Closer To Legalization

[greenbuddha]

US MA: Editorial: Closer To Legalization

 

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URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n550/a08.html

Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

Votes: 0

Pubdate: Sat, 16 Nov 2013

Source: Metrowest Daily News (MA)

Copyright: 2013 MetroWest Daily News

Contact: mdnletters@cnc.com

Website: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/619

 

CLOSER TO LEGALIZATION

 

Law enforcement, drug policy experts and consumers of illegal drugs have long speculated on the consequences, good or bad, if marijuana growth and use were simply legalized.  Uruguay, a South American nation of 3.4 million people tucked between Brazil and Argentina, is about to become the first country to find out on a national scale.

 

A bill, advocated by President Jose "Pepe" Mujica, that has passed Uruguay's lower house and is expected to soon pass the Senate would, according to The Associated Press, make it "the first country in the world to license and enforce rules for the production, distribution and sale of marijuana for adult consumers."

 

Two U.S.  states, Colorado and Washington, have already passed laws legalizing and regulating production of marijuana, even though it is technically illegal under federal law.  More than 20 states have legalized production and possession of marijuana for medical use.  That list includes Massachusetts, which is in the midst of an orderly process of licensing a limited number of medical marijuana production facilities and dispensaries.

 

Forty years into the war on drugs, America's "reefer madness" seems to be dissipating.  A recent Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans now favor full legalization of pot.

 

Uruguay may be the first to legalize, but it likely won't be the last. 

MAP posted-by: Matt