Shops banned from selling energy drinks..

I think you have to always give judges some leeway. Massive problem is prisons are overcrowded. Which cnuts are we gonna let out?
The arsonists, armed robbers, murderers, kiddy fiddlers, terrorists, people who have conned people out of their life savings, drug dealers... Serious question. I'm not saying I disagree with you that this needs to get dealt with in a strong way.

 

Can highly recommend psychiatrist David Nutt's book, Drugs Without the Hot Air. He states within that if alcohol had been invented today there would be no way it'd be legal. Really interesting read.

 

I don't think any of them should be let out. I think that having inadequate prisons and using that as a reason to then determine how lenient we are with criminals. The prisons should be fit for purpose, the punishment shouldn't be reduced to fit the unfit prisons which seems to be how the government thinks regarding crimes.

 

Fully agree. I've tried to keep away from politics on here for a bit, but I'm being drawn. All I can say is privatisation to the prison & probation services, as well as poverty & homelessness are mainly to blame for these ills. Some people drag in immigration too, but this country has only kept operating on this austerity boolsh!te by having people come in run our hospitals, hotels, catering, etc The rich corporations need to stop avoiding tax. Germany, Spain & France don't allow it. neither do a lot of smaller nations. Greece is fecked, because rich people don't pay their tax.
Time to stop politicians being bought off by big corporations.

 

Yes, definitely, although up to 1971 laudanum was legal & I think you can get something similar if you are in the late stages of a terminal disease
(which I do agree with). Most drugs were banned in a knee jerk reaction to the USA hippy movement, without any thought to lots of functioning heroin addicts, etc. I'm not saying they are a good move to take up. It just wasn't dealt with as a health issue when it was made illegal. That would have kept it as a rich people's sport.

I wish I wasn't a heavy drinker, but I am. I don't start fights, always turn up for gigs and only fall out with real arseholes. (A rare thing).
I'm being brutally honest, because this country's views are totally irrational on drugs of all types.

I've quit booze a few times & might do again any time soon. It has been the story of my life in music. Adrian Chiles programme is very good & honest (link below). Like him, last time I had a check up everything was fine. I walk at least 3 miles a day & eat OK, but one day will catch up on me. I'm probably a bit heavier drinker than him (not sure how honest he was, he suggested more was consumed in the past). Similar type story though. I'm not saying I'm like him, but loosely in a similar industry. I'm 53. My Dad is 82 and has probably drunk less alcohol in his life than I do in some weeks. He's been fairly much deaf from being 58. As a musician & a DJ that would kill me. What you do in life is a choice, but your experiences make you who you are, for good or bad.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0bhkc8b/drinkers-like-me-adrian-chiles

 

To be fair they're like that when it's windy as well

 

Whataboutary- either strong caffeine drinks should or should not be sold to minors, the rest of the post is blah blah blah.

 

If you are struggling and feel that some added support may be beneficial then there's Forward Leeds that can help you- https://www.forwardleeds.co.uk . You can self-refer. Just for info in case you weren't aware

 

Hi mate, thanks for the link. It is really appreciated, but I do drink too much largely out of choice, but I'm being honest, as this was supposed to be a discussion about the banning of drinks / substances. It is a hard one. I'm 53 & I DJ a couple of times a week & manage a reasonable sized agency.
I have a lot of time off & try & spend it walking some dogs & doing positive stuff, as well as boozing.
I need to make my mind up. 10 years ago I gave up smoking, after waking up one day & saying enough was enough (smoking ban, when DJing).
I quit drinking for 8 years too, after my record shop went tits up & I needed to save my relationship with an ex girlfriend (who is still a very good friend, although we did split) & get a back in business. (Lost my flat & everything I owned pretty much).

These are the side effects of the most commonly proscribed anti-depressant. A lot like heavy drinking, just some other corporation are getting the money. I was on that some of the time I wasn't drinking & it is worse:

Common side effects may include:

• problems with memory or concentration;
• headache, drowsiness;
• dry mouth, increased sweating;
• numbness or tingling;
• increased appetite, nausea, diarrhea, gas;
• fast heartbeats, feeling shaky;
• sleep problems (insomnia), feeling tired;
• cold symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat;

More items...

 

No probs at all- just thought id post in case you might want/need it. Appreciate wasnt purpose of original thread and not judging in any way

Medication isn't likely the answer to be honest and I doubt FL would advise that either. May be teaching to suck eggs but don't go cold turkey if you decide to stop, make sure you reduce gradually, it can kill you (delirium tremens) and it's horrific seeing that happen to someone.

 

But if instead of a tax on plastic bags they banned them to make shops use paper bags, they wouldn't raise money so it would never happen, even though it should.

If carrier bags were still free for shoppers and the shop had to pay the fee for each plastic bag handed out, they would soon find an alternative.

 

We have not met, But you are clearly a good bloke. I respect all your comments. I'm not physically addicted, but a lot like Adrian Chiles, it is a mental thing. And a lifestyle thing.

That said I've spent time in Egypt working recently & not missed it & sat on street corners drinking tea, although some of the conversation was misogynistic & at times racist. Sounds like being in some boozers (not the ones I drink in).

 

Thank you and glad you took it the right way. It's just my job and I guess I have trouble switching off if I see someone struggling with something MH related. I suppose electricians and mechanics are the same if someone posts something related to that on here too.

Will give the Adrian Chiles documentary a watch now I think

 

We need more folks like you mate. Mental heath is such an important thing. I've lost 20-30 friends in music over it. Only time I was on the brink was when I was working 80 hours a week & still losing over a grand a week in early 2000's, when downloading & increased rent / rates fecked me. I nearly jumped off a balcony in Mallorca. My girlfriend was a lot younger than me & didn't get what I was going through & nearly all my friends gave me a wide berth. Only the death of another friend brought me back in touch with Barnsley FC mates. That friend is sorely missed. A plaque to him on a pillar in the East Stand.

 

The main thing is you've experienced all that and come through the other side. It's something to be proud of and people don't tend to reflect back on their lives, take stock and allow themselves to think, "**** yeah I had a rough ride there, it's natural to be affected by all that."

I've battled my own demons pretty much since childhood. I've come close to killing myself in the past, lost my marriage partly due to it and in the fallout of that lost most of our mutual friends (she cheated on me) and reduced opportunities to see my young daughter. I've been on and off antidepressants since the late 90s. Finally off them after a lengthy period taking and therapy has helped to get me to a place to be able to do that. I've learnt to 'like' myself for the first time but not quite at the 'love' stage just yet, but it will come.

On a positive side, it helped me find my sense of what I wanted to do in life and I left a decent job to go do my nursing training. Im still on 6k less than I was when i left that job but it has been worth it.

People should definitely open up more about it. We don't hide cancer or broken legs, after all...

 

Too right. We've hi-jacked this thread, but hopefully people read it. I'm not ashamed of anything I've talked about, I've just hopefully made people see some humanity in things, instead of Daily Mail headlines. I've been self employed in music for 25 years & have a lot of friends all around the world. I had a similar experience to you with my wife cheating on me, (and her being a drug addict as well) in the early rave days. If you can't be open with people you won't get through stuff like that, or harder stuff, like bereavement, dementia of a partner, all sorts of stuff I can't even list.

I admire you immensely for doing what you are doing. I quit being a bank manager to be in music full time 22 years ago. (I'd been in bands for 13 years before that, but kept the day job, as recording was expensive back then).I still manage to eat & buy records & travel to cool places. Sometimes you have to do the right thing.

 

Thank you, means a lot. Yep I think people will look back in a generation and be saying, 'remember when we had to hide mental illness!'... or i bloody hope so anyway! One of the last great taboos.

Ps I would love a career in music too!

 

We are both in the business of making people's lives better. In banking I wasn't, which in the end was why I left. I was making people homeless, getting them into debt & selling them overpriced insurance & backing shitty regimes overseas. I had to go.

 

Bizarre post. They are 2 separate issues. “They increases the price of sugary drinks, clearly another meandering, ill concieved attempt to mask the problem of SPICE”

 

I think it’s a great idea banning energy caffeine drinks. The number of parents I have spoken to that didn’t realise the back of the can says not for children or pregnant ladies! If the Govt ban it, some of these parents may realise that it’s not good for their kids..

A lot of kids use it dangerously as a pick me up after an all night gaming session. They stay up all night, drink 2 or 3 cans, then go to school... then wonder why they can’t concentrate.