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MJ Legalization is Making The World a Better Place
Posted by CN Staff on October 17, 2014 at 11:48:01 PT
By Christopher Ingraham 
Source: Washington Post
Washington, D.C. -- No pressure, Colorado and Washington, but the world is scrutinizing your every move.That was the take-home message of an event today at the Brookings Institution, discussing the international impact of the move toward marijuana legalization at the state-level in the U.S. Laws passed in Colorado and Washington, with other states presumably to come, create a tension with the U.S. obligations toward three major international treaties governing drug control. Historically the U.S. has been a strong advocate of all three conventions, which "commit the United States to punish and even criminalize activity related to recreational marijuana," according to Brookings' Wells Bennet.
The U.S. response to this tension has thusfar been to call for more "flexibility" in how countries interpret them. This policy was made explicit in recent remarks by Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield, who last week at the United Nations said that "we have to be tolerant of different countries, in response to their own national circumstances and conditions, exploring and using different national drug control policies." He went on: "How could I, a representative of the Government of the United States of America, be intolerant of a government that permits any experimentation with legalization of marijuana if two of the 50 states of the United States of America have chosen to walk down that road?"As far as policy stances go this is an aggressively pragmatic solution. The federal government lacks the resources and perhaps the political will to crack down on the legalization states, but it also likely doesn't want to openly admit that it's allowing regulation regimes that openly contradict the provisions of major treaties. By saying that those treaties allow for interpretation, the government is attempting to carve out some space to allow legalization experiments to continue with minimal boat-rocking.But as Wells Bennet and John Walsh of the Washington Office on Latin America write in a new Brookings report, that position will "rapidly become implausible and unsustainable if legalization spreads and succeeds." At today's event, Martin Jelsma of the Transnational Institute, an international think tank, agreed: "The U.S. is hesitant to acknowledge that the legal regulation [of marijuana] is a direct violation of the treaty system... you have reached the limit of what you can defend applying the most flexible interpretation of the treaty system."As a result, the panelists at the event were in agreement that it's time to explore a multilateral reworking of the drug control treaties to better reflect current realities - particularly, to begin the process of re-scheduling marijuana, which international law currently considers one of the most dangerous drugs(despite decades of evidence to the contrary).Sandeep Chawla, former deputy director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, called the current restrictions on marijuana "the weakest point of this whole control system, something that has been obvious for 30 years." He noted that one of the main obstacles to meaningful reform is layers of entrenched drug control bureaucracies at the international and national levels - just in the U.S., think of the DEA, ONDCP and NIDA, among others - for whom a relaxation of drug control laws represents an undermining of their reason for existence: "if you create a bureaucracy to solve a particular problem, when the problem is solved that bureaucracy is out of a job," he explained.Lisa Sanchez, a program manager at México Unido Contra la Delincuencia, a Mexican non-profit devoted to promoting "security, legality and justice," underscored how legalization efforts in the U.S. are having powerful ripple effects across the globe: events in Colorado and Washington have "created political space for Latin American countries to have a real debate [about drug policy]." She noted that motivations for reform in Latin America are somewhat different than U.S. motivations - one main driver is a need to address the epidemic of violence on those countries that is fueled directly by prohibitionist drug war policies.Many countries are now taking a close look at what's happening in the states to learn lessons that can be applied to their own situations. And so far, the news coming out of Colorado and Washington is overwhelmingly positive: dire consequences predicted by reform opponents have failed to materialize. If anything, societal and economic indicators are moving in a positive direction post-legalization. Colorado marijuana tax revenues for fiscal year 2014-2015 are on track to surpass projections.Countries, particularly in Latin America, are starting to apply these lessons in order to craft smarter policies that reduce violence and other societal harms brought about by the drug war. Uruguay, for instance, has moved toward full national legalization of marijuana, with an eye toward reducing the thriving black market there. Mexico's president has given signs he's open to changes in that country's marijuana laws to help combat cartel violence. The Organization of American States recently issued a statement in favor of dealing with drug use as a public health issue, rather than a criminal justice one.Regardless the eventual direction of marijuana legalization in the U.S., steps toward reform here are already prompting other countries to seek out more pragmatic solutions to their drug problems. In short, they're making the world a better place.Christopher Ingraham writes about politics, drug policy and all things data. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center.Source: Washington Post (DC)Author:  Christopher Ingraham Published: October 17, 2014Copyright: 2014 Washington Post CompanyContact: letters washpost.com Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ URL: http://drugsense.org/url/zyqvEBBGCannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by HempWorld on October 19, 2014 at 06:47:56 PT
: )
Yes, indeed!
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Comment #4 posted by schmeff on October 18, 2014 at 13:38:36 PT
Would the U.S. Violate a Treaty?
Ask a Native American.Seriously, history proves that the U.S. cares nothing about violating a treaty, international law or common decency. Those who suggest that America concerns itself with any restrictions on it's actions are perpetrating a myth.We're EXCEPTIONAL. We don't need no stinkin' rules!
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on October 18, 2014 at 04:07:32 PT
Making The World a Better Place
This is true. We always knew it would be better.The drug war is a horror. It must be stopped. 
http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/drug-war-victim/Great post, The GCW. It is almost time for that sigh of relief and that great celebration of injustice ended!It really is. 
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on October 18, 2014 at 02:25:46 PT
Long time coming
MJ Legalization is Making The World a Better PlaceM., grasp that title.Often I just read news titles, maybe reading 1 our of 10 or 1 out of 100 articles on all kinds of web-sites. The title is usually enough...Now that's a title that needs nothing; we couldn't ask for better.Think of all the hard work that's gone in to create that title. -In the Washington Post! -EvenNot just C-News'ers, that's with the help of perhaps millions of individuals, globally, forcing the reluctant to get on the correct path.-0-And again, right before elections...It's almost time to get excited.Enough shoulder patting, now let's get back to work, Making The World a Better Place
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on October 17, 2014 at 16:39:16 PT
Folks, this is more good news.
"...in the U.S., think of the DEA, ONDCP and NIDA, among others - for whom a relaxation of drug control laws represents an undermining of their reason for existence: "if you create a bureaucracy to solve a particular problem, when the problem is solved that bureaucracy is out of a job," he explained.""... the epidemic of violence on those countries that is fueled directly by prohibitionist drug war policies.""dire consequences predicted by reform opponents have failed to materialize."-0-With language like this, the pace can only quicken.With news like this paving the way, Oregon, Alaska, DC and Florida are preparing to vote. 
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