All drugs should be legal, and why

[Bible_Belt]

Prescription drugs 'orphan' children in eastern Kentucky
By Stephanie Smith and Nadia Kounang, CNN
December 14, 2012

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/health/kentucky-overdoses/index.html

"When your county is a little over 16,000 people and you're losing a person a week ... you're losing a whole generation."

In the United States, someone dies of a prescription drug-related overdose about every 19 minutes.

 

[Deep Dish]

Croatia is now joining the ranks of Portugal in decriminalizing all drugs.

The Croatian parliament approved a bill on 14th December that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. Under amendments to the country’s penal code, possession of drugs for personal use will no longer be a criminal offence.

“Now youngsters caught in a park with a joint will not go to prison, but pay a fine,” Justice Minister Orsat Miljenic told lawmakers.

From January 1, those found in possession of drugs can be fined up to 2,680 euros ($3,503), be sent for rehabilitation or ordered to do community service. Previously, anyone convicted of drugs possession could be sentenced to up to three years in jail. Under the new law, however, stricter penalties of up to 15 years in jail will be handed down to those convicted of drug dealing, especially if caught near schools.

http://idpc.net/alerts/2012/12/croatia-decriminalizes-drug-use​

 

[sajjad7006]

I am totally against it. Everybody who is in favor of drugs is enemy of humanity.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Here's another court decision that defies logic.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/feb/14/az_court_says_you_dont_have_be_h

AZ Court Says You Don't Have to Be High to Get a DUI

by Phillip Smith, February 14, 2013

An Arizona appeals court has ruled that even the presence of inactive THC metabolites from as long as a month after toking is sufficient to earn a driving under the influence conviction.

An Arizona appeals court has ruled that marijuana users don't need to be actually impaired to be successfully prosecuted for driving under the influence. The ruling came Tuesday in the case of a man who tested positive for an inactive marijuana metabolite that remains in the body for weeks after the high from smoking marijuana has worn off.

The ruling in Arizona v. Shilgevorkyan [9] overturned a decision by a superior court judge who said that it didn't make sense to prosecute people for driving under the influence if they're not actually under the influence.

The ruling turned on a close reading of legislative intent in writing the state's DUID law. The legislation specified the presence of "the metabolite" of THC, and Shilgevorkyan had argued that lawmakers meant "hydroxy-THC, the metabolite which would indicate current impairment, not carboxy-THC, an inactive metabolite that indicates only usage some time in the past.

The appeals court disagreed, citing its decisions on earlier challenges to the DUID. "The legislature intended to create a 'per se prohibition' and a 'flat ban on driving with any proscribed drug in one's system," the court noted. "We determined that the legislative ban extends to all substances, whether capable of causing impairment or not."

Because the law was drafted to protect public safety, the appeals court said, it should be interpreted broadly to include inactive as well as active compounds.

But Superior Court Commissioner Myra Harris, who had ruled on Shilgevorkyan's behalf, warned in her earlier opinion that the appeals court's interpretation of the law would result in people, including out of state medical marijuana patients, being charged with DUI when they are not impaired.

"Residents of these states, particularly those geographically near Arizona, are likely to travel to Arizona," Harris said in her 2012 ruling upholding the dismissal. "It would be irrational for Arizona to prosecute a defendant for an act that might have occurred outside of Arizona several weeks earlier."

Shilgevorkyan's attorney said he plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

 

[backbreaker]

why is Arizona so god damn ass backwards. they got phoneix and tempe, hot *****es everywhere and they are so damn ass backwards. that is a state with potential dammit

 

[twentee]

anyone who insists upon controling what other adults put into or take out of their own bodies is nothing more than a wannabe Hitler. It's none of your biz. If they get high and committ other CRIMES, of course, they can and should be prosecuted for those crimes, without dope or alchohol being ANY excuse at all. Also, if possession is going to be legal, HOW are they to get the dope, if nobody can deal in it, hmm? that's not freedom. Make them all legal, get as many fools using as possible, and then leave it laying on every street corner, with some REALLY slow acting, totally lethal poison in it, so we get rid of as many of the fools as possible. tobacco and alchohol same thing, of course.

 

[Deep Dish]

In international news,

This week New Zealand publishes its Psychoactive Substances Bill, legislation which some believe will transform the international debate on drugs policy when it comes into force in August. The new law is a response to the problem of “legal highs,” but is being seized upon by reformers because it crosses a Rubicon—designing a legislative framework built upon regulation rather than prohibition.

As in Britain, the New Zealand government had attempted to control the influx of new psychoactive substances by imposing emergency restrictions under existing misuse of drugs legislation. Unlike Britain, they have concluded that a “long-term and more effective solution” is to license the importation, manufacture and sale of all new psychoactive products.

In the same way as pharmaceutical companies must apply for a licence to sell a drug after extensive testing, so suppliers of legal highs will be able to market products in New Zealand if they can demonstrate they present a low risk of harm. Rather than trying to ban every new drug that turns up, the legislation shifts responsibility to the manufacturer and the retailer. Just as a bottle of aspirin can only be sold in certain outlets with all the warnings of the risks on the label, so recreational drugs will be available over the counter in New Zealand later this year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21615971​

Bolivia, the third leading producer of cocaine, has also now legalized the coca leaf. They denounced the UN Single Convention treaty and have now returned to the treaty with the reservation of legal coca. Only 15 countries objected when over 60 countries were needed to block the re-entry. This procedural move paves the way for countries like Uruguay to legalize marijuana and stay within the good graces of international law. Bolivia has also seen a drop in the number of coca plants, thanks to legal regulations rather than prohibition.

Bible Belt, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. just got hit with a $900K fine because he tested dirty for weed. He “let a lot of people down” because he just wanted to relieve some stress, nine days before a fight.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Columbia just legalized coke, meth, and ecstasy in personal use amounts.

Regarding drug tests for fighters, the big scandal with the UFC right now is how they suspend fighters for testing positive for marijuana, but yet most of the aging stars of the UFC are taking testosterone:
http://www.fightopinion.com/2013/02/27/ufc-marijuana-testosterone/

 

[OzyBoy]

Most drugs should be illegal I think. It would save a lot of lives.

 

[Deep Dish]

Bible Belt:
Columbia just legalized coke, meth, and ecstasy in personal use amounts.

Decriminalization has been proposed, but it hasn’t happened yet.

OzyBoy:
Most drugs should be illegal I think. It would save a lot of lives.

Once again,

The White House had the National Research Council examine the data being gathered about drug use and the effects of U.S. drug policies. NRC concluded, “the nation possesses little information about the effectiveness of current drug policy, especially of drug law enforcement.” And what data exist show “little apparent relationship between severity of sanctions prescribed for drug use and prevalence or frequency of use.” In other words, there is no proof that prohibition—the cornerstone of U.S. drug policy for a century—reduces drug use. National Research Council. Informing America’s Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don’t Know Keeps Hurting Us. National Academy Press, 2001. p. 193.

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10021&page=193​

As Percy Andreae wryly wrote in 1915, “The leaders of the so-called prohibition movement know as well as you and I do that you can no more prevent an individual from taking a drink if he be so inclined than you can prevent him from scratching himself if he itches.”

Prohibition make drugs more available, more dangerous, more potent, than otherwise would be.

 

[twentee]

and just wtf has ANY of this got to do with drugs? God, what twits. start your OWN gd thread about your bs.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Decriminalization has been proposed, but it hasn’t happened yet.

The proposal originated from within the Columbian government itself, so it looks like a sure thing:
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/jan/31/colombia_set_decriminalize_ecsta

Currently in Colombia, people are not prosecuted for the possession of small amounts of marijuana and cocaine. She said the proposal would extend that protection to users of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and ecstasy.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Now the UN is pissed at Colorado and Washington. I never thought of the War on Drugs as a United Nations initiative. It gives a little insight as to the real power structure of the world.

Isn't "non-compliance" the reason we invade other countries? Not that it's going to happen any time soon, but I don't see a legal argument that keeps the UN from invading Colorado with blue-helmeted "peace-keeping" troops on a mission to eliminate non-compliance with international treaties. That's what they do to the rest of the world, and there's nothing that exempts US states from the same treatment.

http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Ex-DEA-heads-UN-panel-urge-US-to-nullify-pot-laws-4328191.php

Ex-DEA heads, UN panel urge US to nullify pot laws
March 5, 2013

...a United Nations agency also urged challenges to the measures it says violate international treaties.

 

[Bible_Belt]

A majority of Texans now support legal weed:

http://cw33.com/2017/02/21/83-of-texas-supports-some-form-of-legalized-marijuana/

83 percent of Texans support legalizing marijuana for some use; 53 percent would go beyond legal medical marijuana to allow possession for any use, the poll found. Two years ago, 24 percent of Texans said no amount of marijuana should be legal for any use and another 34 percent said it should be allowed only for medical use.

 

[Bible_Belt]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-dea-agent-opioid-crisis-fueled-by-drug-industry-and-congress/
Ex-DEA agent: Opioid crisis fueled by drug industry and Congress

Whistleblower Joe Rannazzisi says drug distributors pumped opioids into U.S. communities -- knowing that people were dying -- and says industry lobbyists and Congress derailed the DEA's efforts to stop it

 

[Deep Dish]

For the first time, a majority of Republicans support marijuana legalization.

 

[Bible_Belt]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/27/health/marijuana-increased-sex/index.html
Regular marijuana users have more sex, study says

 

[ImTheDoubleGreatest!]

It’s cuz they realized that they no longer control the DEA anymore and the cartels are shelling out big bucks to Congress to make that **** legal. Corruption, corruption, corruption....

I’m only here to stand on top of the bones after the world is done burning.

 

[Deep Dish]

“Contrary to the myth of hard-partying stoners like Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, only 28.5% of the people surveyed said they used marijuana to have a good time with friends and family. More people (32.8%) said they used marijuana for creative purposes and expanding perceptions and thought processes rather than partying.
Some 47.2% said they buy marijuana is to treat chronic or recurring pain, tied for first place with sleep as a motivating factor. It was followed by 45.7% who used it to help depression or anxiety.

Another stereotype of movie character stoners is that they are underemployed. Think “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski or “Saul Silver” played by James Franco in Pineapple Express. In the Denver area, it turns out that most cannabis customers have full-time jobs and live in two-income families. Some 50% say they are financial optimists and believe they’ll be better off in six months from now. IRA’s and 401K’s are held by 42%, 18% have traded stocks and 19% have over $100,000 in liquid assets. This isn’t surprising because over half of Denver’s marijuana users have household incomes of $50,000 or more.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/debrab...nt-hard-core-partiers-they-just-want-to-sleep

 

[Bible_Belt]

http://fortune.com/2017/10/30/constellation-brands-cannabis-canopy-growth/
The Company Behind Corona Beer Just Bought Into the Marijuana Business
The $42 billion company behind Corona, Modelo, and Svedka is betting on marijuana’s national legalization.

Constellation Brands stz-b announced Monday that it had agreed to take a 9.9% minority stake in the $2 billion Canadian medical marijuana company Canopy Growth. The stake is worth about $191 million, though Constellation will have the option of purchasing additional stakes in the future.

Using Canopy’s expertise, Constellation is attempting to create cannabis-infused drinks, the Wall Street Journal reported after an interview with Constellation’s CEO.

The wines and spirits conglomerate has no intention of selling cannabis products in the U.S. until it is legal nationwide. But the company is betting that legalization is just a matter of time

“We believe alcohol could be under pressure for the next decade,” Cowen analysts led by Viven Azer wrote in an April note. “Consumer survey work suggests [about] 80% of consumers reduce their alcohol consumption with cannabis in the mix.”