Uruguay legalized limited possession of marijuana. The law there seems rather similar to the legalization in Colorado. You can possess 30 grams (in Colorado, 28 grams). You can cultivate six plants (same as Colorado). You must register for use in Uruguay. In Colorado, you must only register to be a medical user.
Fortunately the intrepid drug warriors at the UN will protect the children and the integrity of the International Treaty process.
The International Narcotics Control Board, a watchdog group for the UN, has told Uruguay that they are in violation of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
http://latino.foxnews.com/...
The International Narcotics Control Board said that the move contravenes the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, of which it said Uruguay is a member. The convention seeks to limit the possession, use, trade in, distribution, import, export, manufacture and production of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes. It also combats drug trafficking through international cooperation to deter and discourage drug traffickers, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime stated.
I am not clear on their mission to "deter and discourage drug traffickers." Legalization not only deters and discourages drug trafficking, but totally obviates it. You can accomplish with a stroke of the pen, what could not be done in five decades, spending 100's of billions of dollars, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, and millions of years of incarceration.
"Cannabis is controlled under the 1961 Convention, which requires States Parties to limit its use to medical and scientific purposes, due to its dependence-producing potential," INCB president Raymond Yans said in a statement.
Demon marijuana... The INCB has based their decision on strict science.
I have never actually known anyone who was really addicted to marijuana in the strict sense of the word. I have never heard of someone committing a crime to buy it. I have never seen or heard of anyone going through physical withdrawals. I know some people who seem to crave it. If they skip a couple of days, the craving subsides. I can tell you, I Jones for coffee in the morning. I get anxious if I don't have it by 11:00 am. I am not sure about what happens if I skip it for a few days. Maybe I will try it sometimes.
In the end, it is about protecting the children.
The decision [by Uruguay] “will not protect young people but rather have the perverse effect of encouraging early experimentation, lowering the age of first use, and thus contributing to developmental problems and earlier onset of addiction and other disorders,” Yans said.
The irony, or rather "the perverse effect," is that harm reduction leads to more harm! Of course, they can't actually prove anything in the statement, and it is not for lack of trying, but we can prove the horrors, the costs in money and in lives to individuals, families and the state from the Interminable and Futile War on Drugs.
Brief Update: The Organization of American State (OAS) has called for debate on legalizing marijuana as well as the entire war on drugs. So maybe this action by the INCB will force the debate to the forefront.