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Proposition 19: Legalizing Marijuana And Keeping It On A Short Leash

A photograph of a cannabis plant. The photo at that site is marked as being copyright-free, and is credited to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

A photograph of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.

California’s Battle With Marijuana

It seems like a lifetime since the first gunshot that sounded the war on California soil took place. Now, this war on drugs has taken a drastic turn. November the 2nd marks the final showdown between California and its ancient rival, marijuana. A ballot called Proposition 19 was posted for California residents to vote on. If this proposition should pass, then the government will gain the ability to legalize, regulate, control, and tax this green monster. It seemed that the commotion leading to this day would see to the victory of the infamous cannabis. But it seems that California people were not ready for it after all.

The Green Light For Marijuana

There are many benefits to legalize marijuana for both economic reasons and social reasons. The proposition allows the taxation and regulation of cannabis. According to the OB Rag website, California will get $1.4 billion from taxes and save $200 million from law enforcement efforts on arresting cannabis users and shutting down plantations. At this time that is a very big boost to the downtrodden economy of California. This also prevents the useless imprisonment of people who poses marijuana. Many good people smoke cannabis and only indulge in it like any other vice. However, when they get imprisoned, the people around them end up suffering. Most of these people don’t deserve such a punishment just for indulging in what research shows is a less harmful drug than cigarettes.

The Red Light For Marijuana

With those benefits, it seems like a sound plan to legalize marijuana. Yet, so many people oppose it. Even some regular cannabis users oppose it. According to ‘Stoners Against The Prop. 19” Tax Cannabis Initiative’, “they believe this would make marijuana less legal in a way.” That is because the government would be the one regulating this product. This means that corporations will be pushing out the small marijuana distributors and minimizing the free business that pot dealers and pot smokers enjoy. For most marijuana users, the last thing they want is Marlboro Man for cannabis. Many also believe that the last thing we need is another legal drug flowing in our blood stream. The minorities in California are already kept down by alcoholism and other drugs. They believe legalizing marijuana will set them back severely.

The Outcome Of The Final Battle

It has been a struggle of epic proportions for both sides. At the start, many Californians were for the idea of the legalization of cannabis. When it came down to it, the dream of legal weed was just that, a dream and a broken promise. The things that regular marijuana users wanted were not delivered. This caused pro-pot users to vote “no” on prop 19. It was a start in the right direction, but balancing drugs and law is always a tricky act. It seemed this time the scales tipped towards law far more than drugs. According to the LA Times, voters are rejecting the idea of prop 19. Let’s hope in the future they will have a better proposition that benefits everyone.

References:

http://www.latimes.com/topic/lifestyle-leisure/recreational-substance-use/marijuana-use/proposition-19-%28california-2010%29-EVHST0000249.topic

http://votetaxcannabis2010.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-pro-pot-activists-oppose-2010-tax.html

December 31, 2010 Posted by | Legal, New, News, Society | , , , , | Leave a Comment

Escalation of the Mexican Drug War

Archeologists work among remains found in a ruined pyramid in Tlateloco neighborhood in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Archeologists digging in a ruined pyramid in downtown Mexico City found a mass grave that may hold the skeletal remains of the last holdouts among the Aztecs who fought the Spanish conquerors under Cortes.

Mexico Mass Grave Pictures & Photos (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Narcotics like cocaine and heroin have plagued the United States and the rest of the American continent. Countries like Colombia and Mexico battle drug producing and trafficking organizations.

U.S. Joins the Fight in the Drug War

Along with them the U. S. is fighting the so-called Drug War. This war is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade. This initiative includes a set of drug policies of the United States that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of psychoactive drugs.

In the context of Mexico, there exist the Mérida Initiative which is a security cooperation approved on June 30, 2008 between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking and transnational crime. The Mérida Initiative will appropriate $1.4 billion in a three-year commitment to the Mexican government for military and law enforcement training and equipment, as well as technical advice and training to strengthen the national justice systems.

Smuggling a Big Part of the Drug Wars

In recent years, Mexico’s drug cartels have waged increasingly violent battles with one another as well as with the Mexican government. The Mexican cartels originated in response to a demand for smuggling both people and contraband into the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The cartels began operating as middlemen smugglers for more powerful groups. With smuggling networks in place, the 1970s saw the cartels branch out on their own and begin to smuggle the high demand drug, marijuana, into the United States.

In the 1980s the Colombian drug cartels rose to power, and they needed a way to bring cocaine into the American market. The Caribbean routes were used, but so were routes through Mexico. In the beginning, the Colombians would pay the Mexican groups as much as $1,000/kilo to smuggle cocaine into the United States. The Colombians would then pick up the drugs and resume distribution and sales efforts. This arrangement brought the Mexican cartels wealth, but little power or control of the drug trafficking market.

Mass Grave Found of Victims of the Drug War

Many questions remain unanswered regarding the future of the Mexican cartels, and their role in the Meso-American organized crime scene. What part will they continue to play in the politics of the Americas? Considering that in the news a mass grave of 51 victims of the drug war was recently discovered. Some analysts also stress that the United States should be doing more to curb arms trafficking from the United States into Mexico.

The gun laws in Border States have a loophole allowing individuals to purchase weapons without a background check. As a result, the weapons trade along the border is very lucrative. But to better engage the escalation of the Drug Wars new policies and measures must be employed so that responses to and means used be specifically responsive to the peculiarities of the present.

August 28, 2010 Posted by | Legal | , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Synthetic Euphoria: Drug Legalization, Harm Reduction, and Drug Policy

Marijuana is illegal to possess for recreational or commercial purposes. In reaction to marijuana prohibition, smokeable herbal blends have become popular route to score that sweet, sweet legal high. The newest blend that is on the shelves at local smoke shops is being labelled as “fake weed” because of the marijuana-like high that comes from smoking it, despite not containing THC. The latest trend at teen parties isn’t warm beer or prescription medicines pilfered from parents’ medicine cabinets. Instead, increasing numbers of youths are turning to an herb-based product to get high, and unlike marijuana, it’s perfectly legal. It’s known as K2 or Spice, a synthetic substance that, when smoked, gives users a marijuana-like high, according to drug authorities. Its growing popularity is causing increasing alarm among health care professionals, law enforcement authorities and lawmakers, with one Drug Enforcement Agency official calling its use the equivalent of “playing Russian roulette.”

These Legal-ish alternatives to marijuana exist; you just need to know where to look for it. Apparently that’s what someone learned when they put the herbal incense brand “Spice” in their pipe and smoked it. The results were, like, totally rad, dude. It turns out Spice contains the synthetic substance JWH-018, which is incredibly similar to the main active component of marijuana. Although sold legally in many countries, governments around the world are lining up to put the kibosh on the Spice party. This is nothing short that evolving a widely used narcotic yet the authorities struggle to deal with it. Another matter is that of the public and political demands for marijuana’s medical availability, federal drug agencies are instead promoting bureaucratically sanctioned alternatives which are synthetic, expensive and often ineffective. It is ironic that after decades of pretending marijuana is medically useless, federal drug agencies are now aggressively pushing synthetic Marinol, the so-called “pot pill,” by arguing it is as safe and effective as marijuana.

Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behaviour. What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction—that it is a disease that impacts the brain and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. Through scientific advances we now know much more about how exactly drugs work in the brain, and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and resume their productive lives. Alternative or not, legal or not it is still part of the problem and has to be dealt with before it spreads and add to the current drug problem already present in society.

July 21, 2010 Posted by | News | , , , , | Leave a Comment

   

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