoratioKJV at the moment if someone wants drugs, they can buy them and not pay tax on them...then all of the costs related to that person's medical treatment are sucked up by the NHS. Taxing drugs and using the money to help fund the NHS makes perfect sense.
@@misterpebbles Decriminalisation will lead to more drug users therefore more people getting mentally ill all that tax will go back on treating them for cannabis-induced psychosis. The taxpayer should not be paying to indulge junkies. We need to be preventing use in the first place by enforcing the laws for once.
@@HoratioKJV we already currently pay for all that. I d prefer the user to pay. Like we already do with cigarettes and alcohol...and with the sugar tax.
And what about the harm to life and health caused by Alcohol?
Alcohol is cemented into the very bedrock of society. You might as well suggest we get rid of eating tasty food. Humans are humans, not robots or angels. Focus your efforts on doing the possible.
The only reason for parliament to decriminalise drug use would be so they do not face sanctions when they are caught with them.
This is nonsense. The are actively trying to keep them illegal.
@@mariogmajner6549 But he wasn't the PM at the time. My point is that if Parliament wanted to decriminalise drugs, then this would have been done a long time ago. They really have no idea about drugs and spout the same nonsense when asked why they aren't decriminalised.
Hitchens is completely wrong in regard to Portugal. Ask any Portuguese person or an expat living there for 20 years and let them tell you if it has worked or not.
Has it worked ?
@@bigtony4829 Yes, it has.
Hitchens has been spouting off about drugs for decades without ever providing a compelling argument for why drugs should be illegal in the first place. He's irrelevant to the discussion.
It ruins people's lives. Do you honestly not see that?
@@DieFlabbergast You're wrong - it ruins SOME people's lives. The vast majority of people who take recreational drugs do NOT have their lives ruined as a result, and many have their lives enhanced. Are you in favour of banning everything which has the potential to ruin lives? That's a long list...
To be fair, I had a lot of great times on drugs. But then there is a HUGE difference between, say, cannabis and magic mushrooms, versus crack and heroin.
I agree Richard, thank you for sharing your experience with the group.
The problem with cannabis is that there's a world view that it's harmless, it absolutely isn't. People need to know this.
@@pippo-1073 This is true. It badly effected my mental health. However, there needs to be a badly and fair perspective.
This madness we all see and hear springs from a spiritual deficit, people are being led by the lost.
Yup. The world needs some Jesus. Or Buddha or Golden Rule adherence, something. Less self-centeredness, greed, and suspicion. 🌷
@@flowersinherhair indeed, present moment awareness with gratitude rather than the Twitter headspace me thinks 🙂🙏🏼
Peter, there's still a black market because of the federal government. Until you can purchase drugs at the farmers market, Walmart, etc, there will always be underground dealers.
No debate here to hear, more like a grilling, one minute either side then lots of interrupting?
It's enough to drive one to booze, Is it legal?
Don’t decriminalise drugs, I won’t be able to get some at 2am if you do, it’s easier to get hold of than beer!
Your comment confuses me...
@@for111 ridicules pointless drug laws confuse me, making them illegal makes it easier to get, Snapchat is a shopping mall for drugs, there unstoppable!
@@BrianPseivaD So, to clarify, you are saying legalisation is a good idea, yes?
@@for111 as a drug taker I don’t really care, it would actually make drugs more difficult to get hold of,
I had 4 different people phone me yesterday to see if I wanted any cannabis (you wouldn’t get this off shops if they sold it), I bought some really strong weed oh while he was here I bought half a leg of cocaine for £35 and an eighth of weed for £35 too, if it was legal it would just be too difficult because the regulations and identification checks and registration etc I would have to do would just make it harder to obtain but obtain it I will. My dealer makes around £1500 per week in profit and I get off my head, I have no criminal record and have been a valued member of society apart from this that makes me a criminal and I have done this for over 25 years. So all your doing by making it illegal is making it easier to get hold of with no age restrictions and no control whatsoever and you’ve created a market for criminals to exploit, just like bankers exploit the markets, if you think drugs are stoppable, unfortunately your an idiot!! Simple.
Oh and I’m am 40 now, been taking LSD, MDMA, Cannabis, cocaine and drinking beer since I was 16, I have no associated health problems and never been to hospital for drugs ever in my entire life, there not as harmful as everyone thinks, they would be less harmful if shops sold it and we knew exactly what’s in it. But I suppose this approach does not match up to the propaganda on drugs that the government has been pushing for years, I’ve actually been more close to death while drinking alcohol!!
Drugs are already legal in the form of alcohol and cigarettes which often cause more harm than drugs which are illegal so why pick and choose.
As Bill Hicks said, those are the good drugs, the taxable drugs.
Alcohol and tobacco aren't even in schedule 1-5. Insanity.
So the answer to legal drugs which harm is to make more drugs that harm available?
@@DIBBY40 Yes. Would you start using meth if Walmart starting selling it tomorrow? If no, why assume most of us would. Prohibitionists are scum.
You either ban all drugs including coffee and alcohol or make it all legal and regulate it
Not all drugs are the same, and once something has been legalised for years it makes it very hard to undo. If we made the mistake of legalising cannabis, and then people become aware of the true extent of the damage it inflicts, it would be too late to get rid of it. It's better to be safe than sorry and keep it illegal, not repeat the same mistake of legalising alcohol. Mental health and crime prevention is more important than a silly little temporary high.
Id tend to agree with that but your never going to get rid of them theres too much money involved. Its a case of picking two evils and which one is the worse to live with
I would respect Hitchens' point of view more if he could debate without insulting and talking over everyone who disagrees with him.
Surely his point of view is entirely separate from his conduct?
@@trollop_7 ideally, yes.
@@trollop_7 but it takes effort to familiarise oneself with someone's arguments, and I'm more willing to make the effort if they don't come across as a pompous bigot.
@@vidyaruchi4810 All true. I've not heard him be so vitriolic in 'debate' before now, especially not straight out of the gate. The line about tripe marinated in bilge actually made me laugh - and that's a first.
"can't let stupid ppl do drugs" can they let ppl walk around without masks nor vaccines? Freedom or not freedom
As Peter said, that's an absurd argument. Stupifying yourself is not freedom. Would you defend elective lobotomy?
@@stumbling sure
Great show. Great presenters. Cracking debate.
And nowhere near long enough!! 🙄
Just the awful smell of someone puffing on a joint, ONE reason not to legalise drug use !
Britain has made very little effort to prevent use of drugs.
Check out other countries where the merest posession will land in jail for years.
Nicer, safer countries.
@@MrNPC how's that liberty doing for us these days?
@Prayuth Chan-ocha Japan, South Korea, Singapore.
@Prayuth Chan-ocha this whole thing is cherry picking.
Fake reports "proving" how decriminalisation will Make us better and happier, meanwhile the same people have already started preparing their drug store and rehap clinics.
Think beyond yourself and what gets you off and consider the future.
Take Peter Hitcins wine and whisky away if he's got some in the cupboard
Oh, he doesnt havent a problem with alcohol because it's legal. He just doesnt think anything else should be made legal because he worries about the danger of it, and he uses alcohol as his example of why dangers exists.
He's a charlatan on this issue.
Cannabis and Mushrooms should be legalised.
😕☝I bet Peter loves a drink or two! Alcohol causes degradation & serious mental health issues. But he didn't mention that fact! But for example, Cannabis may cause mental health issues because it isn't regulated & controlled. The problem is the black market is producing stronger, genetically modified forms of cannabis such as Skunk & Spice. Ordinary regular cannabis is safe & has been used recreationally for thousands of years. Canada's approach to this issue seems to be the best.
Our NHS will have a crisis on their hands if they keep dishing out opiate based pain killers for minor elements. Just look at America. The medicinal use of Cannabis wouldn't be addictive or cause the major side effects associated with opiate medication. Cannibis is easy to harvest & have many pain relieving chemicals such as THC/CBD. Epilepsy, Parkinson's & depression has been & is been treated with Cannabis & is proofing successful. Recreational regulated cannabis would also be a great for tourism & trade.
We legalized marijuana in Canada four years ago. You know what happened? NOTHING.
People separate alcohol and "drugs" Why?!
I think this all the time.
@@ADDuk19 Ask The Police about the effects of alcohol! The NHS about cigarettes and alcohol?! Its there ENTIRE work load 💯 BOTH drugs and LEGAL! 😂 You couldnt make it up but unfortunately it's happening and has for a very long time 🙈
@@sac4947 I know already, it's crazy.
Alcohol, the worst drug, is already legal. The others are merely details.
Making it illegal did not work. USA tried.
@@sgordon8123 Therein lies the reason why continuing the war on drugs is useless. People will not stop taking drugs simply because a government makes it illegal to do so.
@@dangermouse9348 not if they see it as harmless and don't agree with a ban. Education works better. The young in the UK are starting to drink a lot less. Middle aged drinkers who grew up in a different culture are a different story though. Personally I think we should legalise ecstasy because many young people believe it is safe and take dodgy illegal versions.
@@dangermouse9348 However it does profit private prisons, rehab facilities and pharmaceutical companies.
Alcohol is a poison, not a drug. They're different things.
Mercy - one of the main reasons I watch GB News
So "drugs should be decriminalised", meaning people are free to "safely" use "heroine and crack" 🤔. Two drugs the proponent for "decriminalisation of drugs" cannot give an example of "the safe use" of those drugs, and tries to confuse the legitimate issue of 'drug addicts receiving the help they need', with 'drug decriminalisation'. The only thing it seems that the proponent is offering is that drug users have the freedom to take drugs that the proponent would not want his children using even once. Wow.
They need to be decriminalized asap, waste of money worrying about what people put in their body, it failed because if they are illegal no one should be able to get them.
I wouldn’t decriminalise I would legalise. Adults should be able to choose to take and use them.
Regardless of which side of the fence you sit I do not see the argument for decriminalisation.Legalise or vs prohibit.I can’t see how enabling the criminal element or not having law around the what,when,where helps.Of defined safe quality in an approved location away from vulnerable might be one example of legalisation.Decriminalisation is well ok we give up,just get on with it.
Exactly so called libertarians that don't what their lives controlled but want other peoples controlled.
@@22wabbit Can you explain why making drugs legal would make that worse than it already is
@@22wabbit could you cite some of the studies that I should research
Soma for everyone. You know where this ends.
You assume I'll use it irresponsibly. Guns for everyone...
The experiences,policy methods.
Should regulate itself,alongside being applicable.
There is no question that recreational drugs has caused immense increase in mental health issues. Even what is called the lighter drugs causes psychosis. We do need an answer but if you move from the criminal courts to the health department the cost will still be as high. The key point is can we prevent the use of drugs and secondly can we help those who want to come off drugs do so effectively. Different drugs need a different approach plus psychodynamic psychotherapy. There is always an underlying issue.
I find myself in agreement with Peter Hitchens on many subjects, and his often provocative views can be refreshing, but think he is off-base on this one. Not sure about the UK, but the US has had a real 'war on drugs' for many decades with unintended consequences that (like the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s) have far outweighed whatever good it has achieved. The war on drugs has fueled organized crime, violence, corruption, the destruction of lives through discriminatory enforcement and incarceration (the racist origins of US drug policy is a story in itself), and illegal immigration. Additionally, the adulteration of certain prohibited drugs with unknown and frequently toxic substances often leads to overdoses and death. Also, any discussion of this topic should properly differentiate among drugs based on the level of potential harm they cause. Finally, Hitchens' use of Japan and Korea as exemplars of good drug policy ignores the fact that both are effectively island nations, which make drug prohibition a bit easier to enforce. Unlike the UK, however, these two countries have high levels of ethnic homogeneity and widely held cultural norms that support government policy. They are exceptions that prove the rule that strict criminalization of certain substances is a cure worse than the disease.
You are 'not sure about the UK', yet ethnic homogeneity means lower crime rates? Meaning ethnic diversity means higher crime rates?
There is not racist origin of UK drug policy, and I'd suggest Peter's book on this as he goes into far more detail than broadcast allows. The UK has some of the highest drug use in Europe, and most democratic European countries (let alone Japan, South Korea and most other countries on earth) do not have the drug problem that we do.
any nation that legalises drugs is a demented one.
"Finally, Hitchens' use of Japan and Korea as exemplars of good drug policy ignores the fact that both are effectively island nations, which make drug prohibition a bit easier to enforce."
Whats the UK then?
This was the debate equivalent of seal clubbing.
@@MrNPC Yeah, it would. I've come over to the reactionary side from the libertarian one but it would still be interesting to see a competent reactionary versus a competent libertarian.
Decriminalisation of drugs is a slippery slope to which there is no return.
Drug use should be decriminalized and taxed
The money used to fund treatment.
Simple done
Nothing is simple: human societies are very complex; individual human minds are even more complex. People who think the world is simple are the most dangerous beings in this world.
@@DieFlabbergast yes but one thing is clear legalized drugs might not stop people taking drugs but it will stop hundreds of billions of pounds ending up in criminals pockets.
@@DieFlabbergast the fundamental economies of drugs enforcement make it a loosing game for the government.
In my career in healthcare for my mind seeing so many perish from alcohol abuse of all age groups really has led me to believe alcohol is seriously underrated for the effects on people and society its a horrible way to die. As for the decriminalisation of certain drugs I think there is room for the use of aspects of Marijuana and its derivatives which in distilled form can have beneficial effects on health, I believe if it was done properly and commercially run as seen in other parts of the world like Canadian and California a good can be derived.
Alcohol is typically far less addictive even if it's far more damaging.
@@emiliawisniewski3947it’s one of the most dangerous withdrawals you can have you can die from alcohol witho
When you can admit to cocaine use and serve in cabinet, I think this question answers itself
People who buy a controlled drug from a dealer,on a street corner isn't a criminal?,get real.
In TV debates about drug legalisation, those advocating for harsher penalties and who refute the concept of decriminalisation are more harshly challenged and generally portrayed as a minority. I'm glad GB News has done the opposite here.
There’s only one “drug” everybody wants legalised
What! Crack or crystal meth?
Technically cannabis is not a drug.
@@beez5338 “drug”
@@beez5338 technically cannabis contains drugs.
@@wyrdscynce As does much! Technically it is classed as a herb.
WEED DEFINITELY!!! 👌 As for comparing the UK to Korea or Japan etc. is ABSURD!!!Their Drug Laws are frigg'n OUTRAGEOUS FFS! 🤬🤮
😕☝I bet Peter loves a drink or two! Alcohol causes degradation & serious mental health issues. But he didn't mention that fact! But for example, Cannabis may cause mental health issues because it isn't regulated & controlled. The problem is the black market is producing stronger, genetically modified forms of cannabis such as Skunk & Spice. Ordinary regular cannabis is safe & has been used recreationally for thousands of years. Canada's approach to this issue seems to be the best.
Cocaine and heroin too.
@@Human_Being__ THAT'S TRUE! The weed that I smoked or ate in cookies in my youth DID 'IT' for me PERFECTLY, but when my son suggested that I try a puff of one of his joints a few years back, OMGAWD! I didn't only cough my lungs out, but felt so miserable and depressed. It wasn't anything like it used to be in the good old days, and was an AWFUL experience! 🤮😝😫
Hahhahaah 😅🤣😅🤣 I literally just rolled around the floor to his reaction to the question "do you take drugs"! 🤣😅🤣
He thought he could score a much needed point by dodging the question to appear more mature. The question was a bit unnecessary, but you're there to debate not sit like a potted plant.
Peter kicked his ass
Do you really want someone like Peter telling you what you can and cannot put into your own body?
Poor bloke is so wrong on this one. Stopping legal supply doesn't stop the supply, nor does the demand go away.
A question for you all , has Peter ever been to the pub? and if so why, to have a drink or a steak? Or is it because its legal to do so? the guy is living in the past , Made his money i`m sure. pedalling maxist stuff.
What if the present is worse than the past in some respect? Would you advocate adhering to present habits simply on the basis that it's the present?
@@CoffeeConnected Not got that one! if I had a choice from being in the past to now , i would rather be smoking a reefer than running up the beaches in Normandy and getting shot to hell, to save some rich git back home.
Peter hitchens just thinks because he hasn't ever taken any drugs he's a good little boy, and all the others that have are bad little boys that need to be punished. The fact he thinks it's ok for him to have a drink but I should be in prison for having a joint is ridiculous. I don't think he should be in prison for drinking because I'm not an authoritarian twat.
Peter won this one.
The question is does the government have any right to dictate what I consume for fun. This is a personal liberty issue at its core are you for personal autonomy and the responsibility that entails? Or are you for having your hand held throughout life with the comforting all knowing parents of the state telling you what is good or bad? The same state that went to war against its citizens wishes? The same state that shutdown the whole nation and decimated the economy? The same state that keeps energy costs up to lower carbon emissions when we contribute only a very minor percentage of the global total, causing hardship for its working class to help the better off feel good? I choose autonomy and responsibility, I believe its time for the public to move out of the house and be adult's, to make their own choices and live with the consequences of them.
Who pays the public health costs caused by all the psychotic pot addicts?
I wouldn't want to try and debate with Peter. The other lad is out of his depth.
I would. He's completely out of this depth on this issue, it's just Mr Badcock is even further out of his depth.
@@uptwisting You think you could debate with Hitchens. You've some opinion about yourself.
@@user-sw2lv3zp6o I know I could. We've had exchanges before on social media and once in person. Both times he resorted to hyperbole, when his limited data ran out.
I would be very confident of it, otherwise I wouldnt have said it.
I'm here if GBNews want to give it a go.
Why will you liberals never except that Japan and South Korea have by far the best results in regards to drugs in the developed world and liberal ideology is not the only game in town?
You are right, but for most Westerners, East Asia might as well not exist. Ignorance of what goes on over here is simply staggering.
When someone is addicted to say, heroin for example, it being illegal is irrelevant. What a daft thing to suggest. Asking they guy if he takes drugs himself is also irrelevant of the argument!!