MarijuanaNews.com : We Really Are Winning! DEAland Loses Seat On UN Nark Committee; Europe Abandoning Cannabis Prohibition.

Posted May 8, 2001
(MarijuanaNews note: As I predicted last week, there is a growing
global reaction against DEAland’s unilalteralism. Frankly, it is happening much faster
than I had expected.
See
Bush Changes the Global Climate for
Marijuana Prohibition. Analysis by Richard Cowan

First, it was only reported that the US had lost its seat on the UN Human
Rights Commission, which was largely meaningless, because the seat was given to Sudan, one
of the world’s most brutal tyrannies. The UN, even more than DEAland itself, is
monument to hypocrisy. With so many dictatorships among its members, it is certainly no
friend to “human rights.”

However, now DEAland, the Vatican of prohibitionism, has lost its seat the
International Narcotics Control Board — in the same secret-ballot by the 54-member UN
Economic and Social Council, the main UN body responsible for economic and social issues.

The 13-member International Narcotics Control Board supposedly monitors
compliance with UN “drug conventions.” In reality, it is a prohibitionist
propaganda organization that has been a front for the DEA and attempts to interfere in the
internal affairs of other countries in a way that DEAland would prefer not to be seen
doing.
See
Today Is “International Anti-Drug
Day” – Really. And Top UN Nark Wants To Censor Internet. Anti-Prohibitionism
Equated With Genocide. The Internet Community Needs To Wake Up!
and
London Times Reports On UN Narks
Complaints About Cannabis Sales On the Internet. International Push For Censoring The Net.

and
Dutch Scholar
Takes Very Critical Look At Coming UN Meeting
With Its Slogan “A drug free world - We can do it!”

For example, it praised DEAland for punishing marijuana growers severely, and
criticized Canada for being too soft on growers, even though DEAland produces far more
marijuana than Canada.
See
UN Narks At It Again, Attack Canada’s
Punishment of Marijuana Growers As Only “A Slap on the Wrist.” Justice Minister
Grovels. “Critics Dismiss UN Drug Report As US – Driven”
and
Ottawa Citizen Columnist Dan Gardner
Assails Canadian Justice Minister’s Kowtowing to UN and DEAland Narks: “U.S.
says jump, we say how high?”

Of the seven countries elected to the board, Iran,
Brazil, India, Peru, France, the Netherlands, and Austria , at least four are moving away
from marijuana prohibition.
See
Half A Million
Viennese Have Tried Cannabis; Police Have Stopped Arresting Users

The Dutch, who pioneered the move are also becoming bolder.
See
We Are Winning! The Dutch Government Shows
More Confidence that Things Are Going Our Way in Europe.
The others are China, Russia, Nigeria, Turkey, Mexico, and Chile.
They will complete their terms in 2005. This means that there are a number of countries
that do not follow the DEAland party line, especially on cannabis. (See below.)

Unlike the Human Rights Commission, this board could actually have a real impact to
inhibit the development of the global police state being created by DEAland under the
guise of fighting “drugs.” Many European countries and a few in Latin America
are simply not buying it.

Recently, Mexican President Vincente Fox said he agreed with a Mexican police
official who suggested that the only way to win the war on drugs was to legalize drugs -
eliminating the profits and violence caused by prohibition. He qualified that by saying
Mexico could not move alone. However, moving on cannabis is possible, and they would not
be alone. Brazil is also looking critically at marijuana prohibition.

The Associated Press quotes former Drug Czar, Barry McCaffrey as saying,
“It’s a great loss to the international community to not have us in a leadership
position. We play a dominant role in the research and development of drug treatment
programs in the world. The assistance that we are able to provide the United Nations, the
Europeans and former Soviet Union states could be adversely affected.”

Translation, this is a major defeat for DEAland.

It should be noted that there are still many very prohibitionist countries on
this committee, and the same bureaucracy is still in place. However, it is not likely to
be such a slavish proxy for DEAland.

As the article below, from a leading Spanish paper, makes clear, Europe is
finding its own way towards realistic and humane cannabis policies. They clearly do not
share McCaffrey’s view of DEAland’s role in the world.)

May 7, 2001
From El Pais (Spain)
http://www.elpais.es
By Gabriela Cañas
Translation by Robert Sharpe http://www.drugpolicy.org
(MarijuanaNews note: Robert Sharpe is an exceptionally bright young
man who has been very successful in getting letters published in many newspapers. He works
for the Lindesmith-DPF in Washington. Now it turns out that he can translate Spanish.)

Only Four European Union Countries Still Prohibit Cannabis Consumption

The Sale Of Hashish Remains Illegal In A Majority Of States

Europe continues along a trend towards decriminalization of so-called illegal drugs.
COLOR=”#ff0000″>Of the 15 countries in the European Union, a total of seven do not punish
personal consumption of any drug or only impose administrative fines. With regards to
cannabis tolerance is near complete: only Sweden, France, Finland and Greece maintain
penalties. Some countries want to go even further and call for legal medical
marijuana, as is the case with Catalonia. Nevertheless, almost every country maintains
penalties for the sale of drugs.

In Greece, the possession of small quantities of drugs ( including cannabis ) for personal
use can result in between five days and five years in prison. Finland does not distinguish
between personal use and possession, which can be punished by up to two years in prison.
Likewise, in Sweden consumption or possession of cannabis is punishable by up to six
months in jail. France is the least harsh of the four restrictive European Union
countries. Although penalties remain on the books, a 1999 directive recommends that simple
consumers not be prosecuted and that drug treatment be proposed instead.

In the rest of the European Union, and Switzerland, the path undertaken is that of
decriminalized consumption. Some countries, like Spain and Italy, impose administrative
fines. Others, like Great Britain, leave the door closed to opiates. And there are those,
like Belgium and Luxembourg, that provide exemptions specifically for cannabis, making it
the least penalized drug in the European Union.
See
Belgium To Decriminalize Possession and
Cultivation for Personal Use. No Coffeeshops, Yet.

According to the European Monitor of Drugs and Addiction ( Observatorio Europeo de la
Droga y la Toxicomania ), cannabis is also the drug most often consumed. A third of
European adults have smoked cannabis at some point in time.

Ireland does not penalize consumption and possession is penalized with a fine. In Germany
“insignificant quantities” are not prosecuted and amounts considered
insignificant vary depending on the locality. In Denmark, possession of small quantities
typically results in a warning. Austria also stipulates the amount of drugs allowed for
personal use.

“The situation is constantly changing” explains Danielo Ballotta, legislative
analyst for the European Monitor. “In the United Kingdom various organizations are
promoting medical cannabis and I think the government will ultimately take it under
consideration.
See
As Court Challenges Mount to UK Cannabis
Prohibition, London Times Op-ed By Retired Chief Constable Predicts — “Human Rights
Act will make cannabis legal.”

In Luxembourg, on the other hand, decriminalization was passed and the subject
has not come up again.

The latest changes have been in Portugal and Switzerland.
See
We Are Winning! Switzerland to Surpass the
Dutch and Allow Not Only Use and Sales – But Also Cultivation. Major Impact On
Germany and the Rest of Europe.

The former takes effect this July. No one in Portugal will be jailed for
consuming drugs and addicts will be attended to by a treatment commission. “The
criteria is based solely on public health precepts” explained Ballotta.

In Switzerland, which does not belong to the European Union and has gone so far as to
prescribe heroin, a proposed law allows for the regulated sale of cannabis. The future may
involve authorized sales outlets, like the Dutch coffee shops. Of course, stores will not
be allowed to export.

This movement towards depenalized consumption conflicts with tough penalties for
trafficking drugs. With the exception of Holland and, later, Switzerland, consumers will
have to continue purchasing drugs from traffickers targeted by law enforcement. Although
many countries impose the toughest penalties exclusively for problematic trafficking and
leaders of distribution rings, selling drugs can result in life sentences, as is the case
in France, Greece, Ireland and the United Kingdom.