UN Warns Uruguay Keep Marijuana Illegal Or Suffer Serious Consequences

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), a body of drug policy experts established by the United Nations to monitor compliance with international drug treaties, highlighted the fact that Uruguay was near to passing a law that “would be in complete contravention to the provisions of the international drug control treaties” and warned of “serious consequences for the health and welfare of the population” if marijuana were to become legal.

The statement was supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which issued its own that reiterated the need for countries to comply with international drug policies. While admitting that drug control has had its challenges, the UNODC seems to believe current approaches are working.

“The international drug control conventions have helped to contain and stabilize drug consumption levels over decades, and they remain the foundation of global efforts to curb illicit drug trafficking and provide science-based prevention and treatment for problem drug users.”

What exactly are these science-based prevention strategies and how are they different from the obviously flawed strategy of prohibition? The INCB specifically referenced the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which prohibits the production and supply of various illegal drugs including cannabis.

Established over 50 years ago, the Single Convention was the first international treaty to prohibit marijuana – a position that has yet to waiver despite fast growing acceptance of the drug – even going so far as placing the same restrictions on cannabis as opium. Uruguay’s legalization bill – which will establish a government-controlled production and supply market for recreational cannabis – would indeed be abandoning the international agreements set out in 1961.

But contrary to the statements of the United Nations’ drug bodies, the truth is these outdated prohibition laws haven’t been working in the slightest. Uruguay’s politicians can attest to that, with illegal marijuana production doubling in recent years to an estimated 22 tonnes being grown and sold on the country’s black market annually. And many Latin American countries can relate to the problems that Uruguay has faced, which has led a group of influential leaders – including former presidents of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia – to also voice their support for legalization.

Along with Jose Mujica, Uruguay’s current president, these individuals see the global debate on marijuana policy as a pathway to honest discussion and reconsideration of a historical approach that boasts far more failures than successes.

For President Mujica, a widely respected leader who donates 90 percent of his $12,000 (US) monthly salary to charity and has publicly admitted to never trying marijuana before, the country’s groundbreaking bill is part of a bigger picture that crosses borders, reports ABC News.

“The marijuana debate is now open and it’s going to lead to changes.”

Mujica plans to defend his government’s plan to legalize marijuana in front of the United Nations General Assembly next month, where he is sure to receive strong criticism.

Unfortunately, it seems like the United Nations has yet to recognize legalization as a legitimate alternative that could repair the decades of damage done by treating users of certain drugs as criminals and allowing a substance used by an estimated 200 million people worldwide to be grown and sold by drug cartels instead of honest businesspeople.

sorce http://www.truthonpot.com/2013/08/05/united-nations-warns-uruguay-keep-marijuana-illegal-or-suffer-serious-consequences/