Mexico should legalize the export of marijuana after voters in two U.S. states opted to allow possession and sale of the drug for recreational use, an ally of incoming Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said.
Cesar Duarte, governor of Chihuahua, one of the Mexican states worst hit by drugs violence, said the decision on Tuesday by voters in the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington offered a “very clear” hint for Mexico on how to approach marijuana.
“It seems to me that we should move to authorize exports,” Duarte told Reuters in an interview. “We would therefore propose organizing production for export, and with it no longer being illegal, we would have control over a business which today is run by criminals. And which finances criminals.”
Source: Yahoo! News. Read full article. (link)
Tag Archives for marijuana
Amsterdam’s Cannabis Cafés Will Remain Open to Foreigners
Good news for stoner tourists.
Dick Cowan called it: The new Dutch government has abandoned plans to create a national “weed pass,” available only to citizens and residents, for admission to cannabis cafés. Instead cities will decide whether foreigners may patronize “coffee shops” that sell marijuana, which is still technically illegal in the Netherlands but tolerated at the retail level. Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan, who opposed the previous government’s efforts to exclude tourists from one of his city’s best-known attractions, sayspeople from other countries will remain welcome at establishments such as the Bulldog, Abraxas, and the Grasshopper, because barring them would create more problems than it would solve:
The 1.5 million tourists will not say “then no more marijuana.” They will swarm all over the city looking for drugs. This would lead to more robberies, quarrels about fake drugs, and no control of the quality of drugs on the market. Everything we have worked towards would be lost to misery.
The BBC notes that Amsterdam “relies heavily on tourism, and cannabis users make up about a third of its total visitors.”
Pot-smoking Driver in Saskatoon Deemed Not Impaired
Despite failing various sobriety tests.
In the Saskatoon case, when the officer went to the woman’s car, he detected what was described as an “overwhelming odour of marijuana.”
He decided to investigate further and learned from the woman that she had smoked some marijuana earlier in the evening.
With that, the officer decided to have the woman perform a number of roadside tests, including walking heel-to-toe and touching the tip of her nose with her finger.
“She was only successful in touching her nose on one of six attempts,” the judge noted in his decision. “On the other five attempts, she touched her face right under her nose.”
The officer noted that the woman had reddened eyes, something consistent with marijuana use.
A urine sample was also taken and confirmed that the woman had used marijuana.
However, the judge was not convinced there was any evidence that the woman’s driving ability was impaired.
If marijuana is ever legalized, they’ll need to figure out a way to determine intoxication levels easily, and indeed decide what constitutes impairment under the influence of it…
Prosecutor Defeated by Glaring Stupidity of Pot Laws
Fuck yeah! The rule of law is breaking down…
I had a jury trial this morning on level 3 possession with intent MJ, level 4 possession drug paraphernalia and level 10 no drug tax stamp. During voir dire, my almost all white, middle-class, middle-aged jury went into full rebellion against the prosecutor stating that they wouldn’t convict even if the client’s guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt — almost all of them! They felt marijuana should be legalized, what he does with it is his own business and that the jails are already full of people for this silly charge. Then, when the potential jurors found out that the State wanted him to pay taxes on illegal drugs, they went nuts. One woman from the back said how stupid this was and why are we even here wasting our time. A “suit” from the front said this was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. The prosecutor ended up dismissing the case. Judge gave me a dismissal with prejudice. I’m still laughing my ass off over this one. I have NEVER seen a full on mutiny by an entire jury pool before. Easiest win ever!
Uruguay Government Sends Pot Project to Congress, Aims to Become Nation’s Marijuana Dealer
A plan by Uruguay’s leaders to turn the government into the nation’s marijuana dealer has been presented to Congress, where the idea faces an uncertain fate.
President Jose Mujica’s entire Cabinet signed onto the proposed law, which aims to take over an illegal marijuana trafficking business estimated to be worth $30 million to $40 million a year.
The law would have government control marijuana imports, production, sale and distribution, creating a legal market for people to get pot without turning to riskier illegal drugs. The text submitted to Congress on Wednesday declares that the drug war is a failure and that marijuana is only mildly addictive, unlike “cocaine, alcohol, tobacco and psychotropic drugs.”
[...]
The text says the project’s goals include “the normalization and full social acceptance of marijuana use” so that consumers aren’t “stigmatized, nor treated as criminals.”
My thoughts on the subject (in general, not just Uruguay) in more detail here.
Miles High in the Mile High State
Marijuana Legalization Gains Popularity in Colorado.
My thoughts on the subject (in general, not just Colorado) in more detail here.
Most Canadians Firmly in Favour of Decriminalizing Marijuana: Poll
Most Canadians are at odds with the Harper government’s firm stance against marijuana decriminalization, a new poll finds.
Photograph by: Ben Nelms, REUTERS
Two-thirds of Canadians think the law should be changed so that people caught with small amounts of marijuana no longer face criminal penalties or fines, a new poll has found.
The nationwide survey for Postmedia News and Global TV, which examined the state of Canadian values, revealed that the public is distinctly offside with the Harper government on the issue.
Earlier this spring, Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended a summit of leaders from the Americas, where some called for a major review of the so-called “war on drugs,” and perhaps even the decriminalization of some drug use. Also this year, Liberals at a policy conference passed a resolution endorsing the legalization of marijuana.
Is Legalizing Weed Obama’s Secret Weapon?
Not that it’ll happen, but maybe he would love to get the ‘Legalize it’! crowd to get out and vote…
In 2004 George W. Bush’s re-election campaign worked to put anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives up for vote in several swing states in order to turn out more hard-core conservatives to the polls. This year the question is whether marijuana legalization measures will turn out young voters for Obama.
