Marijuana.com

420Smoker

In the last 20 years Holland received a lot of criticism from other countries regarding their cannabis drug policy. But the reality is that there's a relatively low level of cannabis use in Holland compared to countries with a stricter policy.

A few weeks ago, March 10 to be precise, the United Nations came together in Vienna, Austria to discuss the results of their War on Drugs. A few days later there was another meeting where Antonio-Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, was asked a question by Frederick Polak from the ENCOD.

The question was simple: how does Mr. Costa explain the relatively low levels of cannabis use in Holland, given his claims that easy availability would lead to higher levels of use?

Well, check his answer:
Daily Smoker

Please do remember that these strange, narrow-minded people make the laws you have to live by!

 

Trocisp

Would someone tell me what it says, please? As I have no access to speakers at the moment.

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"No references to the need to fight terror can be an argument for restricting human rights." - Vladimir Putin
"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." - Sir Winston Churchill
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months." - Oscar Wilde
"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who overcomes his enemies." - Aristotle

Buzzby

A Dutch psychiatrist asked a UN drug warrior how he would explain the fact that The Netherlands, with cannabis freely available to those 18 and over, has a lower rate of cannabis use than the surrounding countries where it is illegal to possess in any amount. This directly contradicts the prohibitionists stance that greater availability leads to greater use.

The UN official tried to squirm out from under answering the question by trying to distract the discussion with irrelevant side-issues. When the psychiatrist pressed his original question, the UN official got very defensive and started to make up excuses why this was not something to be discussed in that venue.

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"If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world."
~ Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, 03/22/2008

Freedom_User

Oh, that was a good video. I can see why those guys refuse to believe that legalizing it would make it better. Because, they will be out of a JOB! They are more into getingt a paycheck, then to look for another job!

phreakod98

people like him make me sick, even though itll either fall on deaf ears or not even be looked at i emailed him the same question just because its disgusting what people like him do

 

steakii

I do not see why people dont just fess up to the facts. Why continue to believe something when there is concrete evidence against it. Old ignorant people make me angry especially when it comes to the war on drugs.

Rhymenocerous

This video was truly saddening. One thing I have to question. People like this. Do they truly believe marijuana is bad or are they just trying to cover it up? I would like to think that these people for some reason can believe nothing else other than marijuana is bad. But I don't understand how they can believe marijuana is bad.

chadwick

sometimes i wonder if they war on drugs is still about prohibtion drug use or wether it has moved onto the prohibtion is now about them protecting their pride, if its not their pride then they are doing something else behind the curtains cause their is no logical reason that he should have not given an answer to that or at the very minimum said he would consider it, but i hate conspiracy theorys so i'll say its pride until im proven otherwise

Delta

Protecting their pride may be a small contributer to the issue, but I think the main cause is simply that the majority of people want a war on drugs. Why? Well, it's a vicious cycle. The government puts out propaganda because people ask for it, then this propaganda strengthens the idea that prohibition is working, so the newly "informed" people demand more propaganda, and so on and so on. The only feasible way to break the cycle is for the opposing side to put out their own propaganda in equal or greater amounts.

So let's all donate to NORML (or your anti-prohibitionist group of choice), mmkay?

Freedom_User

I was wondering if NORML could ever get a commercial out there, or even Abovetheignorance. That would be great.