MetaFilter posts tagged with legalization and decriminalization

Drug war

caddis — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:35:21 -0800

The Portugal experiment. On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were “decriminalized,” not “legalized.” Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm.... The data show that, judged by virtually every metric, the Portuguese decriminalization framework has been a resounding success. Within this success lie self-evident lessons that should guide drug policy debates around the world. (pdf of complete paper) Winds of change are blowing and a primary driver appears to be that very American value - money.

Bad medicine

kid ichorous — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:46:02 -0800

The owner of a California medical marijuana dispensary has been found guilty of violating federal drug laws. [LA Times] FTA: ...jurors had a clear sense that Lynch was not an ordinary street-corner drug dealer, but the fact that he was dispensing medical marijuana didn't matter under federal law. [...] "It was a tough decision for all of us because the state law and the federal law are at odds." Detailed coverage of the trial by Reason TV. Federal raids on California's medical dispensaries were recently featured on MeFi.

Dope wars for policy wonks

PeterMcDermott — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 09:58:54 -0800

Historically, drug laws have been a reactive response to a moral panic. Increasingly though, some governments are now seeking a more rational basis for drug policy. For the first time ever, all interested parties have been invited to get involved in the creation of the UK's next ten year drug strategy though many senior government advisors have been openly critical of some of the premises. Ultimately, arguments about drug policy often boil down to arguments about personal values, and the extent to which individual liberty trumps the collective good. For a long time though, we passed laws based on hypothetical future scenarios that may or may not have been sustainable by the data. One tool for making rational decisions about drug policy is modelling. In the past, this tended to be limited to policy wonks working in government departments, academia or think tanks. However, the Drug Policy Modelling Programme at the University of New South Wales have published their modelling tools and methods on their website. Now you too can download SimDrug and test your own assumptions about what would happen with illicit drug markets if YOU were drug czar.

Economists on drugs

trharlan — Thu, 01 Apr 2004 21:00:24 -0800

A slim majority of sampled economists favor drug decriminalization, according to this .pdf article in the newly-launched Econ Journal Watch.
Via Marginal Revolution.

semmi — Sat, 23 Mar 2002 19:09:59 -0800

Cannabis is given health all clear in UK

4midori — Wed, 01 Aug 2001 11:13:21 -0800

Canada strongly considering decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana