Paul/Frank: End the Prohibition on Pot - Bipartisan

And once more sane pols are trying to do the right thing. And again the nay sayers will come out with the bogus info to keep it illeagal as usual.
Get real and just get it done. Enough with the bullshi.Enough said.

It was a shock watching KO last nite. He had a running gag through his whole show acting like a asshole at the thought of legalization. Does he think all his followers are against ending pot prohibition?

Now THAT is a picture worth a million words!

Back in the 1960s who would have ever thunk that pot would be legal in Russia decades before it is in America?

A Devastating Failure
It’s time to come clean. Governments can no longer spend untold trillions of dollars waging a global drug war on the citizens of the world. A new report, released by the Global Commission on Drug Policy on June 2, states exactly that.
by Dan Skye
An elite, 19-member commission composed a withering, 24-page paper which states that the “global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.’’ Members of the commission included political and public figures: former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, George Schultz, who held Cabinet posts under Presidents Reagan and Nixon, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, and the current prime minister of Greece. Plus, the former presidents of Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland and Colombia added their names. Richard Branson, head of the Virgin Group, as well as writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa were also part of the commission. As a group, they wrote: “Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not been, and cannot, be won.”
The report urges governments to end criminalization of drug use, experiment with legal models that would undermine organized crime, and offer health and treatment services for drug users instead of incarcerating them.
Naturally, the Office of National Drug Control Policy called the report misguided. An ONDCP spokesperson said, “Drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated. Making drugs more available, as this report suggests, will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe.’’
However, the report was especially critical of the US for its brutal anti-crime approach to drug use. “We hope this country will at least start to think there are alternatives," said former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria.”
Consider the murderous drug war in Mexico. In 2008, the Obama administration pledged $1.5 billion in equipment and training to aid. The results? The number of drug-related deaths rose to 15,273 in 2010, a 60 percent increase from the previous year. In fact, over the four years since Mexican president Felipe Calderon ordered 6,500 troops to engage the “enemy,” 34,612 people have died. Of those, 30,913 were execution-style killings. And still, despite US funding, the market for pot, ecstasy and meth grew. On the world stage, the Drug War is just as ineffective. According to UN stats, from 1998 to 2008, opiate use increased 35% worldwide, cocaine by 27%, and cannabis by 8.5%.
The report recommends that drug policies should be based on methods proven to reduce crime and promote economic and social development.

What a great pairing these two are!! Bring on reefer madness, a little toke for each of us and don't Bogart that joint please; you first Ron - and share it.

Good luck, kinda a coincidence that this comes just before the next election.

Two of the only adults in the room, marijuana revenues will help pay for things people need in their states*:)!

Run Ron Run!!!

Ya know Paul and I dont always agree on everything but sometimes I just love this man. Might even think about voting for him, I almost did last time he ran.

It will be the first bill written on zig zag papers.

Barny Frank has always been one of my favorite politicians . He has earned my respect over the years by taking unpopular positions and the flack that goes along with them .

I am no fan of Ron Paul but could you imagine any of the tea baggers or for that matter Boehner in this scenario. It would never happen. As for the legislation, it has no chance of going anyplace but it may be the seed that will one day take root. One can always hope.

Reasonableness?

You guys are crazy.

At least someone in government is making an effort to do something which makes sense. Good on them both!

I'd prefer if Ron Paul would exercise his credential as a Dr. rather than a free marketer that treating drug abuse and misuse as a medical problem , not a punitive problem. Thats putting the credential on the table. Free marketers don't have credibility on the humanistic sense. Being just about profit has low value, its poor reasoning even if it sounds good in low economic times.

Just another reason to love Ron Paul, and that other guy up there... what... he's a DEMOCRAT? oh no! it seems like parties don't matter when people stick up for the constitution... For once I agree with a Masshole. Oh the horrors...

I'll give Papa Paul a break and skip my usual diatribe. Barney is being Barney and that's usually a good thing. I was watching a documentary, "How Weed Won the West" and they had a great quote at the beginning. How can a nation that forces you to take vaccinations make it illegal to smoke a flower, or something close to that. Peace.

Nice to hear some bipartisan legislation go through. Probably won't pass but it gets the people talking...

Just let this happen! It's time to join the 21st Century. Let the states set their own laws and let people grow pot and smoke it for whatever reason they want. Especially for the people who need pot for medical reasons.

Very good article thanks for posting!

I don't personally smoke but I do believe people have a right to grow and partake in any way they like.Who am I to judge of tell people what they can and can't do.I also believe its disgusting that its not completely available to people who are sick and dying.
People will always do drugs and drink but weed is a non issue in my opinion.
Everyone that smokes does it to relax what's so wrong with that?

Cannabis does cross party lines.

"Yes we cannabis"!

Thanks for the news Rod, was going to post and you beat me to it. I thought Jeannie would have posted it. With this put out to the public, it looks like they might get a good backing for the political race.