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DIANE ABBOTT
Sunday, September 06, 2009
There has long been a worldwide debate about the need to legalise marijuana. Perhaps the most important argument in favour of its legalisation is that marijuana is far less damaging to a person's health than alcohol and cigarettes.
DIANE ABBOTT
Here in Britain, the statistics show that many more crimes are committed by persons under the influence of alcohol than marijuana. Almost as significant is the argument that it is the illegality of marijuana which causes criminality. If it were legal, the argument goes, the gangs and the violence associated with the drug would disappear overnight. Supporters of decriminalisation have also pointed out that despite the so-called "War on Drugs", consumption of drugs around the world has never been higher.
But opponents of decriminalisation reject all these arguments. The church, in particular, makes a strong moral case. However, there is no opponent more vociferous than the United States of America. And it has used its power in the United Nations to crush any attempts to decriminalise the drug anywhere in the world and rubber-stamp its favoured policy of crop eradication and the "War on Drugs".
So it is interesting that, despite long-standing US opposition, governments in Latin America are currently taking significant steps to decriminalise the drug.
The American-led "War on Drugs" has always been unpopular amongst the masses in Latin America. Crop eradication has meant decimating the income of small rural producers who rely on the money to survive, send their children to school, etc. In Bolivia coca, the raw material for cocaine, has been in production for centuries. Bolivian peasants traditionally chew the leaves. It has been seen as a part of their culture. The current president, Evo Morales, was a peasant coca grower. He rose to fame campaigning for his fellow growers and against the wildly unpopular crop eradication policies that the government was pursuing under pressure from the Americans.
Now, in Argentina, the Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish people for having marijuana for personal use.
The court ruled, "Each adult is free to make lifestyle decisions without the intervention of the state." In Mexico, the government has decided to stop prosecuting people for possession of small quantities of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. These persons will be referred to clinics instead. Last year in Ecuador the president, Rafael Correa, pardoned 1,500 "mules" who had been sentenced to jail. His late father was a convicted mule. And Brazil is also considering partial decriminalisation.
A drug addict prepares his fix of 'speedball', a combination of heroin and crystal meth, at a street corner near the international border in Tijuana, Mexico on Tuesday, August 25, 2009. Mexico now has some of the most liberal laws in the world for drug users after eliminating jail time for tiny amounts of marijuana, cocaine and even heroin, LSD and methamphetamine. (Photo: AP)
Earlier this year Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the former Brazilian president, collaborated with two former presidents of Colombia and Mexico to produce a report "Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy". This called for new approaches to the drug problem. Cardoso says, "The tide is clearly turning. The 'War on Drugs' strategy has failed."
Latin America has long been ravaged by the violence associated with the drug trade. Worse, the power of the drug cartels has undermined democratic institutions. Reformers argue that the only way to reduce the violence and restore stability to Latin America is to legalise the production, supply and consumption of drugs.
Interestingly, the last time Mexico tried to decriminalise the possession of small quantities of drugs it was met with ferocious opposition from the United States. So they had to reinstate the law. This time the United States has said nothing. Maybe, under a new president, even the Americans are beginning to realise that the "War on Drugs" strategy has failed.
It should be noted that many people who support the decriminalisation of marijuana do not support legalising harder drugs like cocaine and heroin.
But the arguments for decriminalising marijuana are at least as strong in Jamaica as in Latin America. Many argue that, just like Bolivia, modest consumption of the naturally grown product is part of the culture. If the United States is really dropping its fierce opposition to decriminalisation, maybe it is time for Jamaica to reopen the contentious debate on legalising marijuana
DIANE ABBOTT
Sunday, September 06, 2009
There has long been a worldwide debate about the need to legalise marijuana. Perhaps the most important argument in favour of its legalisation is that marijuana is far less damaging to a person's health than alcohol and cigarettes.
DIANE ABBOTTHere in Britain, the statistics show that many more crimes are committed by persons under the influence of alcohol than marijuana. Almost as significant is the argument that it is the illegality of marijuana which causes criminality. If it were legal, the argument goes, the gangs and the violence associated with the drug would disappear overnight. Supporters of decriminalisation have also pointed out that despite the so-called "War on Drugs", consumption of drugs around the world has never been higher.
But opponents of decriminalisation reject all these arguments. The church, in particular, makes a strong moral case. However, there is no opponent more vociferous than the United States of America. And it has used its power in the United Nations to crush any attempts to decriminalise the drug anywhere in the world and rubber-stamp its favoured policy of crop eradication and the "War on Drugs".
So it is interesting that, despite long-standing US opposition, governments in Latin America are currently taking significant steps to decriminalise the drug.
The American-led "War on Drugs" has always been unpopular amongst the masses in Latin America. Crop eradication has meant decimating the income of small rural producers who rely on the money to survive, send their children to school, etc. In Bolivia coca, the raw material for cocaine, has been in production for centuries. Bolivian peasants traditionally chew the leaves. It has been seen as a part of their culture. The current president, Evo Morales, was a peasant coca grower. He rose to fame campaigning for his fellow growers and against the wildly unpopular crop eradication policies that the government was pursuing under pressure from the Americans.
Now, in Argentina, the Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish people for having marijuana for personal use.
The court ruled, "Each adult is free to make lifestyle decisions without the intervention of the state." In Mexico, the government has decided to stop prosecuting people for possession of small quantities of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. These persons will be referred to clinics instead. Last year in Ecuador the president, Rafael Correa, pardoned 1,500 "mules" who had been sentenced to jail. His late father was a convicted mule. And Brazil is also considering partial decriminalisation.
A drug addict prepares his fix of 'speedball', a combination of heroin and crystal meth, at a street corner near the international border in Tijuana, Mexico on Tuesday, August 25, 2009. Mexico now has some of the most liberal laws in the world for drug users after eliminating jail time for tiny amounts of marijuana, cocaine and even heroin, LSD and methamphetamine. (Photo: AP) Earlier this year Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the former Brazilian president, collaborated with two former presidents of Colombia and Mexico to produce a report "Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy". This called for new approaches to the drug problem. Cardoso says, "The tide is clearly turning. The 'War on Drugs' strategy has failed."
Latin America has long been ravaged by the violence associated with the drug trade. Worse, the power of the drug cartels has undermined democratic institutions. Reformers argue that the only way to reduce the violence and restore stability to Latin America is to legalise the production, supply and consumption of drugs.
Interestingly, the last time Mexico tried to decriminalise the possession of small quantities of drugs it was met with ferocious opposition from the United States. So they had to reinstate the law. This time the United States has said nothing. Maybe, under a new president, even the Americans are beginning to realise that the "War on Drugs" strategy has failed.
It should be noted that many people who support the decriminalisation of marijuana do not support legalising harder drugs like cocaine and heroin.
But the arguments for decriminalising marijuana are at least as strong in Jamaica as in Latin America. Many argue that, just like Bolivia, modest consumption of the naturally grown product is part of the culture. If the United States is really dropping its fierce opposition to decriminalisation, maybe it is time for Jamaica to reopen the contentious debate on legalising marijuana
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