Proibição never-ending de América
A proibição do álcool de WASHINGTON (Reuters) - América durou 13 anos, encheu as prisões do país, o contempt inspirado para a lei entre milhões, o corruption produzido e o Al produzido Capone. O que não fêz era manter americanos de beber.
A proibição do marijuana de América extraiu em seu 72nd ano este mês. Criou uma indústria subterrânea enorme que catering aos usuários, ajudados os ESTADOS UNIDOS. balão da população da prisão no mundo o maior, e desviado os recursos do enforcement de lei americano. O que não fêz é americanos do sustento de usar o marijuana.
No contrário. Desde 1937, o marijuana do ano outlawed, seu uso nos Estados Unidos foi acima por 4.000 por cento, de acordo com o projeto da política do Marijuana, por um grupo Washington-based do lobby que advogasse regular a droga similar ao álcool. Um estudo de organização recente da saúde de mundo do uso do marijuana em 17 países colocou americanos no alto da lista.
A proibição 1920-1933 na venda, na produção e no transporte do álcool é vista agora como uma falha dismal da engenharia social. A proibição no marijuana será vista sempre em uma luz similar?
Para a primeira vez em uma geração, há uma conta antes que o Congress que eliminaria penalidades federais “para o uso pessoal do marijuana por adultos responsáveis.” Mas não nivele o congressista que introduziu a conta, franquia do Barney da democrata, vê prospetos brilhantes para a passagem rápida.
A última vez os ESTADOS UNIDOS. O Congress tratado da legislação que teria decriminalized o marijuana realizava-se em 1978, quando uma conta introduzida pelo Senator Edward Kennedy foi passada pelo Senate mas nunca começada a um voto na casa.
A caixa para o marijuana legalizando, a droga o mais extensamente usada após o álcool e o tabaco, descansos em diversas pranchas - ser o mais óbvio que a proibição simplesmente não trabalhou apesar dos esforços extraordinària labor-intensive e caros do governo. Em 2006, o ano passado para que figura do departamento de investigação federal estão disponíveis, 830.000 americanos foram prendidos nas cargas do marijuana, a maioria delas para a possessão melhor que traficar.
Que trabalhos para fora em uma apreensão do marijuana cada 38 segundos. Um estudo estimou o ano passado o custo destas apreensões em $10.7 bilhões.
“Este é um desperdício enorme dos recursos do enforcement de lei que devem ser focalizados no crime violento e sério,” diz o St. de Allen Pierre, who heads the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the marijuana smokers’ lobby in Washington.
NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN USE AND ABUSE
“With alcohol we acknowledge the distinction between use and abuse, and we focus our law enforcement on efforts to stop irresponsible use. We do not arrest or jail responsible drinkers. That should be our policy for marijuana as well.”
The Bush administration’s drug czar, John Walters, will have none of this. He talks about marijuana in terms reminiscent of the apocalyptic warnings issued by Harry Anslinger, the first head of the Bureau of Narcotics in the 1930s and a driving force behind the 1937 marijuana prohibition.
Anslinger deemed marijuana “an addictive drug which induces in its users insanity, criminality and death.” Walters often takes issue with “the perception that marijuana is about fun and freedom. It isn’t. It’s about dependency, disease and dysfunction.”
(For a vivid portrayal of the dysfunction Walters warns about, see a mock documentary produced for the White House Office of National Drug Policy. It is entitled Stoners in the Mist, a play on the 1988 film on mountain gorillas in the Congo. here)
Americans who have admitted smoking marijuana at one point or another but escaped dependency, disease and dysfunction include President George W. Bush, Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator John Kerry, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Vice President Al Gore and Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for next November’s presidential election.
Former President Bill Clinton falls into a special category. When he studied in England, away from the long reach of U.S. law, he experimented with marijuana “a time or two,” he once told a television interviewer. “I didn’t inhale and I didn’t try again.”
Hollywood, conscious of a mass audience that does inhale, has produced a slew of new “stoner” movies this year. The pot-smoking protagonists include an investment banker and a medical student (Harold & Kumar), a psychiatrist (The Wackness), and a process server (Pineapple Express).
But sympathetic portrayals of marijuana use in popular culture do not necessarily translate into faster progress towards legalization. Government anti-drug fighters are serious in their opposition.
When Barney Frank, at a news conference to explain the rationale for his bill, was asked what timeline he had in mind, he quipped: “Not soon … but eventually, you’ll see the development of a marijuana futures market.” David Murray, the chief scientist in the drug czar’s office who had listened to the briefing, was not amused. “It’s not funny,” he said, “not funny at all.”
But not impossible either, in the long run
Have Your Say: America’s never-ending prohibition
Please read our posting guidelines before posting.
Alternatively you can discuss this report here.
This entry was posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pm and is filed under Culture . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Translations
Loading ...Related News
- The World Health Organization Documents Failure of U.S. Drug Policies
- The Truth About Marijuana Legalisation
- How to Improve the Economy - Legalise Cannabis
- Moronic marijuana policies
- Schwarzenegger: ‘Marijuana is not a drug, it’s a leaf’
Email This Page To A Friend
Latest Headlines
- HOO U GONNA COAL?
- New Book Reveals What You Aren’t Supposed To Know
- F.B.I. Says It Obtained Reporters’ Phone Records
- Class War Reply To The New Statesman
- Climate protesters arrested after gluing themselves to bank
- ‘No to Olympics without human rights’
- Call to crack down on police taser use
- Waterboard torture a theme park attraction
- Why DNA databases are doomed
- DMCA Does Not Apply to U.S. Government
More Breaking News
Archive
