Herb Ninja

Decriminalize Marijuana, Councilor Says

11-22-2004 | INQ7 NEWS

DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Philippines -- A city councilor member, who is also a medical doctor, is seeking to "decriminalize" possession and use of marijuana.

Councilor Noel de Jesus, a physician accredited with the Dangerous Drugs Board, made the proposal in a Kapihan forum last week at the Bethel Guesthouse.

Possession of at least 500 grams of marijuana in the country is punishable by death under Republic Act 9165. Possession of marijuana, weighing five grams to 499 grams, is punishable by life imprisonment while possession of less than five grams is punishable by a 12-year jail term.
Instead of a prison term, De Jesus wants to impose only administrative sanctions.

"If we decriminalize marijuana, we will decongest our judicial system and we will be unburdening our law enforcement authorities," he said, citing developments in other countries, which have adopted the same stand.

He said he shares the position that marijuana use does not make a person violent, unlike shabu. Marijuana "keeps people in their place," he said.

He also debunked common notions that once a person became an addict, he would always be an addict. "You can get out of addiction due to an overlying reason," he reasoned, citing his own experience on quitting smoking.

Last year, authorities seized some 14.4 million kilograms of marijuana plants and products throughout the country.

Marijuana is grown throughout the country, especially in the mountainous areas of northern Luzon, central Visayas, and central, southern and western Mindanao.

Fernando Martinez, the provincial action officer of the Anti-Drug Abuse and Prevention Council, frowned on De Jesus' suggestion.

Editor's Note: Published on page A16 of the November 23, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

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"Truth is treason in an empire of lies." -Ron Paul

jdog12

what is shabu?

jdog12

ok.. i should have done a search
Amphetamines are synthetics drugs that include methamphetamine hydrochloride and amphetamine sulfate. They are is commonly referred to as "speed", "meth" or "ice" in the West or as shabu or "stimulant drugs" in Japan. Amphetamines are the fourth most widely used drug after caffeine, alcohol and nicotine and the most widely used illegal drug in the country.
http://www.taima.org/en/speed.htm

solutions

[edit: link deleted, you beat me to it, I found the same link]

Glad to hear this councilor with his medical degree stressing that cannabis is quite something else.

Possible life in jail for 5 grams of weed, 12 years for less than 5 gram..... that's insanity.

I'm tempted to call such draconian sentences "fascist"... heck I will

__________________
3 monkeys sitting under a coconut tree
discussing things as they are set to be
Said one to the other, now listen you two
there's a strange rumor that can't be true
they say man was descended from our noble race
but the very idea is a big disgrace
no monkey ever deserted his wife
or her baby to ruin their lives.
Damian Marley - Educated Fools