Marijuana--referred to in Europe often by its synonym of cannabis--is a significant issue this year as ballots are ready to be cast in the United States.
The states of Colorado and Washington are voting to legalize marijuana use, sale, and possession under state law, with some caveats including a minimum age and limited amounts. Oregon is also voting, but it seems less poised to pass the measure. The Daily Beast reports on the issue, mentioning that the same campaign had gained major steam back in the 1970s, but quickly fell apart. Will that happen again? It doesn't seem so.
Colorado is over 50% in favor now, while a Gallup poll from last year put the nation as a whole at 50% as well. The times seem to be changing indeed, although the Daily Beast article above does say similar numbers existed before.
Outside the United States, however, similar movements are brewing. Uruguay is moving toward nationalization of marijuana sales, while Switzerland appears to be on the edge of allowing possession of 10 grams.
An article on About.com claims that marijuana legalization has not been a success in other countries, but this is a misleading and confusing claim. What defines a success? According to that article, success seems to be making fewer people use the drug--which seems beside the point of legalization. In the US, especially among libertarians, the definition of successful legalization of marijuana--and other drugs--is an end to the drug war and its high costs in lives and dollars, as well as an end to the drug war's empowerment and enrichment of drug cartels. In modern America, it seems to be the case that the war on drugs itself has failed.
And the war on drugs isn't just limited to our border with Mexico. The Atlantic reported in 2010 that the war on drugs involved 63 countries, naming Guinea, Myanmar, and Sierra Leone as a few. We all have heard that some of the illegal drug supply comes from Canada. This year, 200 US Marines were sent to Guatamala to assist in counter-drug operations.
Writer Michael Yon posted in 2009 about Afghanistan and its status as the world's largest opium producer--as we can see, this war is being fought on all fronts, with a variety of methods.
I know where I stand on the issue. I ask you, the reader--has the United States government lost the drug war? Will an end to prohibition mean an end to the war and its damages?
2012 may be the turning of the tide in a very expensive, decades old endeavor that has failed to keep drugs out of wanting hands as well as pop culture and popular opinion.
The states of Colorado and Washington are voting to legalize marijuana use, sale, and possession under state law, with some caveats including a minimum age and limited amounts. Oregon is also voting, but it seems less poised to pass the measure. The Daily Beast reports on the issue, mentioning that the same campaign had gained major steam back in the 1970s, but quickly fell apart. Will that happen again? It doesn't seem so.
Colorado is over 50% in favor now, while a Gallup poll from last year put the nation as a whole at 50% as well. The times seem to be changing indeed, although the Daily Beast article above does say similar numbers existed before.
Outside the United States, however, similar movements are brewing. Uruguay is moving toward nationalization of marijuana sales, while Switzerland appears to be on the edge of allowing possession of 10 grams.
An article on About.com claims that marijuana legalization has not been a success in other countries, but this is a misleading and confusing claim. What defines a success? According to that article, success seems to be making fewer people use the drug--which seems beside the point of legalization. In the US, especially among libertarians, the definition of successful legalization of marijuana--and other drugs--is an end to the drug war and its high costs in lives and dollars, as well as an end to the drug war's empowerment and enrichment of drug cartels. In modern America, it seems to be the case that the war on drugs itself has failed.
And the war on drugs isn't just limited to our border with Mexico. The Atlantic reported in 2010 that the war on drugs involved 63 countries, naming Guinea, Myanmar, and Sierra Leone as a few. We all have heard that some of the illegal drug supply comes from Canada. This year, 200 US Marines were sent to Guatamala to assist in counter-drug operations.
Writer Michael Yon posted in 2009 about Afghanistan and its status as the world's largest opium producer--as we can see, this war is being fought on all fronts, with a variety of methods.
I know where I stand on the issue. I ask you, the reader--has the United States government lost the drug war? Will an end to prohibition mean an end to the war and its damages?
2012 may be the turning of the tide in a very expensive, decades old endeavor that has failed to keep drugs out of wanting hands as well as pop culture and popular opinion.
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