At the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, Indonesia, along with India, Turkey, Pakistan and some South American countries, opposed the criminalization of drugs. [63] While drug use can have significant negative effects on your mental and physical health, drug use or possession can expose you to serious legal action. Not only has drug prohibition failed to contain or reduce the harmful effects of drug use, but it has also created other serious social problems. As in the past, some observers will no doubt see the solution in much harsher penalties to deter both suppliers and users of illicit psychoactive substances. Others will argue that the answer lies not in more enforcement and tougher penalties, but in fewer penalties. In particular, they will argue that the edifice of national laws and international conventions that collectively prohibit the production, sale and use of large numbers of drugs for non-medical or scientific purposes has proven to be physically harmful, socially divisive, prohibitive and ultimately counterproductive by creating the very incentives that perpetuate a violent black market for illicit drugs. They will also conclude that the only logical step for the United States is to “legalize” drugs – essentially by repealing and dismantling current drug laws and enforcement mechanisms, just as America abandoned its brief experiment with alcohol prohibition in the 1920s. When analysing the Dutch model, both disadvantages and advantages can be drawn when comparing the results with other countries. From a moral point of view, the tolerance of soft drugs can be seen as a defeat of the government against hedonism. In addition, decades of cultivation and refinement of cannabis and hashish have led to an increase in concentrations of the main active hallucinogenic ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as concentrations have doubled, making derivatives stronger and therefore less necessary to achieve the desired effect.
[ref. needed] The café loses its license if it is caught selling to minors. Although there was a slight increase in usage at first, rates stabilized a few years later. The presence of cafes does not translate into the public`s desire to experiment. In fact, most people who did not use drugs before the policy was improved continue not to use drugs. [ref. The most obvious case is the regulation of adolescents` and young adults` access to drugs. Whatever the regime, it is hard to imagine that the drugs that are now banned would be more readily available than alcohol and tobacco today. Would there be a black market for drugs for youth, or would the regulatory system be as permeable as the current one for alcohol and tobacco? A “yes” answer to both questions would reduce the appeal of legalization. In Hallucinations: Behavior, Experience, and Theory (1975), Louis Jolyon West and Ronald K. Siegel, senior U.S. government researchers, explain how drug prohibition can be used for selective social control: Another legal dilemma is the creation of loopholes in the laws of several countries that allow arbitrary arrest and prosecution. [clarification needed] This is the result of several drugs such as dimethyltryptamine, GHB and morphine, which are illegal to possess, but are also intrinsically present in all people as a result of endogenous synthesis. Since some jurisdictions classify drug possession so that the drug is present in any concentration in the blood, all residents of these countries are technically in possession of multiple illegal drugs at all times. [ref. needed] Alcohol prohibition began in Finland in 1919 and in the United States in 1920. As alcohol is the most popular recreational drug in these countries, reactions to its prohibition have been much more negative than to the prohibition of other drugs, often associated with ethnic minorities, prostitution and vice. Public pressure led to the abolition of alcohol prohibition in Finland in 1932 and in the United States in 1933. Residents of many of Canada`s provinces experienced the first half of the 20th century. Alcohol has also been banned for similar periods. [ref. needed] Drug prohibition promises a healthier society by depriving people of the opportunity to become drug users and possibly addicts.The reality of prohibition belies this promise. When deciding which list a drug or other substance should be included, or whether a substance should be decontrolled or reclassified, certain factors must be considered. These factors are listed in section 201(c), [21 U.S.C. § 811(c)] of the CSA as follows: Possession laws apply even if you don`t really have literal possession of the drug, but you have control over what happens to the drug. For example, you have the key to a locker that contains the drug, or if you have drugs stored in a locker. The document endorses the European policy on drug use because, according to the authors, it is more humane and more effective. The signatories of this document are: Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Ernesto Zedillo, César Gaviria, Paulo Coelho, Enrique Santos, Mario Vargas Llosa, Moisés Naím, Tomas Eloy Martinez[66] Another factor to consider is the appeal of forbidden fruits. For young people, often attracted by taboos, legal drugs can be less tempting than they are today.
This is the experience of the Netherlands: after the Dutch government decriminalized marijuana in 1976 so that it could be sold and consumed openly in small quantities, use steadily declined – especially among teenagers and young adults. Before decriminalization, 10% of Dutch 17- and 18-year-olds used marijuana. By 1985 this figure had fallen to 6.5%. Indonesia provides for a maximum death penalty for drug trafficking and a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for drug use. In 2004, Australian citizen Schappelle Corby was convicted of smuggling 4.4 kilograms of cannabis into Bali, a crime punishable by the maximum death penalty. His trial ended with a 20-year prison sentence. Corby claimed to be an unintentional drug mule. Australian citizens known as the “Bali Nine” have been caught smuggling heroin. Two of the nine people, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed on 29 April 2015, along with six other foreigners. In August 2005, Australian model Michelle Leslie was arrested with two ecstasy pills. She pleaded guilty to possession and was sentenced in November 2005 to 3 months in prison, which she had already served, and was released immediately after her guilty plea to possession.
During alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, smugglers marketed small bottles of more than 100 Proof spirits because they were easier to hide than large, bulky kegs of beer. As a result, beer and wine consumption decreased, while hard alcohol consumption increased. Similarly, contemporary drug traffickers` preference for powdered cocaine over bulky and spicy coca leaves encourages the use of the most potent and dangerous cocaine products. On the other hand, under legal conditions, consumers – most of whom do not want to harm themselves – play a role in determining the effectiveness of marketed products, as evidenced by the popularity of today`s light beers, wine coolers and decaffeinated coffees. Once the alcohol ban was lifted, consumption increased somewhat, but the rate of liver cirrhosis decreased because people tended to choose beer and wine over the stronger distilled spirits previously promoted by smugglers. Although the number of drinkers has increased, the health risks associated with alcohol consumption have decreased. The same dynamic would most likely occur with the legalization of drugs: some increase in drug use, but a decrease in drug abuse.
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