Three US states poised to legalise cannabis and defy 'war on drugs'

Can not wait to see what happens with this. It would be a giant step if one state succeeds but it would be a death blow if suddenly all 3 states legalized together.

 

Guardian

Joanna Walters
The Observer, Saturday 3 November 2012 17.15 GMT

With reader comments

Three US states are set to legalise recreational cannabis use this week in votes that could have major implications for the country's war on drugs.

Alongside their choice for president, residents of Washington, Oregon and Colorado – a swing state – will be asked on Tuesday whether they want to decriminalise cannabis.

If the measures are passed, adults over 21 would be able to possess, distribute and use small amounts. Cannabis for authorised medical use is already permitted and regulated by each state, even though it is against federal law.

Support is particularly strong in Washington and Colorado, but a "yes" vote in any of the states would be interpreted by the Department of Justice as an act of defiance against the federal government's war on drugs – the national law enforcement programme that spends $44bn a year struggling to stem the tide of illegal drugs in the US.

In June 2011, however, the Global Commission on Drug Policy declared that the war on drugs had failed.

More...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/03/states-poised-to-legalise-cannabis

 

I think Colorado and Washington are likely, but Oregon's measure seems to be failing. I hope I'm proven wrong, as it is the best looking one of the bunch.

 

Im sick of hearing of states and countries that are "going to" legalise marijuana or drugs. I want to see it happen!

 

we shall shortly see

 

This type of news excites me even though I don't live in the US. If it begins to catch on in the US, other countries will follow and the UK most definitely will too.

 

Righteous. Funny how the country behind the drug war is a front-runner in domestic legalization.

 

I hope it works, California's cannabis is so good because of medical legalization.

 

i am very interested to see what happens and curious about the logistics especially since its in defiance of federal law because at least the "medical" thing found a loophole in the system

 

i am very interested to see what happens and curious about the logistics especially since its in defiance of federal law because at least the "medical" thing found a loophole in the system

It did? What loophole? I never heard about any loophole, just them ignoring the feds (same as these laws would be)

Hopefully at least one of these passes, I'd like to see the response from the Feds. Also, the first domino falls, the first corporation see's the profit, who do you all think is gonna bankroll the rest of the legalization initiatives? The first one has been the hardest to get to happen, but when it does, the dominos will start falling, unless the Feds really do shut it the fuck down. I am hopeful that tonight will be the start of weeds legalization.

 

^ from my understanding the loophole in question is "legitimate medical usage" so its still somewhat controlled kind of like marinol- the rx thc pill but technically yes its still against federal law because marijuana is technically a schedule 1 controlled substance according to federal law
its all so cloudy really this state law vs federal law business

 

When do we find out the results of wether they are legal or not. I'm from the uk, though once 3 states legalise, 10 will follow next year, half of the states by the year after that and within 10 years america will be fully legal... By that time here in ireland and the uk we will most certainly have followed.

So when do we find out?

 

^ sometime tomorrow, i would expect.

Im sick of hearing of states and countries that are "going to" legalise marijuana or drugs. I want to see it happen!

it's obviously important to you - what are you doing to help make it happen?

alasdair

 

It would be pretty wild if one or more of the states legalized cannabis, and Romney (Rmoney) won the election. He would almost certainly come down hard. But I bet that Obama would come down hard, too. Lotsa room for disappointment here, short term or longer term, but I see this as representative of an even-longer-term trend toward the ending of the drug war, so I'm not gonna get too happy or upset about these particular results.

(Okay, I admit it, if it passes in any of the three states, I will probably be pretty damn happy in the short term.)

 

No matter what happens there will be continued conflict between the States and the DEA, but eventually the decriminalization measures are going to get enough support that the States will begin to start challenging the Fed directly in the court system, etc.

The U.S. basically created the war on drugs as the world is experiencing it today. If we can find the chink in America's armour, it will have a domino effect.

The cynic in me doesn't believe it's going to happen though. With the way elections are being rigged with changes to voting laws, and questionable ballot practices, for all we know it could be fixed to ensure that cannabis never gets a reprieve.

 

^I worry about that too. Yet I think Americans are more likely to protest than the government predicts.

 

Measure 80 failed by 10 points.

 

I knew it wouldn't pasd

 

Pass

 

It passed in Washington and Colorado! This will be a step forward for the better. ;D