A blue-gray hue of gyrating marijuana smoke may become a more common sight in next door’s backyard or in a private club near you.
President Nixon declared war on drugs in 1971, but forty-three years of attempted drug prohibition maybe coming to an awkward stop.
States in America such as Colorado and Washington have not only legalized the consumption but the whole supply chain from growing, shipping and marketing. Countries like Uruguay, from January this year, weary of enforcement, have also matched Colorado. The state is involved only in setting the price.
California has seen a remarkable increase in doctors prescribing marijuana for all manner of maladies since its use for medical purposes was legalized. On 5th March, Washington DC voted to allow smoking marijuana at home.
The über-liberals in the Netherlands have had marijuana cafes for ten years based on micro agriculture.
France, Jamaica and Switzerland (through a national ballot) are reviewing their options.
Our lords and masters at the United Nations (UN) are not so happy. Their view is that for the “Uruguayan parliament to legalize marijuana is a strike against international cooperation.” The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Yuri Fedotov, described Uruguay’s full legalization as “unfortunate”.
Moral outrage is not confined to conservatives but is enshrined in the international treaty the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, and is signed by the UK and USA. Its purpose is a Wdraft convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs… All measures are to be used to suppress drug consumption.”
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) was set up as an international policeman to monitor and slap the wrists of any miscreant nations.
INCB president Raymond Yans has said on that states who legalize “contravene the principle of the international drug control treaties that drugs should be used only for medical and scientific purposes.”
The UN may well be Quixotically tilting their swords at windmills. The war on drugs costs the world $100 billion a year, $1 trillion a decade. Drug related homicides in Mexico alone since 2006 are conservatively estimated at 120,000.
Another leak below the UN’s waterline is Big Government reeling in the greenbacks in taxation receipts. Colorado is banking on $100 million per year.
The UN may also get its feet wet like Cnut, as big business can see gaps in the market. On 4th March, the World Stevia Corp (WSTV) renamed itself the Marijuana Capital Corp. (CBCA). It is dedicated to being “focused on high-growth acquisitions within the Marijuana Industry.”
Apparently over twenty states are “participating or investing in diverse business activities in the expanding marijuana industry” and is a “breakthrough market for savvy investors.”
Alaska will be voting on legalization in six months time and suppliers such as Bill Fikes are manoeuvring for market share: “I just think marijuana’s going to revolutionize things in Alaska as much as oil did. The prospect for jobs and new business start-ups is phenomenal.”
On a lighter note, Girl Scout Danielle Lei stood outside a marijuana clinic in San Francisco. Known for its appetite raising ability often referred to as the “munchies,” 117 boxes of cookies were sold in two hours.
Some people have moral objections, some point to high levels of psychosis among users, but commercial, libertarian and drug war fatigue may make legal marijuana consumption throughout America and the rest of the world as common as going for a beer or smoking tobacco.
Also, something that may give conservatives the biggest worry is that cocaine and heroin may come under pressure to be made legal too. Portugal has been “market leader” since 2001.
Then again, it was Richard Nixon who shot the starting pistol on the war on drugs who said: “Federal and state laws (should) be changed to no longer make it a crime to possess marijuana for private use.”
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