Major panel: Drug war failed; legalize marijuana

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press


NEW YORK – The global war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalizing marijuana and other controlled substances, according to a commission that includes former heads of state, a former U.N. secretary-general and a business mogul.

A new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy argues that the decades-old "global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." The 24-page paper will be released Thursday.

"Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won," the report said.

The 19-member commission includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. official George P. Schultz, who held cabinet posts under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Others include former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, U.K. business mogul Richard Branson and the current prime minister of Greece.

Instead of punishing users who the report says "do no harm to others," the commission argues that governments should end criminalization of drug use, experiment with legal models that would undermine organized crime syndicates and offer health and treatment services for drug-users in need.

The commission called for drug policies based on methods empirically proven to reduce crime, lead to better health and promote economic and social development.

The commission is especially critical of the United States, which its members say must lead changing its anti-drug policies from being guided by anti-crime approaches to ones rooted in healthcare and human rights.

"We hope this country (the U.S.) at least starts to think there are alternatives," former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria told The Associated Press by phone. "We don't see the U.S. evolving in a way that is complatible with our (countries') long-term interests."

The office of White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said the report was misguided.

"Drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated. Making drugs more available — as this report suggests — will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe," Office of National Drug Control Policy spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said.

That office cites statistics showing declines in U.S. drug use compared to 30 years ago, along with a more recent 46 percent drop in current cocaine use among young adults over the last five years.

The report cited U.N. estimates that opiate use increased 34.5 percent worldwide and cocaine 27 percent from 1998 to 2008, while the use of cannabis, or marijuana, was up 8.5 percent.

[deebakes]

i want legal weed in minnesota dammit :axe:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Its about time

[RBP]

Legalize hookers too

[deebakes]

turn the us into amsterdam :tup:

[Loser]

People forget though. It's not even about the money that they could make from taxing pot, it's the amount of people that would have to be freed from prison.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, from prisons country wide.

Putting that many unemployed people on the street, even in a years time, would seriously fuck up the economy even more then it is now.

[deebakes]

give 'em all the chair and we'll start over :tup:

[allsmiles]

give 'em all the chair and we'll start over :tup:
Do eeet!

I have never smoked pot myself, and I don't ever plan to, but I think there are worse things in this world than marijuana.

[deebakes]

like not getting laid? :-k

[allsmiles]

like not getting laid? :-k

Not getting laid is pretty bad, but it isn't illegal (I am kindof a goody-two-shoes when it comes to the law...)

[deebakes]

:woot:

[Muddy]

People forget though. It's not even about the money that they could make from taxing pot, it's the amount of people that would have to be freed from prison.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, from prisons country wide.

Putting that many unemployed people on the street, even in a years time, would seriously fuck up the economy even more then it is now.

I disagree.. They broke the law..

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I disagree.. They broke the law..

Agreed....at the time they did it, it would have still been illegal.

[Muddy]

And a lot of the guys busted werent sittin' around tokin' on a pipe.. *sings* Hur de hurrrr.... No, they were distributing an illegal substance....

[AntZ]

Besides a mixed record from George Schultz, everyone on the list are pathetic morons! No wonder they are ready to declare a loss and further degrade societies around the world! :roll:

Sure, Richard Branson has had business success and Paul Volcker had a spotted record in the Reserve, but how do they become authorities recommending a new proliferation of drug use? Looking at the daily stories of child and other abuses by people, in the developed countries around the world, they are always under some sort of influence! What a wonderful world it will be, just in the U.S., if there is wide spread legalization!

[Acid Trip]

Prohibition never works. Legalize all drugs and let people make their own damn choices. If someone wants to destroy their mind/body using heroine/cocaine/meth then let them.

People believe there would be a massive drug epidemic after legalization but that's just plain wrong. Amsterdam is a wonderful example. Overall drug use is down, crime is down, and tax receipts are up. Sounds terrible right? *sarcasm off*

Legalizing just marijuana would take 50% of the drug cartels money away. Weed is the crutch they use to finance the more lucrative cocaine/heroine/meth deals.

Who is against legalizing drugs?

Big Pharma, Democrats and Republicans, paper manufacturers, clothing companies, oil companies, Bil Oil (biodiesel is easily made from hemp), and last but not least LAW ENFORCEMENT. Their budgets would be slashed to hell with drugs legal and those twits just can't have that despite it being good for the country.

[Godfather]

With the number of articles, studies, documentaries etc etc I read on weed in college I'm 150% for it being legalized. There are medical benefits, it's such a superior product to cotton, it is such a drain on police, and most importantly there is almost no real evidence that says it is a dangerous toxin...

We've had this debate a dozen times and I'm not too interested in ranting and having link wars; but, it's a conclusion I believe most would come to with the appropriate research.



But I still just can't imagine a world where heroine or crystal meth is legal... that stuff terrifies me.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

People believe there would be a massive drug epidemic after legalization but that's just plain wrong. Amsterdam is a wonderful example. Overall drug use is down, crime is down, and tax receipts are up. Sounds terrible right? *sarcasm off*



Fiction: Drug Legalization Works

Fact: Tolerant drug policies in other countries have led to higher drug abuse rates and negative social consequences.

Most nations have rejected drug legalization. As drug use levels in the United States have dropped in recent years, particularly marijuana use among young people, rates in European nations with less restrictive drugs laws have increased.

Some European drug prevention experts, such as David Raynes (National Drug Prevention Alliance in Great Britain ) reject legalization after seeing the impact it has had on the Netherlands. “No country alone, (as the Dutch have found to their cost) can operate a policy which is substantially more liberal than neighbours, without suffering from “drug tourism” or, as in the Dutch situation, a larger pool of drugs-linked criminality than it would otherwise have. There is the big lie that legalising drugs will take the criminality out of supply. What nonsense. Illegal traders who pay no taxes of any sort can always undercut legitimate traders.”

The Dutch Experience


After allowing marijuana to be sold in certain cafes, the Government of the Netherlands reconsidered its legalization policy. Consumption of marijuana had nearly tripled from 15 to 44% among 18-20 year olds. Despite the Dutch Government’s policy to provide “medical” marijuana to patients through pharmacies, many individuals have chosen to obtain their marijuana through cafes. Part of the problem with the Dutch policy is that the price of pharmaceutical grade marijuana is prohibitive. According to Bas Kuik, spokesman for the Bureau of Medical Cannabis, another possible problem with the policy is that the pharmaceutical marijuana is made to be infused and drunk like tea or inhaled in a steam treatment, not for smoking. “Maybe that is a disappointment for people expecting to smoke but of course the Ministry of Health cannot encourage smoking.”1

After years of support for cannabis cafes, the Dutch Government is having second thoughts. The number of Dutch marijuana coffeehouses dropped from 1179 in 1997 to 782 in 2002—decreasing 34% in five years. And 73% of Dutch towns do not allow cannabis cafes.

Mayor of Maastricht Pushes Cannabis Cafes to Edge of City: According to a New York Times article, “the mayor (of Maastricht) wants to move most of the city's 16 licensed cannabis clubs to the edge of town, preferably close to the border” (with Belgium and Germany). Mayor Gerd Leers is reacting to growing concerns among residents who “complain of traffic problems, petty crime, loitering and public urination. There have been shootings between Balkan gangs. Maastricht's small police force…is already spending one-third of its time on drug-related problems.” Cannabis clubs have drawn “pushers of hard drugs from Amsterdam, who often harass people on the streets.” According to a police spokesman, the clubs have also attracted people looking to buy marijuana in quantity. Piet Tans, the police spokesman also stated that “People who come from far away don't just come for the five grams you can buy legally over the counter…They think pounds and kilos; they go to the dealers who operate in the shadows.”2

In an interview with Radio Netherlands in the spring of 2005, Dutch Minister Han Hoogervorst said that “doctors and not very positive about prescribing cannabis to patients and patients prefer to buy marijuana from coffee shops where it is a lot cheaper.” In another interview with expatica news service Hoogervorst also “stressed that the medicinal properties of cannabis have never been proven. He also said that the use of cannabis also has had side effect such as psychoses. “I think that’s an enormous problem,” the Minister said.” 3



http://www.justthinktwice.com/factsfiction/fiction_drug_legalization_works.html

[Muddy]

I dont mind the weed being legalized... Its the Meth/Coke/morphine etc. that should NEVER be legalized..

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I dont mind the weed being legalized... Its the Meth/Coke/morphine etc. that should NEVER be legalized..

I really don't have a problem per se with weed being legalized, I just don't like all the potheads (in general, not pointing at anyone in particular here) that try and come out and say that there are no side effects to weed and that it's safer than alcohol.

I would hope that hard drugs like meth and coke are never legalized, that would just be stupid. If someone wants to kill themselves then just go get a gun and a bullet, it's a lot easier on everyone else in the long run.

[Muddy]

I really don't have a problem per se with weed being legalized, I just don't like all the potheads (in general, not pointing at anyone in particular here) that try and come out and say that there are no side effects to weed and that it's safer than alcohol.

I would hope that hard drugs like meth and coke are never legalized, that would just be stupid.

Agreed.. :agreed:

[Godfather]

I really don't have a problem per se with weed being legalized, I just don't like all the potheads (in general, not pointing at anyone in particular here) that try and come out and say that there are no side effects to weed and that it's safer than alcohol.

I would hope that hard drugs like meth and coke are never legalized, that would just be stupid. If someone wants to kill themselves then just go get a gun and a bullet, it's a lot easier on everyone else in the long run.

Agreed...

Although I do think that weed is a less dangerous drug than alcohol.... If for no other reason that in the short term categories of death/hospitalization from overdose, and violence caused by intoxication, alcohol is clearly far worse.

[Hal-9000]

I've done heavy amounts of both weed and alcohol and my take is that both have a detrimental affect to you body with long term use.

As far as operating a vehicle it's a no brainer....I would much rather drive or be in someone's car who has smoked weed, rather than someone who has been drinking.Drinking affects your motor skills a lot more than weed does.Just watch someone walk after leaving the bar compared to 3 hours of smoking pot.

What I can't understand is how the government hasn't already jumped on the weed bandwagon.Growing, production and packaging, distribution....they
could be making a mint while simultaneously removing the criminal element from it.

In my mind if they ever did legalize weed, they would have to set a standard like with booze...you can only have so much in your bloodstream while driving
or operating machinery.

[Acid Trip]

http://www.justthinktwice.com/factsfiction/fiction_drug_legalization_works.html

Hard drug use (heroine, meth, cocaine) all went down went marijuana was legalized. That article only points that marijuana use went up which is a "duh" since it was now legal and closet smokers came out to buy in stores and not the black market.

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/67

Edit: Follow the link. I can't copy paste their charts. Read bullet #14 at the minimum.

[Deepsepia]

I'm with legalization.

That doesn't mean that there are "no problems" with legal drugs. We have huge problems with alcohol, for example.

But there's a big problem with treating it a criminal justice problem, instead of a health problem.

I do have my concerns about some of the nastier shit out there-- while you wouldn't go nuts if someone sold your kid a joint, you wouldn't be happy if she started doing meth. Meth is just nasty stuff, super-addictive, and turns the tweakers into little crime machines, even though its cheap.

[Acid Trip]

I really don't have a problem per se with weed being legalized, I just don't like all the potheads (in general, not pointing at anyone in particular here) that try and come out and say that there are no side effects to weed and that it's safer than alcohol.



If you don't understand that weed is safer than alcohol there is no help for you. How many deaths per year are because of Marijuana? NONE! And how many marijuana deaths are recorded in human history? NONE!

How many deaths are attributed to alcohol (not including drunk driving)? In 2007 it was 24,000 in the United States alone. Facts do not lie.

[Godfather]

In my mind if they ever did legalize weed, they would have to set a standard like with booze...you can only have so much in your bloodstream while driving
or operating machinery.

I think the level should be set a zero for both personally...

[Deepsepia]

for operating machinery, you don't actually care why a person is impaired -- drunk, sleepy, high -- they're all bad.

There are some quick tests that can be incorporated into machinery (like display five numbers quickly, and then enter them on a keypad) that screen for impairments generally. Going forward, you could have cars measuring your "lane keeping" or other metrics . . . with an aging population, often medicated, we're going to need measures to restrict the driving of folks who aren't high anyway.

[deebakes]

when can i get fucked up legally now? :-k