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Which European country has the least stigma in regards to personal drug use?

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cowardescent

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This isn't about the legal status necessarily but the social stigma from family, friends, coworkers etc..I live in Ireland and I'd say we're completely backwards. The mention of drugs outside the party scene online (Reddit) or IRL gets massive disapproval. I know that people using drugs shouldn't seek any approval but it seems that a lot of people can be very ignorant and judgmental about using things like benzos or opiates here.

I've heard that places like Switzerland, Portugal are "more accepting" though there is still stigma but perhaps less than UK/Ireland.
 
re least stigma in Europe it's definitely The Netherlands, followed (I'd imagine anyway, given the legal situation) by Portugal
 
I'd say the uk, if you define 'drugs' as party drugs and not hard drugs.
There's a lot of opposition as well to soft drug use in Holland.
 
Interesting you say that Arnold, because...

When it comes to cannabis:

Just back from an EU road trip holiday via the Newcastle to IJuidden ferry. Netherlands coffee shops even in the most back water of smallest towns are top quality, great choice and super cheap. I was like a kid in sweetie shops. Grams of this, that and the other please. Top quality, great service and soooo cheap. Stigma = nil.

Netherland is my top favourite. Then again, I'm kinda fed up and passed / over other stuff, so my post is pretty shit really. But yeh, Netherlands - so bloody cool and easy.

The Stroopwafel are also good btw.
 
koneko said:
Interesting you say that Arnold, because...

When it comes to cannabis:

Just back from an EU road trip holiday via the Newcastle to IJuidden ferry. Netherlands coffee shops even in the most back water of smallest towns are top quality, great choice and super cheap. I was like a kid in sweetie shops. Grams of this, that and the other please. Top quality, great service and soooo cheap. Stigma = nil.

Netherland is my top favourite. Then again, I'm kinda fed up and passed / over other stuff, so my post is pretty shit really. But yeh, Netherlands - so bloody cool and easy.

The Stroopwafel are also good btw.
Click to expand...

Mother brought some when she had a layover in Amsterdam. It seems that I only ate them. She finds them too sweet.
 
koneko said:
Interesting you say that Arnold, because...

When it comes to cannabis:

Just back from an EU road trip holiday via the Newcastle to IJuidden ferry. Netherlands coffee shops even in the most back water of smallest towns are top quality, great choice and super cheap. I was like a kid in sweetie shops. Grams of this, that and the other please. Top quality, great service and soooo cheap. Stigma = nil.

Netherland is my top favourite. Then again, I'm kinda fed up and passed / over other stuff, so my post is pretty shit really. But yeh, Netherlands - so bloody cool and easy.

The Stroopwafel are also good btw.
Click to expand...

You try smoking that outside the coffee shops or once you speak to the majority of Dutch people( you will find out that a load are against it.

If it was so tolerated they wouldn't have introduced the weed pass for the coffee shops in Maastricht and they wouldn't have closed more than half of them in Amsterdam.

If the Dutch pigs catch you with weed they confiscate it.
 
I'm sure it's us. Among young people, I've rarely met someone my age who is dead against drugs i.e. stigma even if they don't take them themselves.

I've heard that despite its reputation weed isn't all that socially acceptable in Holland. It's seen as something 'those people' do and not an every day part of life as the stereotype would lead us to believe.
 
Czech Republic, specifically Prague. 2 Grammes of Crystal meth? Misdemeanour, not criminal.

As far as the Dutch go, it’s somewhere between what Koneko and Arnold are debating. Dutch pragmatism has won out over the weed pass. You won’t have difficulty smoking there.
 
Yes, ireland... Is all drugs. Ask em which drugs they just look at you puzzled and go.. Drugs like.
Had it with my dad yday. A friend of mine was recently found dead in the city centre. I was telling him he was a friend of mine... He goes, it was drugs. I said read the story dad, buprenorphine the possible cause, buprenorphine he was prescribed by the doctor. My dad continued with thd... Yes, drugs.
 
Inso said:
I'm sure it's us. Among young people, I've rarely met someone my age who is dead against drugs i.e. stigma even if they don't take them themselves.

I've heard that despite its reputation weed isn't all that socially acceptable in Holland. It's seen as something 'those people' do and not an every day part of life as the stereotype would lead us to believe.
Click to expand...

Most people on the continent have had a traditional roman catholic church upbringing.
That's what it boils down to a redneck bible bashing kinda attitude which is 'drugs are bad m'kay' among others.

You don't have that as much in the uk.
Imo anyways.
 
cowardescent said:
I thought the UK became more agnostic after Henry VIII and his divorce from the Catholic Church?
Click to expand...

The UK is officially a protestant country with the Queen being the head of The Church of England...

Generally speaking though the UK is agonistic as you say (although apparently the most common baby name in thr UK is now Mohammad lol)
 
The Church of England is the closest of all the "protestant" churches to Roman Catholicism. The original split was over divorce, with Henry VIII setting up his own Church when the Pope was taking too long pressing ctrl+Z on one of his marriages.
 
Inso said:
I'm sure it's us. Among young people, I've rarely met someone my age who is dead against drugs i.e. stigma even if they don't take them themselves.
Click to expand...

I'm inclined to agree. I'm in my 20's in LDN and even those who are not drug users themselves are not against it in any serious manner at all, they simply don't happen to enjoy consuming psychoactive substances. Rarely do I meet people my age IRL who are really against drug use.

That's assuming we're talking about "light drugs" like weed or "party drugs" like MDMA though. Obviously there's a lot more stigma towards heroin and crack. But cocaine is seen as pretty casual among most. In just the past few years Xanax has suddenly become the new trend among the youth and that's got less stigma due to being a pharmaceutical but people are already becoming very aware of its addictive potential nonetheless (a good thing, imo).

All of this is largely generational however. A lot of middle aged Brits are ignorant Daily Mail readers who still think weed gives you schizophrenia. And no one over the age of 25 even knows what the fuck Xanax is in the UK including most NHS doctors, it really is a trend that exists almost entirely amongst the youth.
 
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