Subject: Major panel: Drug war failed; legalize marijuana

Major panel: Drug war failed; legalize marijuana
By Jonathan M. Katz
Associated Press
Updated: 06/02/2011 09:49:04 AM CDT

NEW YORK - The war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalizing marijuana and other controlled substances, says 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 says 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 today. \"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 Drug war \r\nDo you think marijuana should be decriminalized? \r\nTotal Votes = 19 \r\nYes. \r\n 84.21 % \r\nNo. \r\n 15.78 % \r\nI don\'t know. \r\n 0 % \r\n \r\ncannot, be won,\" the report said. \r\nThe 19-member commission includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. official George Schultz, who held Cabinet posts under 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; British business mogul Richard Branson; and the Greek prime minister. The recommendation was swiftly dismissed by the Obama administration and the government of Mexico, which are allied in a violent 4-1/2-year-old crackdown on cartels that has led to the deaths of more than 38,000 people in Mexico. Instead of punishing users who the report says \"do \r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Advertisement--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nno harm to others,\" the commission says governments should: \r\n- End criminalization of drug use. - Experiment with legal models that would undermine organized crime syndicates. - Offer health and treatment services for drug users in need. The commission called for drug policies based on methods that have been proved to reduce crime, lead to better health and promote economic and social development. The commission is especially critical of the U.S., which its members say must lead changing its anti-drug policies from being guided by anti-crime approaches to ones rooted in health care and human rights. \"We hope (the U.S.) at least starts to think there are alternatives,\" former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria said. \"We don\'t see the U.S. evolving in a way that is compatible with our (countries\') long-term interests.\" Mexican President Felipe Calderon has made the battle against drug cartels a centerpiece of his administration. Though the growing death toll has stirred widespread public dismay in Mexico, he shows no sign of turning back before his six-year term ends next year. Meanwhile, a poll on security matters released Wednesday found broad public opposition in Mexico to legalizing drug sales. The U.S. government has backed the Mexican crackdown with law enforcement equipment, training and encouraging words from President Barack Obama. 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,\" said Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. That office cites statistics showing declines in U.S. drug use compared with 30 years ago, along with a more recent 46 percent drop in current cocaine use among young adults over the past five years. U.S. officials have promoted the use of drug courts where judges can sentence offenders to treatment and other terms as alternatives to jail time. The White House also is working to expand re-entry programs that aim to reduce recidivism rates by assisting the nearly 750,000 drug offenders released from prison each year with their transition into communities. 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. This report includes information from the Los Angeles Times.

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My opinion is big NO

Ganja is as bad as alcochol or smokes so why shouldn't it be legal?

in my opinion smoking should be prohibited as well. But never will be just cos of 2 reassons:
- money for goverments from fees and taxes
- smokers die but slowly, usually before pension, and thats the main reason, smoking saves money on pension!
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Yeah but if cigarattes are legal then whhy shouldn't ganja be ? To the second part, most of my family smoke/used to smoke, they're on their pension right now...still alive:P. It does increas the chance of getting cancer but not everyone gets it

lagalize it

If u check some stats between smokers and non smokers, you will see who are pension savers :)

My grandma never smoked she is 90 years old and still alive. My second grandma with my grandpa have died around 83 years old - they never smoked. My second grandpa has died whe he was around 60 years old (before I even born), he has smoked all life.

Thats my real experience.


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My point. People are different but this is about marijuana which should be legalised not smokes:)

I think world is already full of brainless people and I think ganja just demage brain (much more then alcohol and smoking)

Smoking demage all body.

Also big NO. And also ban smoking as well gradually. The only reason why it's stil legal is because it became too widespread before we were able to discover the health risks which were covered up by tobacco industry for years. The last thing we need now that it happens the same with marijuana.

Marijuana should be used by pharmaceutical industry to extract positive ingredients for medicine and it should be used in the same controlled way as other drugs. I don't see any other use of it. An argument that society is not able to fight illegal trafficking is simply not an argument for anything else but to try harder. The same goes for prostitution. What kind of an argument and twisted logic is that? We're gonna legalise something because we are not able to fight it!? Now that's really something to be proud of...

ure funny

Well, sense of humour becomes very cheap when you smoke too much pot. :P

In the Netherlands, it's almost everywhere. Though there are much less drug problems.

As if you would notice any problems being high most of the time. :P

Last time I used was 8 months ago. It's a fact average usage is lower in the Netherlands.

Have a look at this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_by_country

Prostitution is legal in quite some countries.