cannabisnews.com: Don't Make Pot Legal, UN Official Warns





Don't Make Pot Legal, UN Official Warns
Posted by CN Staff on September 24, 2002 at 07:46:31 PT
By Tu Thanh Ha
Source: Globe and Mail 
Montreal -- Canadian politicians will be making a major error if they try to legalize cannabis, the head of the United Nations drug control agency warned yesterday.While marijuana does not have the same association with violent crime and severe dependency as harder narcotics, it remains a health hazard and its prohibition is needed in the global effort against drugs and criminality, said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the Vienna-based UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention.
"Some of our countries are on the verge of making an error which is as significant as when tobacco spread," Mr. Costa said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.He noted that legalization would violate the 1988 UN convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Canada is a signatory to that accord."Just because something can be legalized, it does not become good per se," Mr. Costa said.Western countries are sending a bad message to other countries by being lax against softer drugs, he warned. "The drug scene cannot be parcelled out to individual countries. The drug scene has to be seen in its totality."He added: "I've heard very negative comments from developing countries, saying, 'We are maintaining a very strong policy of prohibition and what's happening? It's considered with leniency by some northern countries.' "Marijuana is harmful to its users, he said, because today's cannabis is of much higher potency than what lawmakers might recall from their younger days."I'm not here trying to get votes. I'm trying to send a message which is very serious."In the 1960s, marijuana might have THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient) levels of about 2.5 per cent. Current varieties have THC levels as high as 35 per cent.With a report from Canadian Press Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Tu Thanh HaPublished: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A4Copyright: 2002 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:World Forum Montreal 2002http://www.worldforumdrugs-dependencies.com/Queen Noor Diplomatic on Pot Decriminalizationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14215.shtmlDecriminalizing Pot: Why Stop There?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13493.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by RavingDave on September 24, 2002 at 21:35:17 PT
Disconnect
Ok, just to play devil's advocate, let's assume his argument is correct that today's marijuana has much more THC than in former years. Where's the proof that this is more harmful? There is no overdose amount for THC, although a person could get might uncomfortable. All the same, any sane user would know when to stop. Plus, a higher dose of THC would simply a higher ratio of THC to plant matter, so the user would not need to ingest as many toxic compounds to get high. It sounds less "dangerous" to me.
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Comment #10 posted by krutch on September 24, 2002 at 17:24:32 PT:
Illicit Traffic?
"He noted that legalization would violate the 1988 UN convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Canada is a signatory to that accord."If Canada legalizes then it is no longer an illicit substance in Canada. Therefore traffic within the borders of Canada would still be legal. As long as Canada forbids exporting to Countries that prohibit the substance I do not see how it violates the accord. Alcohol is both legal and psychotropic, why can't MJ also enjoy this status?
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on September 24, 2002 at 12:46:58 PT
malleus
In my opinion we are them. They just don't come right out and say it. 
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Comment #8 posted by Ethan Russo MD on September 24, 2002 at 12:46:05 PT:
Scott
You have some very good points. I have addressed this issue before, and largely agree with you except with respect to hashish. The next issue of Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics has an article by Mila Jansen, the inventor of the Pollinator and Ice-O-Lator devices in Amsterdam. In the article we have a photo of a GC/MS of a random sample of water hash she made that yielded 52% THC. Rob Clarke in his book, Hashish!, postulates a theoretical maximum possible THC yield of 60%.Once more, potency is an advantage in that a smaller amount may be employed to provide the desired effect, whether "recreationally" or medicinally, with less exposure to undesirable products of combustion. Vaporization presents a distinct advantage with respect to pulmonary issues. 
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Comment #7 posted by malleus on September 24, 2002 at 12:38:56 PT
UN; US lapdog?
I've been following this for some time, and it seems to me that the UN's supposed anti-narcotics operation is so closely modelled after the US's that even their (old) full name UNDCP is taken from the US ONDCP. When the UN speaks on this matter, it's just a ventriloquist's puppet. We know whose fingers are manipulating it's mouth, don't we?
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Comment #6 posted by scott on September 24, 2002 at 12:37:43 PT:
THC %
"In the 1960s, marijuana might have THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient) levels of about 2.5 per cent. Current varieties have THC levels as high as 35 per cent."Marijuana foes have tossed of this statement for several years now, and it still has problems. I would like to know how anyone could believe this. Marijuana, as a plant, must have many, many chemical and biological constituents in order to remain a living plant. 60-70% of the growing plant MUST be water. Even after harvest and drying the plant must contain a large percentage of structural material as well as large amounts of the things that make a plant a plant such as chloroplasts, mitochondria, and the lipids that make up cellular membranes. Seeds, stems, and roots make up a large percentage of the weight of a mature plant,and 
these components are largely THC free. 
I will grant that today's pot is stronger on any measure, however, I can't believe a THC content of 35%. I don't even think that the strongest hashish could have this much THC on a weight/weight basis.
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Comment #5 posted by CorvallisEric on September 24, 2002 at 10:07:02 PT
More on Comment #4 link
The explanation of the Corruption Perceptions Index is buried at the bottom of the page:A CPI 2002 Score
relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people, academics and risk analysts, and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
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Comment #4 posted by CorvallisEric on September 24, 2002 at 10:03:00 PT
Developing countries
 "I've heard very negative comments from developing countries, saying, 'We are maintaining a very strong policy of prohibition and what's happening? It's considered with leniency by some northern countries.' "Unlike Canada and some other "lenient" countries, most developing countries are very corrupt which means there is a disconnect between law and reality.
Corruption Perceptions Index
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Comment #3 posted by afterburner on September 24, 2002 at 09:09:08 PT:
A little truth trickles out
While marijuana does not have the same association with violent crime and severe dependency as harder narcotics,...said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the Vienna-based UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. Even when they lie they are starting to tell a little truth. The dam is cracking. Keep up the pressure. Truth, life, and peace.
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Comment #2 posted by Cannabis jarhead on September 24, 2002 at 08:27:23 PT
UN or the US
The U.N. is just a bunch of butt monkey lackys for the retard that can't put a sentence together. Maybe He should be on the next drug ads " this is what happens if you are arrested for drunk driving and have a coke history and your rich,corrupt family covers your arse.You become President.If he's so proud of Texas why does he spend most of his time in Maine .so pissed I'm going blind
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on September 24, 2002 at 08:14:32 PT:
Suggested Treatment
This chap should join Walters in a course of deprogramming from their previous brainwashing at the Anslinger School of Lies, Deceit and Propaganda. Increasingly, their strident message is being rejected by governments and the public alike. Cannabis prohibition is 65 years old in the USA and deserves retirement.
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