Under the radar: US Democrats overseas pass marijuana resolution
Published: May 26, 2009
Updated 6 months ago
Obama’s position on decriminalization unclear
The Democratic Party Committee Abroad, otherwise known as Democrats Abroad, passed a resolution on April 25 recommending the legalization of marijuana in all 50 states.
The news appears to have gone completely unnoticed by all mainstream outlets.
The Democrats Abroad are considered a state party by the Democratic National Committee, which affords them eight elected, voting members. They help U.S. citizens who are traveling and living outside the United States cast ballots in national elections.
The DNC maintains a pool of 200 voting members divvied up by individual states’ populations.
The resolution was first put forward by the Japanese branch of Democrats Abroad. After only minor debate, according to Daily Kos diarist YoYogiBear who says he created the resolution, it passed, moving up for debate by the Democratic Party Committee Abroad, where it was met with some resistance.
“Once the resolution passed our country committee, it was put on the agenda with the rest of the DA resolutions for consideration at our global meeting in DC,” he wrote. “A couple of members of the leadership of DA seemed to think that this issue was not an area of ‘core competence’ for our organization and questioned vigorously whether we should be considering any resolutions that contradicted President Obama’s position at all. Our primary function as a part of the DNC, according to the opponents, was to support the President and his agenda and to help elect Democrats. Implicit in their argument was that this issue would somehow hurt the Democrats and Obama though no evidence was ever presented to backup that assertion.”
The resolution was put to a voice vote during the Democrats’ Abroad April meeting in Washington, D.C.. After two attempts, it was passed.
In the 2008 election, Democrats Abroad aided the votes of American citizens in 164 countries, according to Toby Condliffe, a Democrats Abroad superdelegate to last year’s DNC.
President Obama opposed, but…
Although President Barack Obama made light of a question about marijuana legalization repeatedly promoted on his Change.gov Web site, efforts to topple marijuana prohibition have reached a fever pitch.
The president’s position on the matter, however, is unclear.
Obama, as a candidate for state and national office, said repeatedly that he’s in favor of decriminalization, but during a Democratic primary debate he raised his hand in opposition to decriminalization. (His campaign later said he was confused by the question and still supports decriminalization.) The campaign later added that he does not support decriminalization, but feels that current laws are sending too many to jail.
Obama has written about his experiences with marijuana and cocaine as a young man. In January, his half-brother was arrested in Kenya for possession.
Drug policy reform activists were given a small dose of hope with the nomination and confirmation of Gil Kerlikowske, the former Seattle police chief, as the nation’s drug czar. In Seattle, he was a strong proponent of treating addiction as a medical, not criminal, problem.
Shortly after his confirmation, Kerlikowske declared an end to America’s “drug war,” although substantive policy changes — apart from ceasing police raids on legal medical marijuana patients — have yet to arrive.
Another possible route by which marijuana policy may change during the Obama presidency is by the proposed commission on prison reforms, sponsored by Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Arlen Specter (D-PA). Sen. Webb said the commission, which would make recommendations on how to lower US prison populations, will examine drug criminalization.
Sen. Webb told CNN in April that with this commission, marijuana legalization would be “on the table.”
“We are not protecting our citizens from the increasing danger of criminals who perpetrate violence and intimidation as a way of life, and we are locking up too many people who do not belong in jail,” he said.
Full text of the Democrats Abroad resolution follows.
####
WHEREAS,
The Obama Administration has wisely stopped Federal prosecution of marijuana sold for medical purposes in a manner compliant with state regulation, thus alleviating the suffering of cancer patients and others who would benefit from medical marijuana.
Only thirteen states regulate the sale of marijuana for medical purposes.
Criminalization of non-medical uses of marijuana continues to contribute needlessly to organized crime at home and abroad, illicit drug trade, overburdening of the criminal justice system, and diverts valuable criminal justice resources away from more serious crimes.
The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy heavily criticized U.S. drug policy and called on the U.S. to decriminalize marijuana in a report coinciding with increased drug-trade violence in Mexico;
The dominant argument against liberalized marijuana regulation, the gateway theory, has been consistently disproven, most recently by a RAND Corporation study commissioned by the British Parliament;
According to a World Health Organization survey conducted in 2008, the United States of America has the highest rates of marijuana use in the world.
In the Netherlands, where adult possession and purchase of small amounts of marijuana are allowed under a regulated system, the rate of marijuana use by both teenagers and adults is lower than in the U.S.
55% of Americans believe possession of small amounts of marijuana should not be a criminal offense, according to a 2005 Gallup poll.
In the U.S., almost 90% of more than 9.5 million marijuana-related arrests since 1995 were for simple possession – not manufacture or distribution.
BE IT RESOLVED THAT
We praise the Obama administration for its bold step to make marijuana available for medical purposes,
We call upon states that do not yet provide the reasonable regulation of medical marijuana to do so as soon as possible, to alleviate suffering wherever possible.
We recommend replacing the current policy of marijuana prohibition with a taxed and regulated system modeled on how alcohol is treated in the U.S.
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“The news appears to have gone completely unnoticed by all mainstream outlets.”
Gee, there’s a fuckin’ news flash!!!
“We recommend replacing the current policy of marijuana prohibition with a taxed and regulated system modeled on how alcohol is treated in the U.S.” - I recomend an un-taxed and self-regulated system, not at all like the system we use to distribute alcohol. Im not paying taxes on something I can grow in a window box.
you don’t pay tax on alcohol you brew yourself, either. If you SELL it, then you enter into a totally different arena.
There will always be those too lazy or incompetent to “do it themselves”, and you want regulation and oversight any time someone is going to try and make money off someone else..
Cannabis prohibition is the backbone of the DEA. 99.9% of their work is cannabis arrests/crop destruction. If cannabis were legalized and regulated, the collapse of the DEA would soon follow.
Nevermind that anti-drug laws are racist by their very nature. After the Civil War when the north won and outlawed slavery, first they passed ‘grandfather clauses’ which unfairly restricted the newly freed slaves from actually voting; after those grandfather clauses were struck down as unconstitutional, they outlawed the *naturally growing* substances that minorities were using so they could replace the lost slave labor with prison labor.
But don’t take my word for it, read tinyurl.com/1mn which is a short 20 minute read, a transcription of a speech given to the California Judges Association before Prop 215 which legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes was passed.
Then check out tinyurl.com/potconviction which takes you to a table of contents to a much larger body of work, allowing you to view the first 9 chapters of research that went into “The Marijuana Conviction” first published in 1974 and written by two professors of law at UVa.
Then check half.com for the availability of that title. Although i checked it in 2004, it wasn’t available. When I happened to check again just on a whim in 2005, it WAS available, and I ordered myself a copy (for about $15 total). Since then I’ve checked sporadically, before it was out of print again, people were asking upwards of $80, but as I said, up until a few days ago when I checked again, it was unavailable.
Also while I’m here I’ll tell you, you should check out Jack Herer’s “The Emperor Wears No Clothes,” which you could order online (I have the 9th edition) or you could read for free at jackherer.com .
It’s not a war on (some) drugs, it’s a war on minorities.
I could go on and on about this topic, seeing as how in 2001 I was in a severe motorcycle accident due to alcohol; after 6 months in a coma i underwent intensive therapy (so I could walk again, so I could talk again) and, since they gave me generous doses of legal drugs that destroy ones hearing, I’m now 90% deaf, so I got a broadband internet connection and started researching the history behind the ‘war on (some) drugs.’
Both Henry Ford and Rudolph Diesel designed cars that ran on hemp oil. If those plans had been allowed to come to fruition, we never would have needed a single drop of dirty oil. This is another reason the government will say anything they have to in order to keep it illegal. We could be protecting the planet by growing tons of hemp year after year after year and never need to cut down another tree again. One acre of hemp produces as much paper as 4.4 acres of trees, which take generations to grow; we could have that much renewable resource every year.
Marijuana is a gateway drug. It leads directly to twinkie abuse and mass consumption of french fries.
I do not see the point in this being illegal at all in the first place. Especially since you can grow it yourself.
No conspiracy here. The reason it went unreported is because no one has ever heard of this alleged democratic group. Put that in your pipe and smog out….
@ natty:
Except for left-leaning US citizens living, working in or visiting any foreign nation.
That’s got to be practically ‘no one,’ right?
LEGALIZE NATURE!
(It’s a damn PLANT!)
Laws are for the rich.
They are written by the rich, for the rich, at the expense of the non-rich.
SO - the System being completely compromised, we are no longer beholden to it.
Oh, we can still be busted, but it’s time to quit playing the rich man’s game and start fuckin shit up enough to know that the Status Quo is now going to cost him.
Talk is cheap - I’m tired of you whiny sissies marching in circles at your ineffectiveness festivals.
Bring The Pain to the rich.
Damn shame the stateside dems are too stupid to do it.
PhillyDrifter: interesting posts, and more excellent arguments for Legalization. Thanks for the JackHerer.com site! The history of Hemp is fascinating (”Emperor Wears No Clothes”!) and we’re caught up in this history at a most exciting time. I feel that Santa’s on his way although it’s still a bumpy road. “For thousands of years, virtually all good paints and varnishes were made with hempseed oil and/or linseed oil.” - EmperorWNC
johnlovell- The point is that prohibition doesn’t work. This is not, as the phrase suggests, a “War on Drugs” but an assault on our rights and civil liberties.
The marijuana plant has few negative effects and many positive ones.
Demonizing pot is ignorant and it leads people to marginalize the industrial benefits of a hemp market.
Alcohol and tobacco create a lot of problems but we are free to choose.
There is the possibility that you can get up in the morning, smoke a cigarette, drink a beer and watch porn.
Why would you have a problem with someone smoking pot?
Don’t even get me started on the pharmaceuticals approved by the FDA. Many very dangerous products served up by Big Pharma are allowed knowing full well the side effects and consequences all for profit.
The FDA has been complicit in their duty to properly screen pharmaceuticals and protect consumers.
The bottom line is as adults we should be free to choose. Turning this nation into a massive system of prisons to incarcerate non-violent offenders is just wrong.
imo…
http://opinionsandreasons.blogspot.com/
I recommend everyone check out that JackHerer.com website. The Emperor Has No Clothes!!! The narcotic aspect of Hemp is such a small issue compared to the other huge benefits this plant can provide to create a sustainable society. Suppressed in the late 30’s by DuPont, Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division, then the military industrial complex!!! A true conspiracy of secret government interests and big business!!! Please prove me wrong! If the immoral suppression of this plant could finally come to an end, a brighter future could be right at our fingertips. Hemp provided a domestic higher quality raw material prior to 1939 that was used to make almost everything! Levi’s were of better quality in those days because they were made of Hemp. No wonder DuPont wanted it to be illegal! We might never have had polyester if Hemp was legal. What Horror! The Paper/Plastic bag Issue is a non-issue if Hemp were legal! Investigate 1937 for Yourself! An amazing ConSpiracy that continues to spiral! We are all part of history right now! We need to take back our Rights to farm!
http://jackherer.com/index.html
That he US war on drugs is our longest running and most un-winable war is a fundamental reason for legalizing the weed.
savantster, your posts are appreciated. You always add much substance to the issues, and cut to the quick.
And to Johnlovell, if you haven’t had the experience of getting stoned, getting the munchies and slurping up a double-fudge brownie, you just haven’t lived.
George Schlichten and his decorticator - the “cotton gin” of Hemp. Investigate Oliphant and his Tax Act of 1937. Real Conspiracy! Secrets! Drama! Big Business! Nazis! - I.G.Farben and DuPont and Nylon! Yellow Journalism of Hearst Paper Manufacturing! Harry J. Anslinger!
http://jackherer.com/index.html
Okay, let’s talk reality.
The costs to society from legalizing cannabis would be FAR less than what the costs of prohibition ALREADY are. For instance, in my state, Colorado, before the “privatization” of the justice system here, we spent about $70 million on the Dept of “corrections”. Now, after 28 years of Reagan’s stupidity, we spend $770 million EVERY YEAR on it. That is at the expense of every other sector of the state. Education is literally starved around here, and the roads are a complete disaster, in spite of having our own taxes placed on gas for just that reason. 3/4 of a TRILLION dollars is a LOT to spend on locking up as many people as you can hold.
The erosion of your civil rights is another lost freedom. We say that we are doing this prohibition to “protect the children”, but that is a complete lie. It’s been shown in every study that kids have FAR less difficulty getting cannabis than they do alcohol, and that is ENTIRELY because the cannabis is illegal. The last time we had such issues with the young and alcohol was back when it too was illegal. Learning from your own history is apparently just an impossibility for those in charge. Not to mention, we don’t lock up the kids, we lock up ADULTS, in some places for nothing but possession, not even with intent to sell. Look at Texas, they lock people up for mere possession all the time.
BTW, we in this country screw with 870,000 of our own citizens every year for cannabis, the VAST majority for nothing more than having some in their possession. If we didn’t have a FOR PROFIT “justice” system, there would be NO incentive to screw with that many of us for ANYTHING.
And just what is the DANGER of allowing people to live their own lives the way they choose? Isn’t that what this country was supposed to be founded on? Unless you are hurting someone else, the cops should have NO business screwing with you.
And let’s talk about the cops, shall we? My own experience with them tells me that they are worse than the organized crime members out there. They lie, they cheat, they steal, and they deal as well. They are corrupted on BOTH sides of the aisle. The “good” ones will lie to make YOU look worse, the “bad” ones are taking money to let you off or are pushing the drugs themselves. The corruption is astonishing, and is completely unacceptable. And according to our own history, it’s inevitable when you do something as stupid as prohibition has ALWAYS proved to be. Not to even get into the situation of the increased violence and brutality that the cops are involved with now. I doubt that much of this would be going on if it weren’t for the drug war.
And I’ll say one more thing: If you think that legalizing would open the flood gates of people using it, so what? How often do you hear about someone getting stoned and beating up someone else? Or robbing a bank? Or doing much of anything else that is harmful to society? Cannabis does NOT have the same effects as alcohol or even prescription drugs. It does NOT make you violent, it does NOT make you an aggressive asshole, it does NOT make you brain dead, regardless of what others might tell you. So you end up sitting on the couch lost in your own thoughts, SO WHAT? We have literally MILLIONS of people in this country who smoke cannabis on a daily basis, are they out causing trouble now? What makes you think that they would be more out of control if it were legal?
Do some historical research, for a change. Find out what the TRUTH is, and THEN come back here and tell me that this will destroy society if we legalize it. And for that research, look into a book by a guy named Mitch Earlywine called “Understanding Marijuana” or go to Jack Here’s web site and read his book there called “The emperor wears no clothes”. Both are seriously researched and factual. You might even learn something by the time you are done.
The worst thing about marijuana is the law, specifically the definition of marijuana.
Cannabis is a plant with a myriad of uses, while the definition of marijuana is conflated with cannabis, and embodies an entire paragraph of legalese, with subparts, exceptions, and sinister connotations.
First of all, marijuana must be defined with simple plain language, then it can be decriminalized by removing it from Schedule 1. With so many people suffering economically, medically, and legally because of marijuana prohibition, clearly the time is right for a reasonable definition of marijuana.
There is a simple definition which implicitly permits the States to tax and regulate the many uses of cannabis, and maintains the historically popular understanding of marijuana.
Just update the definition in Section 802, Item 16 of the Controlled Substances Act:
The term ‘marihuana’ means all parts - of the smoke produced by the combustion - of the plant Cannabis Sativa L.
Period.