Report Calls For Legal Marijuana

[Jim Finnel]

Legalize marijuana, tax it and regulate it.

That's what's recommended in a new report prepared for the UK-based Beckley Foundation in anticipation of a UN review of drug policy. Says the Guardian:

A report on cannabis prepared for next year's UN drug policy review will suggest that a "regulated market" would cause less harm than the current international prohibition. The report, which is likely to reopen the debate about cannabis laws, suggests that controls such as taxation, minimum age requirements and labelling could be explored.

The Global Cannabis Commission report, which will be launched today at a conference in the House of Lords, has reached conclusions which its authors suggest "challenge the received wisdom concerning cannabis". It was carried out for the Beckley foundation, a UN-accredited NGO, for the 2009 UN strategic drug policy review.

There are, according to the report, now more than 160 million users of the drug worldwide. "Although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harms it is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco," according to the report. "Historically, there have only been two deaths worldwide attributed to cannabis, whereas alcohol and tobacco together are responsible for an estimated 150,000 deaths per annum in the UK alone."

That sounds remarkably sensible. Even from the perspective of those who would "protect" society from dangerous drugs, marijuana prohibition has never made much sense. It's a mild intoxicant with fewer links to problematic behavior than (perfectly legal) alcohol, and it grows in virtually any conditions, making its interdiction extraordinarily difficult. Even if you don't agree that individuals have a right to engage in whatever consensual behavior they wish, restricting marijuana seems like a poor allocation of law-enforcement resources.


News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Civil Liberties Examiner
Author: J.D. Tuccille
Copyright: 2008 Civil Liberties Examiner
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Civil Liberties Examiner: Report calls for legal marijuana

 

[Jim Finnel]

From the Guardian UK . . .

Report urges regulated market for cannabis to replace prohibition

A report on cannabis prepared for next year's UN drug policy review will suggest that a "regulated market" would cause less harm than the current international prohibition. The report, which is likely to reopen the debate about cannabis laws, suggests that controls such as taxation, minimum age requirements and labelling could be explored.

The Global Cannabis Commission report, which will be launched today at a conference in the House of Lords, has reached conclusions which its authors suggest "challenge the received wisdom concerning cannabis". It was carried out for the Beckley foundation, a UN-accredited NGO, for the 2009 UN strategic drug policy review.

There are, according to the report, now more than 160 million users of the drug worldwide. "Although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harms it is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco," according to the report. "Historically, there have only been two deaths worldwide attributed to cannabis, whereas alcohol and tobacco together are responsible for an estimated 150,000 deaths per annum in the UK alone."

The report, compiled by a group of scientists, academics and drug policy experts, suggests that much of the harm associated with cannabis use is "the result of prohibition itself, particularly the social harms arising from arrest and imprisonment." Policies that control cannabis, whether draconian or liberal, appear to have little impact on the prevalence of consumption, it concluded.

"In an alternative system of regulated availability, market controls such as taxation, minimum age requirements, labelling and potency limits are available to minimise the harms associated with cannabis use," said the report.

It claimed that only through a regulated market could young people be protected from the increasingly potent forms of cannabis, such as skunk. It is intended that the report will form a blueprint for nations seeking to develop a "more rational and effective approach to the control of cannabis".

The authors suggest there is evidence that "the current system of cannabis regulation is not working, and ... there needs to be a serious rethink if we are to minimise the harms caused by cannabis use."

Last night, the report was welcomed by drug law reform organisations. "The Beckley foundation are to be congratulated for the clarity of their call for cannabis supply to be brought within government control," said Danny Kushlick of Transform. "We look forward to the same analysis being applied to heroin and cocaine."

The report is being launched at a two-day conference, which will be attended by leading figures in the drugs policy world.

The conclusions are unlikely to be embraced by the government or the Conservative party, both of which are opposed to relaxing restrictions on cannabis use.


Source: The Guardian
Author: Duncan Campbell
Copyright: 2008 Guardian News and Media Limited
Contact: Latest news, sport, business, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk
Website: Report urges regulated market for cannabis to replace prohibition | Society | The Guardian

 

[Jim Finnel]

also from the Guardian . . .

Beyond experimentation

Whoever wins the American presidential election next month, there will be a dope smoker in the White House next year. Both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin have admitted that, in their youth, they smoked marijuana. British politicians are also becoming marginally franker about their own use of the drug, although the standard term is to "experiment" with cannabis; strangely, no-one talks about their student days "experimenting" with beer and wine.

One might have thought that with so many politicians on both sides of the Atlantic having "experimented" and lived to tell the tale, that there would be a more receptive response to attempts to address the place of cannabis in the law. This week, the respected Beckley Foundation has published the report of its global cannabis commission, compiled by an international team of acknowledged experts on the issue, and its findings make intriguing reading.

The thrust of the report, presented in the House of Lords yesterday, is that there is urgent need for a debate to move beyond the stalemate we have now reached. As the report suggests, although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harm, it is considerably less damaging than alcohol or tobacco. While there have only been two deaths worldwide attributed to cannabis, alcohol and tobacco together are responsible for an estimated 150,000 deaths per annum in the UK alone.

Yet more than half the arrests for drugs worldwide are for minor cannabis offences and, suggests the commission, the damage done by the criminalising these minor offenders, drawing them into the criminal world and using the time and resources of the justice system to do so, appears to far outweigh the medical and societal damage.

The lead author of the report, Professor Robin Room, spelled out the potential areas for discussion and the options for regulation of the drug. He was not advocating legalisation but merely asking for politicians to engage with the actual research that exists. For instance, the lowering of cannabis from a class B to a class C drug in the UK did not have the effect of increasing its use, despite the parroted claims that it would "send the wrong message". In fact, the opposite happened, which makes the government's current plans to reverse the reclassification even more baffling.

There is ample evidence that regulation and education work for drugs: in 1950, 80% of men smoked tobacco, now the figure is around 30%, thanks to a mixture of information, taxation and restriction. But neither the government nor the Conservative party dare to discuss the issue and only the Liberal Democrats and the Greens will address what is one of the most important issues facing us. Instead, we follow the bellicose call from across the Atlantic for a "war on drugs" as misdirected and misinformed as the "war on terror".

The global cannabis commission report contains much that would aid the debate. Let's hope that at least some of our politicians "experiment" with it.


Source: The Guardian
Author: Duncan Campbell
Copyright: 2008 Guardian News and Media Limited
Contact: the Guardian | guardian.co.uk
Website: Duncan Campbell: But will politicians ever grasp the nettle of drug reform? | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

 

[Cherma]

thanks for the great posts,

 

[Racefan]

Historically, there have only been two deaths worldwide attributed to cannabis

HUH? 2 deaths from cannnabis? I'd like to see how they have come up with this info and how this deadly cannabis was used.

 

[Dr. 215]

This article has made some headline news. Digg.com had it in their top 10 stories a couple days ago. I consider this a pretty good step. If only America would catch on. And yeah racefan, i was very confused on that also. I was guessing it was from the reports of some dealers in europe putting small lead particles in their Cannabis to make it heavier. That would mess you up IMO.

 

[FreakNature]

...labelling and potency limits are available to minimise the harms associated with cannabis use," said the report.

Maybe they should just legalize hemp so we can smoke that. Seriously, though, I like the direction of this movement; but honestly, just between you and me, I think statements like this are just red herrings to misdirect and befuddle simple minded antagonists. Well done!

 

[Jim Finnel]

HUH? 2 deaths from cannnabis? I'd like to see how they have come up with this info and how this deadly cannabis was used.

perhaps a bale of cannabis fell on them. or maybe brownies got stuck in their throats (got milk)

 

[fillabong420]

perhaps a bale of cannabis fell on them. or maybe brownies got stuck in their throats (got milk)

I second this theory!

 

[hawkster7]

well maybe they smoked some sprayed with PARAQUAT HeHe.Dam! I remember when that was going on A few Yrs. ago.