UN raises concerns over pot legalization.

Drugs

Apparently, the United Nations has concerns following additional states voting to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

VIENNA (Reuters) – Moves by some U.S. states to legalize marijuana are not in line with international drugs conventions, the U.N. anti-narcotics chief said on Wednesday, adding he would discuss the issue in Washington next week.

Residents of Oregon, Alaska, and the U.S. capital voted this month to allow the use of marijuana, boosting the legalization movement as cannabis usage (of things like this tom ford pink kush) is increasingly recognized by the American mainstream.

“I don’t see how (the new laws) can be compatible with existing conventions,” Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told reporters.

Asked whether there was anything the UNODC could do about it, Fedotov said he would raise the problem next week with the U.S. State Department and other U.N. agencies.

The Oregon and Alaska steps would legalize recreational cannabis use and usher in a network of shops similar to those operating in Washington state and Colorado, which in 2012 voted to become the first U.S. states to allow marijuana use for fun. With this boost in the pro-marijuana movement, Oregon and alaska marijuana laws had to change to regulate the use of marijuana.

Of course, as Reuters points out, Uruguay has done it on a national level and states within the US are following suit to other countries by allowing certain patients access to buy weed online or through physical dispensary stores. Many states in America have legalized the use of marijuana, but only for medicinal purposes, not recreational, and most of these people would have to obtain a medical marijuana card from their doctor before being allowed access. Of course, different products like CBD oil allow people to buy their own medical cannabis with ease, and many decide to go down this path instead, especially if they’re unable to go through their doctor. This can help a lot of people.

However, it should be interesting to see how the discussion will shape up since the anti-UN crowd also tends to encompass the anti-drug crowd.

Tom Knighton
First, I’d like to take a moment to mention how great it is to be posting something to The Liberty Papers. In 2009, I joined with a friend in a project he had started where we blogged about area politics. I’d blogged a little bit here and there before about whatever random things, but my libertarian streak had never really gotten a chance to fly.

Suddenly, I had a platform. To say it changed my life was…well, a significant understatement. It lead to me getting to know some pretty cool people, many of whom are here at The Liberty Papers. It gave me the opportunity to first write for a local newspaper, and then eventually buy it. While that didn’t necessarily work out, it was yet another example of me being able to write a lot of words in a fairly short amount of time. So, I did like a lot of people and decided to write a book. Bloody Eden came out in August and is available at Amazon (or your favorite book website for that matter).

Now that we’ve gotten the history out of the way, a bit about the politics. First, I’m probably best described as a classical liberal. At least, that’s what every “What kind of libertarian are you?” quiz has told me, and they’re probably right. I’m a constitutional libertarian, for the most part. If the Constitution says they can do it, it doesn’t mean they should, but if the Constitution says they can’t, then they can’t. It just doesn’t get any simpler than that.

I look forward to contributing here at The Liberty Papers.

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