The cannabis debate is over

[Oz]

...

 

Why do countries such as the U.S. and Australia seem increasingly prohibitive? "In the debate over drug policy, rationality and evidence is a small factor," says Wodak. "It's about winning votes by being hard on drugs", a strategy he dubs "political Viagra" for politicians. Although, he adds, "it's not as reliable as it used to be."

 

A stunning example is the Shafer report. In 1970, then U.S. President Nixon wanted an investigation into marijuana to back his war on drugs. He appointed Raymond Shafer, a Republican former governor of Pennsylvania with a reputation as a 'drug warrior' to lead it. Shafer's committee conducted the most wide-ranging review of marijuana ever undertaken by the U.S. federal government. And Shafer did a complete about face. In his 1972 report, Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, he said: "Marijuana's relative potential for harm to the vast majority of individual users and its actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it." As Watergate revealed, Nixon was appalled, and waged his war regardless. Since then, 15 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges.

 

Notwithstanding the current hardening of Australia's cannabis policy, Wodak is surprisingly optimistic. "It's a winnable battle. The arguments are so compelling. The policy has got to be based on rationality and evidence, not fearmongering and angst."

 

Wodak draws some cheer from Britain's recent decision. In December 2005 Michael Rawlins, the chairman of the U.K. Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, recommended that the British parliament not upgrade its punitive laws on cannabis from Class C to Class B; a recommendation that was accepted. "While cannabis can, unquestionably, produce harms, these are not of the same order as those of substances within Class B [the more punitive category that includes amphetamines, barbiturates and codeine]." He recommended education programs to discourage use and more research.

 

Despite his two decades in the trenches, Wodak shows no signs of battle fatigue. "What keeps me going? Every day I see people and their families damaged by these costly and ineffectual and counter-productive drug laws and policy. There is the excessive permissiveness to alcohol – we regularly see women bashed by drunken husbands – while marijuana remains criminalised.

 

"In thoughtful circles, the debate is over: harm reduction wins. Now the task is to get this through the political maze."

 

This is only an extract the complete article can be found here.

[Luke Skywalker]

Dudes a legend. More peeps like him are desperately needed.

 

I strongly recommend members check out the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation.

[sunnycoaststoner]

go you good thing!!! WODAK! WODAK! WODAK. alcohol and tobacco are the real killers of society. Cannabis = Peace and Love, Health and Wellbeing, is great for the enviroment and tends to give back a lot more than it takes of anything.

[Al B. Fuct]

Wodak is a saint. It's astonishing the trashing he gets from certain quarters in govt. Was talking about Wodak in another thread recently.

 

It's massively long, but try to suffer through this Hansard record. Note with amusement one zero-tolerance ringer physician giving evidence who claims cannabis causes osteoporosis. Bronwyn Bishop deserves an Oscar for spewing things she believes but doesn't know.

 

Bishop and her flying monkeys are trying desperately to categorise harm minimisation advocates as drug pushers. The Daily Tele and other Noise Ltd rags are only too happy to cooperate and report such tripe as news.

 

Turnabout's fair play. I wonder how long Bishop has been a dope dealer. She'd have no other reason to keep drugs illegal- drives the prices through the roof. Keeps her in the style to which she's become accustomed, I bet.

[Luke Skywalker]

Why do you think she has a beehive? Great place to stash a spare oz or two....

[freddie]

Brilliant article Ozstoner. Thanks for posting it. Should be compulsory reading for politicians.

 

Al. B. Fuct, I read the entire article (it was originally posted here by someone else) and all i can say is that Bronwyn is truly a cow. Anyone interested should scroll down to page 83. She is the chair and her and Wodak clearly hate each other. It's also interesting to see how these committees operate. Disturbing actually.

[Al B. Fuct]

Why do you think she has a beehive? Great place to stash a spare oz or two....

 

If I was Bronwyn Bishop, it'd take an oz or two every day just to deal with the pain of being me. I'd have to hand out ozs by the barrowload to everyone who had to suffer through being in my presence.

 

You know the 'some people are saying' anonymous attribution used by Faux News and Noise Ltd? Well, some people are saying Bronnie is an ibogaine freak and hands out tabs of Homer Simpson acid to anyone who can stick out their tongue. I don't think that's true myself, but I do think the WoD is self-perpetuating because it's profitable. Some people have said that Alan Cadman secretly dreams of dragging bales and bales of Afghani smack ashore because it keeps his position in the WoD secure- it's his livelihood, you know.

[Al B. Fuct]

Al. B. Fuct, I read the entire article (it was originally posted here by someone else) and all i can say is that Bronwyn is truly a cow.

 

Moo baby. It's the second time I've posted that link- for good cause.

 

Anyone interested should scroll down to page 83. She is the chair and her and Wodak clearly hate each other. It's also interesting to see how these committees operate. Disturbing actually.

 

That's the good cause. Everyone should know what's going on with these evidence-proof zero-tolerance ideologues who are in charge of government drug policy. Morris Iemma, Johnny Howard and BBishop want to see you in prison for cannabis, simple as that.

 

Australia's drug policies are regressing at Mach III... and the progressive side needs a lot of help, REAL soon. Worse, KRudd has indicated that he's in bed with Howard's drug policies. Someone needs to start edjumacating KRudd... hopefully before he becomes PM.

 

Anybody asked GetUp about cannabis law reform? Bet they'd take it on.