|
Simplepowa
In Pursuit of Knowledge


Registered: 03/06/09
Posts: 4,310
|
Uruguay Poised to Become First Country to Legalize Marijuana
#18634467 - 07/30/13 03:25 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Unions, Doctors and Civil Society Mobilize Support Ahead of Upcoming Parliamentary Vote
Government to Vote on Issue This Summer
This summer – perhaps as soon as this Wednesday – the Uruguayan House of Representatives will vote on a bill to legalize marijuana. If approved by both the House and Senate, Uruguay will become the first country in the world to legally regulate the production, distribution and sale of marijuana for adult consumers.
The marijuana legalization proposal was put forward by President José Mujica of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) last June as part of a comprehensive package aimed at fighting crime and public insecurity. After a year of studying the issue, engaging in political debate, redrafting the bill, and the emergence of a public campaign in favor of the proposal, Uruguay’s parliament is set to vote on the measure this summer.
In the year since Mujica’s announced his proposal, support for the initiative has risen among diverse sectors of Uruguayan society. A national TV ad campaign, featuring a mother, a doctor, and a lawyer explaining the measure's benefits on public safety and health – has reached hundreds of thousands of Uruguayans. Regulación Responsable (“Responsible Regulation”), the coalition of prominent Uruguayan organizations and individuals that support the initiative, has held events around the country, sparking debate at all levels. LGBT, women’s rights, health, student, environmental and human rights organizations have all united to support Regulación Responsable, alongside trade unions, doctors, musicians, lawyers, athletes, writers, actors and academics. “This is a truly diverse movement comprised of people who believe that marijuana reform will benefit all of Uruguayan society,” said Hannah Hetzer, who is based out of Montevideo, Uruguay, as the Policy Manager of the Americas for the Drug Policy Alliance.
The Uruguayan proposal has also gained attention abroad over the past year, as momentum has built throughout the U.S., Latin America and elsewhere for broad drug policy reforms. Last November, Colorado and Washington became the first political jurisdictions anywhere in the world to approve the legal regulation of marijuana.
In mid-July, former president of Brazil and chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, publicly praised Uruguay in an op-ed published throughout the region. A week later, Uruguayan members of Congress received a letter of support signed by 65 Mexican legislators, congratulating their “leadership” in promoting “better drug policies and laws.” And just this Monday, these Uruguayan members of Congress received a second letter of support signed by more than 100 organizations worldwide, celebrating “the immense contribution and comprehensive proposal to deal with the implications that drugs have on health, development, security and human rights.”
Mujica is joined by a growing chorus of current and former Latin American leaders, who agree that legal regulation will prevent marijuana consumers from being exposed to other drugs available on the illicit market, allow access to medical marijuana for patients in need, and enable Uruguay to reinvest the millions of dollars currently flowing into the pockets of drug traffickers into education, treatment and prevention of problematic drug use. In May, the Organization of American States produced a report, commissioned by heads of state of the region, that included marijuana legalization as a likely policy alternative and predicted a hemispheric move toward marijuana legalization in the coming years.
The bill will first be voted on in the Uruguayan House and, if approved, passed to the Senate. The governing coalition, the Frente Amplio, has majorities in both houses, which would mean approval for the measure if all legislators vote along party lines. “By approving this measure, Uruguay will take the broad regional discussion on alternatives to drug prohibition one step further. It will represent a concrete advance in line with growing anti-drug war rhetoric in Latin America,” said Hetzer.
Press Release | 07/30/2013 Contact: Tony Newman: 646-335-5384 or Hannah Hetzer: hhetzer@drugpolicy.org http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2013/07/uruguay-poised-become-first-country-legalize-marijuana
--------------------
Carl Sagan - "Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." --- Robert Pirsig - "When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion." --- Brian Cox - "[One] problem with today’s world is that everyone believes they have the right to express their opinion AND have others listen to it. The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense."
|
redeyesmj
werdo



Registered: 12/04/08
Posts: 4,127
Loc: Middle of kansas
|
Re: Uruguay Poised to Become First Country to Legalize Marijuana [Re: Simplepowa]
#18634496 - 07/30/13 03:30 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
yeay for uruguay
-------------------- Where am I at?
[/url]  “To be godless is probably the first step to innocence," he said, "to lose the sense of sin and subordination, the false grief for things supposed to be lost." So by innocence you mean not an absence of experience, but an absence of illusions." An absence of need for illusions," he said. "A love of and respect for what is right before your eyes.”― Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat
|
crimsonking91
Stranger

Registered: 02/19/13
Posts: 188
Last seen: 10 years, 5 months
|
Re: Uruguay Poised to Become First Country to Legalize Marijuana [Re: redeyesmj]
#18637109 - 07/31/13 01:39 AM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
I have a feeling weed will be lagalized soon, I'm not talking months at least five years maybe but whoknows it seems to be gaining momentum
|
Lizard Eyes
Lost Soul



Registered: 11/26/12
Posts: 1,876
Loc: Right Where I'm supposed ...
Last seen: 7 years, 2 months
|
Re: Uruguay Poised to Become First Country to Legalize Marijuana [Re: crimsonking91]
#18637211 - 07/31/13 02:45 AM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Why does the article say Washington and Colorado are the first places to make it legal...? What about Amsterdam, Portugal, is this legal vs decriminalization semantics?
--------------------
 Every little thing is gonna be alright All you need is love Nobody's right, Nobody's wrong, Life's just a game it's just one epic holiday!
|
Global_Roaming
purity of essence


Registered: 06/06/13
Posts: 300
Loc: over the fucking rainbow...
|
Re: Uruguay Poised to Become First Country to Legalize Marijuana [Re: Lizard Eyes]
#18637390 - 07/31/13 05:02 AM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Viva la weed revolution!
-------------------- /peace out brothers and sisters

|
Maharishi_2_U
Opt Out Super Fag


Registered: 10/21/09
Posts: 6,316
Loc: The Streets
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
|
Re: Uruguay Poised to Become First Country to Legalize Marijuana [Re: Lizard Eyes]
#18639280 - 07/31/13 01:46 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Lizard Eyes said: Why does the article say Washington and Colorado are the first places to make it legal...? What about Amsterdam, Portugal, is this legal vs decriminalization semantics? 
Marijuana has never been legal in NL, tolerated; but never legal.
|
huffinglue
tryin to stay sober


Registered: 09/26/08
Posts: 450
Loc: Texas
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
|
Re: Uruguay Poised to Become First Country to Legalize Marijuana [Re: Lizard Eyes]
#18639586 - 07/31/13 02:42 PM (10 years, 9 months ago) |
|
|
To answer your question, yes. Weed has never been truly 'legel' in any of those places. Also, I don't know how much or even if we give Uruguay any money, but isn't that one of the main reasons so many countries havn't legalized yet?
-------------------- I fucking hate grammer nazis! Yes, I can't spell. Yes, I don't have perfect grammer. I post from my phone and dont give a shit about people whose lifes are so boring they get off on putting people down for not having perfect fucking grammer, even though they know excactly what there saying.. Fuck You. It's just a ride mang...
|
|