I. The Dominoes Are Falling
Now that Uruguay has become the first country in the world to legalize the production and sale of cannabis (2), let’s take a look at an updated map of Wikipedia’s legality of cannabis by country. In addition to the beautiful blue speck representing Uruguay in South America, please pay close attention to the two areas shown in the United States of America, expect there to be more (2).
The President of Uruguay, José Mujica, "dismissed the criticism as a double standard, pointing out that the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington have already legalized weed and that both of the states’ populations individually exceed Uruguay’s 3.4 million inhabitants.
"'Do they have two discourses, one for Uruguay and another for those who are strong?' Mujica asked."
click to enlarge - Source: “Legality of cannabis by country”
II. The Tides Are Turning
With the federal government stating that they will not interfere with the legalization of cannabis in Washington State and Colorado, and corporate shills like John McCain and mainstream pundits like Dr. Sanjay Gupta favoring legalization of cannabis, we might well be on our way towards an age of enlightenment.
In Historic Move, Feds Won't Prosecute States That Legalize Pot
III. The War on Drugs Is Ending
What we know for sure is that we’re moving in the right direction and our transformation is reverberating across the globe, to the dismay of some (2).
So while dinosaurs like Canada’s Stephen Harper spew garbage trying to justify their stance on prohibition by getting lost in their own circular argument, some of the greatest thinkers of our time are pointing out the obvious, that the war on drugs is a War on Consciousness:
“I stand here invoking the hard-won right of freedom of speech to call for and demand another right to be recognised and that is the right of adult sovereignty over consciousness. There’s a war on consciousness in our society, and if we as adults are not allowed to make sovereign decisions about what to experience with our own consciousness while doing no harm to others, including the decision to use responsibly ancient and sacred visionary plants, then we cannot claim to be free in any way and it’s useless for our society to go around the world imposing our form of democracy on others while we nourish this rot at the heart of society and we do not allow individual freedom over consciousness.” - Graham Hancock, 12 January 2013, TEDx conference in Whitechapel, London
The War on Consciousness - Graham Hancock (Removed TED Talk)
IV. Prohibitionists Just Won’t Give Up the Ghost
Even though many positive changes have taken place on the global landscape in response to the complete madness of the continuation of America’s War on Drugs, we have been unsuccessful in eliminating the control that prohibitionists and prison profiteers have over our governments.
In short, law enforcement agencies and their affiliates are profiting from the war on drugs, so in their mindset, damn be the public interest. They have proven that they are willing to do anything, including threatening and coercing defendants to forging signatures and tampering with evidence, to continue this war, destroying countless lives in the process.
A Marijuana Arrest
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.” - C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology (Making of Modern Theology)
The irony is that this war and the destruction that it unleashes can be brought to an end within an instant, if it was so desired. All that is required is to end prohibition, to repeal one law.
We know that the end to prohibition will have positive effects because precedent for this has already been set. When prohibition of alcohol ended, so did most of the violence associated with gang warfare, as did much of the corruption in government. When prohibition ended, precious resources were made available again and a major source of revenue and employment was established.
These same findings have also been observed in Portugal’s experiment with drug decriminalization.
Video - Policy Forum, Full Report by Glenn Greenwald
The United Nations has also confirmed these findings in its annual report on the state of global drug policy, and many countries have been paying-heed. Drug liberalization is sweeping through major parts of Europe, Latin America, as well as numerous municipalities and States within the United States of America.
The only reason that the war on drugs continues to this day is because certain sectors of government, criminal organizations, and powerful corporation don’t want it to end since its continuation guarantees them flow of funds.
Judge Jim Gray on The Six Groups Who Benefit From Drug Prohibition
All of the above is common knowledge to anyone who has remotely researched this topic, or for that matter, even thought about it.
On the behest of a select minority that profit from prohibition, we have been waging a multi-decade war on cannabis that spans the globe, costs trillions of dollars, destroys millions of lives, and consumes precious resources. Stupid.
Retired Police Captain demolishes the War on Drugs
V. How to End Prohibition
As for what we, personally, can do to help end America’s war on drugs? Our best option is to support grassroots organizations that are working towards repealing prohibition, they did, after all, get the ball rolling on this.
“In 1973 Oregon became the first state to modify its law and decriminalize marijuana use, which meant possession became a civil offense punishable by a fine. A key reason for this legislative change was pressure exerted by the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML), a private citizens group founded in 1971 that believed drug laws were unfair to recreational users."Below you will find the names and websites of some of the more prominent groups spearheading the battle to end prohibition in the United States and Canada. They are trying to bring sanity back into our lives and I’m sure they would appreciate our support as much as we appreciate their efforts.
Organizations Working Towards Ending Prohibition
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)
Erowid
Moms for Marijuana
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)
DrugSense
Educators For Sensible Drug Policy (EFSDP)
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (USA) and NORML Canada
The November Coalition
Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER)
Drug Policy Alliance (DPA Network)
