In drug war, failed old ideas never die

[Joanne98]

Here’s a stern warning to the U.S. states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. A United Nations body is displeased with your liberal medical marijuana laws. Very displeased.

The U.N. rarely takes issue with the internal affairs of member states, and even less with those of the United States. But that’s what the International Narcotics Control Board has just done in its latest annual report, published this week. Without mentioning by name the 14 American states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes, the 149-page report says:

“While the consumption and cultivation of cannabis, except for scientific purposes, are illegal activities according to federal law in the United States, several states have enacted laws that provide for the ‘medical use’ of cannabis. The control measures applied in those states for the cultivation of cannabis plants and the production, distribution and use fall short of the control requirements laid down in the 1961 Convention (on narcotic drugs.)

“The Board is deeply concerned that those insufficient control provisions have contributed substantially to the increase in illicit cultivation and abuse of cannabis in the United States. In addition, that development sends a wrong message to other countries.” The Board’s concern doesn’t end here. It is equally worried over “the ongoing discussion in several states on legalizing and taxing the ‘recreational’ use of cannabis.”

Continued>>>
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2010/02/26/in-drug-war-failed-old-ideas-never-die/

[Mopar151]

1. Far too much of this debate is about the power of law enforcement

And the desire of insurance companies (particularly workmen's compensation) to evade paying their obligations (aka recession).
IMHO, the vehement opposition to medical marajuana has a lot to do with the fact that the world does NOT end when a lot more people smoke pot - just as it did'nt end when tourists smoked up in Amsterdam, Vancouver, or Jamacia.
"All will pay, who disagree with me!" seems to be the mantra of pot prohibitionists, as their other talking points continue to be disproven.

This won't persuade any prohibitionists http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/steppenwolf/dont_step_on_the_grass_sam.html
But it should be food for thought to most reasonable people:

Well it's evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don't step on the grass, Sam)
It will ruin our fair country
(Don't be such an ass, man!)
It will hook your Sue and Johnny
(Such a bunch of bull, Sam)
All will pay, who disagree with me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GXoCguZ0qg

[ixion]

2. Yes, and imagine the timing of that 'report' that was re-hashed, er, re-released

that says that smoking pot will turn you into a psychopath.

All these prohibition freaks and their puppet masters can just piss right off.

[JoeyT]

3. They pretty much come right out and say

that this threatens to weaken their grip on power.

So not a peep over torturing people, civil rights abuses, indefinite detention, Patriot Acts, or any of the other insane stuff we did in the last ten years. We start letting people with cancer smoke weed and suddenly it's time for a sternly worded letter.

As far as I'm concerned the UN can bugger off.

[Fly by night]

4. States that have legalized medical cannabis have NOT seen increases in teen use.

Pot Use Down Where Medical Use OK
By Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times (9/7/05)

Sacramento -- Bucking dire predictions by anti-drug warriors, the 10 states that approved medical marijuana laws over the last decade have experienced sharp declines in cannabis use among teenagers, according to a new study by a marijuana advocacy group.

California has seen usage among ninth-graders drop 47% since 1996, the year the state became the nation's first to legalize medical marijuana. Over the same period, the nation as a whole experienced a 43% decline among eighth-graders.

The study, released today, is based on data from national and state surveys, which show a drop in marijuana use by teens.

Although debate over medical marijuana is often shaded by concerns about increasing drug abuse among young people, the report suggested the opposite has been true.

The study's authors were Mitch Earleywine, a State University of New York psychology professor, and Karen O'Keefe, a legislative analyst with Marijuana Policy Project, the organization that commissioned the research based on state and federal data.

That data "strongly suggests" that approval of medical marijuana has not increased recreational use of cannabis among adolescents, Earleywine and O'Keefe concluded. And the decline in many of the states with medical marijuana laws is "slightly more favorable" than trends nationwide, they said.

California, Washington and Colorado have all experienced greater drops in marijuana usage than have occurred nationwide. Only three states with medical marijuana laws — Maine, Oregon and Nevada — have lagged behind the national drop in teen marijuana use, the report said.

"If medical marijuana laws send the wrong message to children," the authors said, widespread attention to the debate "would be expected to produce a nationwide increase in marijuana use, the largest increase in those states enacting medical marijuana laws. But just the opposite has occurred."

Tom Riley, of the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the drop in teen drug use across the nation is attributable to the federal anti-drug advertising campaign in recent years, including $125 million spent during the federal fiscal year that ends Oct. 1.
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More inconvenient truths for "drug worriers".

[bemildred]

5. Nobody is listening, they just want to keep their jobs.

The job market is lousy, and let's face it, these guys don't really have to do much.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Legalize Marijuana, decriminalize the rest and quit messing around with insane, draconian policies.

Thanks for the thread, Joanne.