Legalize Pot, Say Geniuses at Global Commission on Drug Policy

By Nick Schou Thu., Jun. 2 2011 at 1:00 PM

Categories: Cannabis Chronicles

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The Los Angeles Times, and just about every other newspaper that covers world news, is reporting today that the Global Commission on Drug Policy, an influential think-tank made up of world leaders, has just issued a report calling the war on drugs "a costly failure" and calling on the United States and other governments to end "the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but do no harm to others." On top of that, the commission recommended legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, as a way to end the influence of criminal organizations and drug cartels over the world.

Members of the commission include Kofi Annan, the former secretary-general of the United Nations, former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo, Brazil's Henrique Cardoso, and Colombia's Cesar Gaviria, who pointed to last year's Proposition 19 as evidence that when it comes to pot legalization, "people are changing their minds."

The report includes 11 specific recommendations, on everything from increasing spending on drug education and going after violent drug gangs to reducing sentences for drug users and small-scale dealers and legalizing marijuana. "[N]ational authorities and the UN need to review the scheduling of different substances," the report states. "The current schedules, designed to represent the relative risks and harms of various drugs, were set in place 50 years ago when there was little scientific evidence on which to base these decisions. This has resulted in some obvious anomalies - cannabis and coca leaf, in particular, now seem to be incorrectly scheduled and this needs to be addressed."

Not surprisingly, the commission's report is being rejected by both the Obama administration and the Mexican government of Felipe Calderon, who came to office promising to take down the cartels, and whose efforts to do so has so far led to almost 40,000 civilians being killed in the crossfire. "Drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated," responded Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesperson/hack for the White House's drug policy office. "Making drugs more available -- as this report suggests -- will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe."

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It is obvious to me that the large Pharmaceutical companies, Dupont, and Bid Oil has gotten to President Obama. Study after study has proven that marijuana has medicinal value, and hemp has the capacity to largely curtail the use of timber for wood pulp, a great energy source, not to mention the benefits of hemp seeds which carry the most nutrious food substance for man....and to top it all, it is an annual plant unlike trees that must be grown for years!
YES WE NEED TO DISMANTLE THE SUPER PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!! THIS VULGAR MONEY MAKING MACHINE FOR THE DEA AND CIA AND OBAMA GOVT! RELEASE THE INNOCENT FOLKS WHO JUST SMOKE A JOINT OR TWO... AND OFFER HELP IF NEEDED TO ADDRESS ANY SOCIAL PROBS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO QUIT COMPLETELY! WE HAVE 5 % OF THE WORLDS POPULATION AND THE LARGEST PRISON POPULATION ON THE PLANET.... !! WHAT A MONEY MAKER THIS IS FOR OUR GOVT AND WHAT A DESTRUCTIVE MACHINE THIS IS FOR ALL FAMILYS AND FAMILY STRUCTURES. A GOVT LIKE A BLOOD SUCKING VAMPIRE ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DOOMING THEM TO HELL ..ALL JUST OVER A JOINT!!
If the government will not legalize cannabis, the least harmful psycoactive & natural thing there is, then they better start making things we know are very harmful, illegal. Lets start with food preseratives & artifical colors then tobacco & alcohol now there are some very dangerous things people put into their bodys. the government job is not to tell me what is or is not dangerous for me. As long as I am not endangering anyone else the government should just shut up....GENESIS 1:29 AND GOD SAITH, LO, I HAVE GIVEN TO YOU EVERY HERB SOWING SEED, WHICH IS UPON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, AND EVERY TREE IN WHICH IS THE FRUIT OF A TREE SOWING SEED TO YOU IT IS FOR FOOD 1:30 AND EVERY BEAST OF THE EARTH, AND EVERY FOUL OF THE HEAVENS, AND TO EVERY CREEPING THING ON EARTH IN WHICH IS BREATH OF LIFE, EVERY GREEN HERB IS FOOD AND IT IS SO.
It is difficult to understand and believe Congress enacted a law requiring a government official to lie and to ignore science and medical studies. This renders the Office unreliable and a fraud. Though 68 - 84 % of this nation, depending on the poll, wants to legalize the medicinal use of cannabis, and science and medical studies have proven the therapeutic benefits and medicinal value of cannabis, we have been forced to live with outdated draconian laws. According to Title VII Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 : Responsibilities: The Director "Drug Czar" (12) shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that-- (A) is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and (B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration; On April 2, 2003, Congressman Ron Paul wrote a letter to the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) asking for an investigation into ONDCP lobbying activities and their dissemination of "misleading information" (a polite euphemism for "lying"). The GAO responded : "Finally, apart from considerations of whether any particular law has been violated, you have asked whether the Deputy Director's letter disseminated misleading information in connection with statements relating to the debate over legalization of marijuana. [...] ONDCP is specifically charged with the responsibility for "taking such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of certain controlled substances such as marijuana" - a responsibility which logically could include the making of advocacy statements in opposition to legalization efforts. The Deputy Director's statements about marijuana are thus within the statutory role assigned to ONDCP. Given this role, we do not see a need to examine the accuracy of the Deputy Director's individual statements in detail." By law, the drug czar must oppose any attempt to legalize the use (in any form). Despite the science, medical studies and evidence of medical cannabis safety and effectiveness, despite the fact that the federal government supplies it to patients, despite the fact the Department of Health and Human Services holds patents on cannabinoids for the therapeutic benefits, US Patent 663057 titled "Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants" which is assigned to The United States of America, as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services) the drug czar is required by law to lie about it. Again, this renders the Office unreliable and a fraud. Let your representatives know you believe it is time to "Change the Schedule of Cannabis, Cannabis Laws, and Drug Czar Laws" Read and sign the petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/change-the-schedule-of-cannabis-cannabis-laws-and-drug-czar-laws
Felipe Calderon did not enter office promising to take down the cartels. That was a move he improvised after he was already in office to validate his election to office, which was an electoral fraud. Before Calderon's war, few people had a problem with the drug cartels in Mexico and there was virtually no drug related violence. What we have to look for here is who is benefiting financially and politically from the war on drugs. Plan Merida allotted millions of dollars to the Mexican Governement to train and buy equipment for the police and military. So, the ones that are benefiting are the weapons and security industries of the U.S, and the corrupted politicians in Mexico that want to create a police state. Legalizing pot would ruin their business.
Rafael Lemaitre: "Drug addiction is a disease . . ." So, we jail people for having a disease. This is the logic behind the War on Drug Users.