cannabisnews.com: Is the Law Potty on Pot?





Is the Law Potty on Pot?
Posted by CN Staff on May 01, 2003 at 21:23:39 PT
News Story
Source: Budapest Sun 
Arguably one of the most controversial demonstrations of the year is due to take place on Vörösmarty tér this Sunday (May 4). The protest - on what is Mothers’ Day in Hungary - supports the drive for the legalization of hemp and its derivatives and had already courted controversy in Parliament on Monday (April 28). Dániel Bozsik of the organizing Kendermag (Hemp) Association tells The Budapest Sun why it believes legalization is the only right solution. 
The Kendermag (Hempseed) Association is the first civil organization in Hungary fighting for the legalization of the use of hemp and its derivatives. The aim of the association, formed in 2002, is to amend legislation on the issue of drug use. The Hungarian criminal code sanctions the consumption of hemp derivatives (marijuana and hashish). Concerning the danger the various substances have on people, the current laws do not differentiate at all between certain illegal drugs and the equally illegal hemp. The Founders of the association acknowledge that all psychedelic substances, including hemp, can be potentially dangerous. Nevertheless, we are convinced that the current regulation causes more damage for hemp smokers and for the whole society than the plant itself. The primary goal of the Kendermag Association is to draw the attention of society to this fact. We believe Hungary needs a fair and applicable drug policy, for the implementation of which objective and efficient information is essential. We believe that the policy of forbidding all drug use does not bear any fruit and is dangerous. It is ineffective because, according to the statistical data of the previous years, the number of people trying hemp and other illegal substances has been continuously rising. Thousands of legal procedures are launched in connection with drug abuse every year. Some 90% of cases are launched because of the consumption of a small dose of the drug, while in 75% of the cases people are charged with nothing but consumption. The current law does not reach its objective of bringing no one else but drug pushers and dealers to court. The reason for that is the hunt for consumers uses up the resources for an efficient fight against illegal drug trade. Seventy-five per cent of police forces, attorneys and judges do not agree with the strict legislation on drugs. In addition, legal procedures and the accompanying character assassination can break a career in two. The culprit can be expelled from school, or laid off from their job, even if they committed a "crime" which did not hurt anyone apart from themself. We do not agree that anyone should be threatened with a prison sentence for having used hemp, the danger of which is negligible even as compared to substances legally available. Based on unofficial statistics, about 6.4% of the Hungarian population between the age of 18-65 have tried a form of illegal drugs at least once. About 5.4% have tried some sort of cannabis, which implies that nearly 400,000 adult citizens have already tried "weed" in Hungary. The policy banning drugs in Hungary is dangerous because a large part of society is in conflict with the police as the law states that anyone smoking hemp is actually violating the law. As Hungarian citizens, we believe that we have the right to expect law makers to make laws so that nobody should be afraid of the authorities that have been set up to protect us. Under current laws, anyone distributing (pushing) and selling cannabis is doing so illegally. This way cannabis consumers will also unavoidably come into contact with dangerous hard drugs. This is why we believe that all laws regulating and restricting the consumption of cannabis have a potential danger for those wanting to enjoy some hemp. The threat that anyone caught with cannabis may face the loss of freedom (ie face a jail sentence) causes consumers to take a protective stand point and go into hiding. This behavior of force protesting ruins the relationship between the consumers and their family members and teachers, in the case of juveniles. Due to the feeling of illegality and the lack of sincerity, the most commonly effected younger age groups dare not request help or awareness from experts in this field. The current legal regulations do not differentiate between cannabis and other illegal substances even though the characteristics of their effects and qualities are different. The Kendermag Association and its members in no way wish to inspire anyone to consume any form of hemp. Our goal is merely to raise social awareness and bring advancement in a more effective regulatory form. Source: Budapest Sun (Hungary)Published: May 1, 2003 - Volume XI, Issue 18 Copyright: 2003 The Budapest SunContact: editor bpsun.huWebsite: http://www.budapestsun.com/Related Article & Web Site:Kendermag Egyesülethttp://www.kendermag.huGrassroots Call for Change on Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16123.shtmlCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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