If you could decriminalise one thing...

Drugs.

Cannabis probably.

there must be some ridiculous things that are criminal that I don't know about, but since I don't know about them, I can't decriminalise them. Bl00dy obvious really.

Euthanasia

P.S. Sange, you really are my H's ideal woman. You must never meet ?

Another vote for decriminalising drugs.

a) They're abundant anyway. Forcing the producers and suppliers underground has served only to generate a community of violent crime. Legalise and tax drugs, reduce crime.

b) It seems completely arbitrary to criminalise recreational drugs but leave tobacco and alcohol legal. The latter two cause death, as do drugs like heroin and ecstasy and yet we have legalised, taxed and made huge profits from the production and distribution of both. Makes no sense.

c) I'm sure I had another point but I forgot it.

What goes in them can be controlled

AHA! Yes. Illegal drugs are mixed with all sorts of dangerous filth (more dangerous and filthy than the drug itself).

Abortion in Northern Ireland is another one I thought of on the way home. And gay marriage.

Cannabis

I disagree 100% with fox hunting. I don't see how chasing a wild animal to its death can be an enjoyable experience.

I'd legalise cannabis, but not anything 'harder'.

Yes, but it's not criminal. The logic, as I say see it, is that its less harmful than other substances that are legal (most obviously alcohol), there are active palliative reasons for its use, and legalisation brings regulation and taxation.

I totally agree but I do accept the argument that it could be abused by pushy relatives.

So people have the right to choose to die but not the right to choose to smoke a spliff or drop an E?

Would you criminalise alcohol then? does not sound nice what happened to you but alcohol is clearly responsible for far more assaults.

Would you criminalise alcohol then? does not sound nice what happened to you but alcohol is clearly responsible for far more assaults.

Cannabis, I know in America you can be prescribed "medical marajuana" the pain I am in right now I would love some of that.(lupus caused arthritis type of pain my neck is swollen to hell) I smoked it a lot at uni, I dont now as I wouldnt know where to get it etc but I really do t see the problem with it being legalised. I understand that there are different strains which are getting out of control and causing mental illness but if it was all controlled that wouldnt happen.

Drugs. If people want to take drugs, then let them. But if drug use leads to other criminal behaviour, such as abuse (like EF mentioned) then something should be done to the individual.

I didn't ask you to.

In an ideal world where someone would work out what the solution for this is for me (I've done some dabbling in criminal law but not enough to be able to state anything definitively), I'd want to make the divide between criminal and civil offences and sanctions crystal clear and the two not easy to mix up in one offense (not impossible, as there are some offenses which minor cases are civil matters and major cases could warrant criminal sanction). It seems to me that the moral and penal force of the criminal law should only be used in certain circumstances (this brings up the question of how one usefully defines 'crime' outside circular/ self-serving definitions), and that current criminal provisions overreach, particularly at their periphery (regulatory offences, ASBOs, minor social order offences and the like).

I can't just pick one concrete example, though- anti-social behaviour, minor public order offences (in some jurisdictions swearing can theoretically lead to being arrested, and can be used unevenly in different socio-economic/ racial groups), euthanasia, and some drug use. (If I were benevolent dictator- heaven help everyone- I'd control drug use and alcohol relatively closely, like prescription medicine, and collect taxes from these to pay for/ help pay for the consequences of overuse. Euthanasia would also be heavily controlled, involving counselling ideally of the patient as well as family members, and/ or an independent medical opinion that the patient in question has not been tampered with in order to incapacitate them, cannot contribute to his/her own decision, is suffering unnecessarily, and will not recover)

As an example of something to criminalise (I may be wrong about this as I'm less familiar with English/ Welsh or any other UK criminal law than other jurisdictions)- I would like sexual offences against men to carry similarly grave penalties as sexual offences against women. (It's my understanding that "rape" in England and Wales only refers to women, whereas in some jurisdictions the offence is worded to be equal for equivalent offences committed against women, men, and the transgendered- not that I think the third distinction is always necessary in public discourse, but I understand why it would be important in law).

ASBOs are really problematic. Technically anti-social behaviour isn't criminal. It's a civil offence that an order restricting your behaviour can be imposed upon. It's breaching that order that's criminal. In my view it's utter nonsense to say it's not criminal, it's a defacto way of criminalising young people (and yes, there are some levels of behaviour that need dealing with but it's not always the case)

And yup, a woman cannot rape a man. Nor can a woman rape a woman. Only a man can commit rape. And it can only be done with a penis which is also ridiculous. It's nonsense and really out of date. Lots of countries have definitions which just refer to penetration with any object - America adopted this definition a couple of weeks ago.

Sorry, do you have a problem with me Sange? I said I disagreed with your view on hunting. That's all. No idea why your trying to make a big thing of it.

Surely that's the whole point of this place? Would be a little boring if we all said what we think and that's that.

Anyway, I'm off out for drink. Have a good evening!

Prostitution. Let the poor girls who have to do it, do it safely in a house run by themselves, not in a back alley or a strangers car controlled by a pimp

Totally this.

Shellsuits.

Bahahahahaahahahahahahahaha! Nicked again this weekend in your lime green and purple number Cricks? You'd think the police would have better things to do than harrass you and your shellsuit...

Tell me about it, Gurz. Poxy fashion police.