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Close Topic OptionsArgentina To Legalize Marijuana For Personal Use
Argentina Legalize Marijuana Personal Use - Politics, Business, Civil, History - Posted: 26th Aug, 2009 - 12:51am
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Argentina To Legalize Marijuana For Personal Use
After some young men were arrested with some marijuana cigarettes on their pockets, Argentina's Supreme Court ruled it is unconstitutional to punish an adult for private use of marijuana as long as it doesn't harm anyone else.
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| The unanimous ruling makes Argentina the second Latin American country in the past four days to allow personal use of a formerly illegal drug. The case in question involved five young men who were arrested for having a few marijuana cigarettes in their pockets. Supreme Court Justice Carlos Fayt, who at one time supported laws that make personal use of marijuana illegal, told the state-run Telam news agency that "reality" changed his mind. Argentina's action came amid growing momentum in Latin America toward decriminalization of possessing small amounts of certain drugs. Mexico enacted a law Friday that decriminalizes possessing low quantities of most drugs, including marijuana, heroin, cocaine and LSD. Earlier this year, a Brazilian appeals court ruled that possession of drugs for personal use is not illegal. Analysts see the shift in attitude as recognition that current methods in the war on drugs are not working. "It seems quite clear that drug policy based primarily on interdiction and enforcement has failed," said Robert Pastor, a Latin America national security adviser for President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. "Therefore, it's natural for people to stand back and ask, 'Is there a better way?' " Pastor noted that some recent research has shown that handling drug use as a health challenge and focusing on treatment may be more efficient. "What Argentina and Mexico are doing in many ways is blazing a new path," Pastor said. Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue policy institute in Washington, sees a trend at work. "It's all part of a harm-reduction approach," Hakim said, noting that policymakers are shifting away from getting rid of drugs and toward figuring out how to reduce harm to users and society. Mexico has been considering decriminalization for several years, particularly under the administration of former President Vicente Fox, who held office from 2000-2006. But efforts by the Mexican congress toward decriminalization met with strong resistance from the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. "Mexico tried it under Fox and the U.S. Got so snippety that they had to back down," Hakim said... |
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