Prohibition & Humanism | The Humanist “Pot’s Legal!” declared the Seattle Times in large print on November 7, 2012, while that same day the Denver Post ran the headline: “FIRED UP.” As two states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, an ancient debate is slowly rekindling. For as long as drugs and alcohol have existed, society and religion have weighed judgment on their consumption. Christianity’s indecision on drug and alcohol policy is directly related to a number of contradictions in the Bible. To a nontheist, it seems rather silly to try and divine whether an all-powerful God smiles or frowns when you take a shot of tequila. In the Islamic world, many drug and alcohol laws come straight out of the Koran, which teaches that khamer, or intoxicants, are instruments of Satan. However, to their dismay, after the law took effect in 1920 people kept on drinking, and the United States was soon facing a rampant problem with organized crime. The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
Grass (1999 film) The film presents this map of US states with non-medical marijuana decriminalization laws. State-level but not federal decriminalization of non-medical marijuana No federal or state level decriminalization of non-medical marijuana The film follows the history of US federal policies and social attitudes towards marijuana, beginning at the turn of the twentieth century. The film places much of the blame for marijuana criminalization on Harry Anslinger (the first American drug czar) who promoted false information about marijuana to the American public as a means towards abolition. Grass is almost completely composed of archival footage, much of which is from public domain U.S. propaganda films and such feature films as Reefer Madness made available by the Prelinger Archives. The art director and poster designer of the film was Paul Mavrides. The film has also won Canada's Genie Award for Best Documentary.
Marijuana News, Cannabis Culture, & Medical Marijuana | The Weed Street Journal Legalize All Drugs Cost of Marijuana Prohibition: Economic Analysis Benefits of Industrial Hemp Industrial Hemp (which is not the same as medicinally and recreationally-used marijuana) was grown commercially in the US until the 1950s. Now the US is the only industrialized nation that prohibits growing industrial hemp despite the fact that it’s highly profitable; can be used to make more than 25,000 products, including paper, fiber, plastics, textiles, and rope; and does not require the use of herbicides or pesticides to grow it. Many communities are aiming to make industrial hemp legal, which would benefit farmers, our economy, and the environment. In the last ten years more than 28 American states have introduced hemp legislation. Here are some resources to learn more about the benefits of industrial hemp and get involved in the movement: The North American Industrial Hemp Council, Inc.Industrial Hemp Brochure Hemporium - a South African hemp company whose long term goal is to "promote the cultivation and use of industrial hemp as a sustainable crop in South Africa."
L'Uruguay va vendre un cannabis légal à 0,75€ le gramme pour lutter contre le trafic de drogue Les autorités de l’Uruguay veulent mettre en place une nouvelle stratégie pour combattre les trafiquants de drogue. Si le Sénat valide leur proposition, l’État pourrait autoriser dès 2014 la vente du cannabis à 0,75 euro le gramme. Le texte proposé par le gouvernement prévoit trois moyens encadrés de se procurer le produit. L’autoculture d’abord avec six plants maximum par consommateur, la culture dans les clubs de membres avec un maximum de 45 personnes pour 99 plants et enfin la vente en pharmacie pour 40 grammes maximum chaque mois. Les cultivateurs et consommateurs devront s’inscrire sur un registre national. Les parlementaires ont déjà approuvé le projet de loi le 31 juillet dernier. Luis Gallo, un sénateur de la majorité a indiqué que le projet de loi pourrait être approuvé dans les prochains jours, le vote devant intervenir début novembre. Cette loi pourrait rapporter entre 30 et 40 millions de dollars par an à ce petit pays d’Amérique du Sud. Source : AFP
LEAP | Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Will Legalizing Marijuana in Uruguay Trigger a Global Revolution? Updated 03/05/2014, 11:06AM Uruguay is poised to legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday, an experiment that will force the United States to reevaluate its own international drug policies. The Uruguayan government will oversee the cultivation and distribution of pot, and residents will be able to purchase up to 1.4 ounces of marijuana each month. Along with Uruguay, other nations are considering marijuana law reforms. Last month, Jamaica’s Parliament endorsed decriminalizing pot, and lawmakers in Morocco are drafting a plan to legalize marijuana cultivation. Are these signs that the United States is de-escalating the global war on drugs? When it comes to marijuana, yes. Don’t expect overt policy change from federal agencies yet. “The U.S. is going to be in a weak position to pressure other countries,” said John Walsh, a drug-policy expert with the Washington Office on Latin America. So the legalization programs in Colorado and Washington aren’t just breaking federal law. The U.N.
Cooking with Cannabis | Marijuana Cooking, Recipes, Tutorials, Cannabutter, more Global Commission Calls Drug War A Failure - Business News The drug war has failed. That’s the abbreviated conclusion of a report released today by an international commission studying drug policy. And if governments actually listen to the recommendations of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, resourceful entrepreneurs could find some high opportunities. The 19-member panel that offered its verdict on the fight against illegal drugs is no hippie operation. It's members include former U.N. chief Kofi Annan; entrepreneur Richard Branson; former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker; former Secretary of State George Schultz; and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. Branson funded the group, along with George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, the Instituto Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and the Centro Edelstein de Pesquisas Sociais in Brazil. "The fact is that the war on drugs is a failure," Cardoso, who chaired the commission, said at a press conference.
Uruguay’s president nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for legalizing marijuana Published time: February 06, 2014 09:18 Edited time: February 07, 2014 12:49 Jose Mujica (AFP Photo / Miguel Rojo) The president of Uruguay has been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. For the second year in a row, the Drugs Peace Institute, which has supported Mujica’s marijuana legalization drive since 2012, insisting that the consumption of marijuana should be protected as a human right, has endorsed his candidacy, along with members of Mujica's leftwing political party the Frente Amplio, the PlantaTuPlanta (Collective of Uruguayan growers) and the Latin American Coalition of Cannabis Activists (CLAC). Despite an avalanche of global criticism, in late December Uruguay became the first country in the world to fully legalize the production and sale of the popular herbal drug. The Drugs Peace Institute said that Mujica’s stand against the UN-led prohibition of mind-altering substances is a "symbol of a hand outstretched, of a new era in a divided world."
Nobel for legalization of drugs: bad joke or pragmatic consideration? In recent years and even decades, the authority of the Nobel Peace Prize was shaken. And its supervisors have nobody to blame but themselves. This one-time serious international prize awarded to the best of the best now more and more frequently depends on political situation and some apparently purely pragmatic considerations. Suffice it to recall the 2009 award, when it was given to the newly elected US President Barack Obama, who just could not physically managed to achieve any success on this post. But he achieved it later, for example, in Afghanistan. In 2012, the prize was awarded to the European Union for the protection of human rights. Moreover, President of Institute of National Strategy Mikhail Remizov believes that it has never been ranged among authoritative prizes. "It was, in fact, usurped by representatives of the European left-wing liberal intelligentsia, who use very subjective, arbitrary criteria while selecting nominees and winners.