It could be expected that the Drug Enforcement Administration would resist the legal changes in Colorado, Washington, and parts of Michigan to legalize marijuana.
It could also be expected that congressional delegations as cowardly as our own would not stand up for the majorities of citizens in those states (and around the nation, according to most polls) calling for an end not only to marijuana Prohibition, but also to the failed and destructive "war on drugs."
But I have to admit that it came as something of an Agenda 21-type surprise to find a senior UN official weighing in on what he and his organization think the correct Federal response should be:
That people in a democratic society have a right to decide for themselves what substances to put in their bodies?
That treating drug addiction issues like medical rather than criminal problems is a bad thing, because we don't have sufficient narco-terrorism due to the thriving trade in now-illegal substances?
That the US made a horrible mistake in repealing prohibition?
That the heads of state of multiple Central and South American governments who have applauded this change are both wrong and evil?
Or is it that the UN really is increasingly feeling like it should play a role in determining the internal social policies not just in the developing (read "dark-skinned") world, but also in the industrialized nations?
It could also be expected that congressional delegations as cowardly as our own would not stand up for the majorities of citizens in those states (and around the nation, according to most polls) calling for an end not only to marijuana Prohibition, but also to the failed and destructive "war on drugs."
But I have to admit that it came as something of an Agenda 21-type surprise to find a senior UN official weighing in on what he and his organization think the correct Federal response should be:
VIENNA -- The head of the U.N. drug watchdog agency is urging U.S. federal officials to challenge ballot measures in Colorado and Washington that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults 21 and over.
Raymond Yans says the approvals send "a wrong message to the rest of the nation and it sends a wrong message abroad."
Yans heads the International Narcotics Control Board. He told The Associated Press on Tuesday he hopes Attorney General Eric Holder "will take all the necessary measures" to ensure that marijuana possession and use remains illegal throughout the U.S.What exactly is that "wrong message," Mr. Yan?
That people in a democratic society have a right to decide for themselves what substances to put in their bodies?
That treating drug addiction issues like medical rather than criminal problems is a bad thing, because we don't have sufficient narco-terrorism due to the thriving trade in now-illegal substances?
That the US made a horrible mistake in repealing prohibition?
That the heads of state of multiple Central and South American governments who have applauded this change are both wrong and evil?
Or is it that the UN really is increasingly feeling like it should play a role in determining the internal social policies not just in the developing (read "dark-skinned") world, but also in the industrialized nations?
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