Anthropology

Marijuana: is it time to stop using a word with racist roots?

In the last few years, the US state marijuana legalization experiments have grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. But while companies build out multi-million dollar grow houses and edibles factories, huge numbers of people continue to face serious consequences for possessing negligible quantities. In 2016, there were almost 600,000 US marijuana arrests, more than for…

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Anthropology

Oregon triples penalties for underage marijuana sales

The new penalties take effect today and will run for six months. They include a 30-day license suspension or a fine of $4,950. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission announced … that it was temporarily increasing penalties for pot shops that sell marijuana to minors. Previously the penalty was a 10-day license suspension or a $1,650…

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Spirituality

UNGASS 2016 came and went but prohibition seemed forever

*from ECfES April 2016 Newsletter “Fighting drugs without legalizing them is like fighting tooth decay without removing the cavity. UN drug prohibition and criminalization, indelibly written into the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, is the cavity. Drill it clean during the March 2018 CND Session.” Europe, Asia, Indonesia, Africa, Australia, and North, South and Central…

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Anthropology

Avoid saying ‘drug user’ to combat stigma, report urges

It said it acknowledged the “negative impact” of some drug use but added that prohibitionist policies “increased stigma”, telling political leaders not to “stoke fears” about drug use. It added that current laws treated people who use drugs as “sub-human, non-citizens and scapegoats for wider societal problems”. The Global Commission’s latest report advises political leaders…

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