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Christopher Ingraham writes in the Washington Post that many countries are taking a close look at what's happening in Colorado and Washington state to learn lessons that can be applied to their own situations and so far, the news coming out of Colorado and Washington is overwhelmingly positive. Dire consequences predicted by reform opponents have failed to materialize. If anything, societal and economic indicators are moving in a positive direction post-legalization. Colorado marijuana tax revenues for fiscal year 2014-2015 are on track to surpass projections.
Lisa Sanchez, a program manager at México Unido Contra la Delincuencia, a Mexican non-profit devoted to promoting "security, legality and justice", underscored how legalization efforts in the U.S. are having powerful ripple effects across the globe: events in Colorado and Washington have "created political space for Latin American countries to have a real debate [about drug policy]". She noted that motivations for reform in Latin America are somewhat different than U.S. motivations - one main driver is a need to address the epidemic of violence on those countries that is fuelled directly by prohibitionist drug war policies. Mexico's president has given signs he's open to changes in that country's marijuana laws to help combat cartel violence. Sandeep Chawla, former deputy director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, notes that one of the main obstacles to meaningful reform is layers of entrenched drug control bureaucracies at the international and national levels - just in the U.S., think of the DEA, ONDCP and NIDA, among others - for whom a relaxation of drug control laws represents an undermining of their reason for existence: "if you create a bureaucracy to solve a particular problem, when the problem is solved that bureaucracy is out of a job".
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday October 21 2014, @08:19AM
Nah, you've read the law wrong.
GONZALES V. RAICH (03-1454) 545 U.S. 1 (2005) 352 F.3d 1222, vacated and remanded. [cornell.edu]
Gonzales v. Raich [wikipedia.org]
The government's Commerce Clause powers are so vast, they extend to intrastate production of marijuana. Congress can vote to decriminalize marijuana, and Eric Holder has backed down on enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in some states under some circumstances, but don't be fooled into believing that the states can suddenly supersede the federal government on the regulation of drugs.
I also believe your prediction of a swift turnabout on recreational marijuana by the states and then the federal government is premature. It's a prediction that works for gay marriage, a civil rights issue that is enjoying support from the courts, and will probably lead to a successful Supreme Court challenge. Marijuana is going to be easier for politicians to oppose, even if more than 2 states legalize recreational marijuana.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]