Stoners arise, this week saw the beginning of a remarkable social experiment. America has legalised cannabis. Not the whole USA mind, just liberal mountain state Colorado and vegan hippy paradise Washington whose voters both passed a referendum to legalise cannabis. Clandestine drug laws that have presiding over much of world are not facing a very real challenge, both in the face of falling public support and being based on questionable evidence justifying the prohibition.
America has a strange relationship with cannabis, its population is one of the keenest users of it and it definitely has the clearest 'stoner' culture. From Vietnam protests and Woodstock to Pineapple Express and Half Baked, for many people it is a defining aspect of both culture and life. The US government however has a different view, and over time successive administrations have done more than any other nation to restrict use and distribution on the world stage. A series of binding treaties passed alongside important trade agreements have seen countries fall into line banning the drug, even in places where it has been used for thousands of year. North Korea is the only country to have resisted the treaties enforced by the USA and their proxy world police service the UN, it doesn't seem to have been used much by its leaders in recent times though.
All this arose from the racist hysteria in the first half of the 20th century, where attacks on blacks and Jews implied cannabis was responsible for crazed behavior emanating from Jazz clubs. Evidence for banning the drug is patchy at best. Numerous medical organisations in recent times have decried its legal status due to the minimal harms it causes. It is widely recognised as one of safest drugs, never being found to be responsible for any deaths or cause physical harm. It is known tolead to possible problems with people who have a predisposition to mental illness, but regulation would be a better way of dealing with this. For comparison, tobacco kills 100,000 people in the UK each year and alcohol kills 10,000. Both lead to a variety of deadly physical diseases and the public cost of this huge.
The US establishment has faced growing oppostion to prohibition. Cannabis is very popular, and support for legalization is at a record 54% according to a recent Gallup poll. Younger generations are generally tolerant towards it even if they do not partake. This reflects a growing liberalization of young Americans towards all aspects of social policy including abortion,drug law reform and gay marriage. Twenty two states have now legalised medical marijuana, which can be prescribed for a variety of conditions ranging from multiple sclerosis to migraines and in some states is given out for pretty much anything. Following cannabis being legalised, Colorado has set up a licensed control board that regulates the supply and sale of the drug. Washington is to follow suit soon enough. Surely this is a more reasonable approach to drug policy, especially in a country where numerous recent leaders have admitted using drugs in their youth. Take the money away from the gangs and petty criminals and tax companies, like we do with everything else. The cannabis industry is already a $1.43bn industry. Spread that across the nation and it becomes a huge figure, it is irresponsible not to reap the rewards especially in a time of economic difficulties.
Is this a reflection of a wider change in the world? Portugal has had great deal of success by treating drug use it as a public health issue and decriminalising it. Use has fallen and users are now offered treatment and advice if caught. Uruguayan president Jose Mujica recently passed legislation for cannabis to be legalised, a big step even if the wider ramifications are more limited. It is South America that bears the brunt of much of the worlds drug use, with cartels exerting huge influence and power. Legalising drugs cuts out a huge proportion of their income. The global drugs trade is estimated to amount to equal 20th in terms of countries GDP. That is money that could be kept from criminals, taxed and put towards bettering society.
In the United Kingdom Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker is leading the charge for drug reform but is unlikely to exert much influence in his new role at the Home Office. Despite having more liberal social policies generally, there is less clamour for legalisation in the UK, maybe due to less harsh sentencing but nethertheless it should be reviewed. Chief drug policy officer Dr David Nutt was fired for claiming that horse riding is more dangerous than ecstasy, which it is according to the facts.
Hopefully our friends across the Atlantic will respond to this experiment in a responsible way, making up for the damage they have unnecessarily inflicted on millions around their country and around the world. There have been no major issues so far, probably a few more utterances of 'dude', a few more sales of Grateful Dead records and a few more doughnuts eaten. The US, a country that takes great pride in individual liberty, has pushed the world in the right direction and for that I salute them.
No comments:
Post a Comment