Jimmy Carter: Call Off The Global War On Drugs

New York Times:

IN an extraordinary new initiative announced earlier this month, the Global Commission on Drug Policy has made some courageous and profoundly important recommendations in a report on how to bring more effective control over the illicit drug trade. The commission includes the former presidents or prime ministers of five countries, a former secretary general of the United Nations, human rights leaders, and business and government leaders, including Richard Branson, George P. Shultz and Paul A. Volcker.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[SitandStay]

09:05 PM on 06/20/2011

Jason J. Carter is a newly elected senator in the state of Georgia and is the grandson of former president Jimmy Carter.
This was his statement after winning the seat in a largely Republican district.
"I am honored to represent the 42nd District in the Georgia State Senate! Many of our State's most vibrant communities and organizations make District 42 their home, and I am proud of the culture of education, service, and community in our district.
I am lucky to be able to draw on the impressive intellectual resources of the people and organizations in the district, like the CDC, Emory University & Hospital, Agnes Scott College, Dekalb Medical Center, numerous places of worship, and many many others.

I also do not think that there is a more active and engaged citizenry than that in District 42. I have been energized by the vast number of communications I receive from constituents, and the number of visitors I receive at the Capitol. You all have done a great deal to help me navigate through my first term in the Senate. Keep it up!

Again, I appreciate all of the input my friends, neighbors and constituents have provided, and I hope that you will stay engaged as we tackle the challenges ahead."

In the 2010 special election for the 42nd district, Jason Carter received 65 percent of the vote. The seat was vacated by David Adelman, the current United States Ambassador to Singapore.

[fumes]

09:57 AM on 06/20/2011

SWAT Team Storms Home; 2 Oz. Seized From Legal Pot Patient
By Steve Elliott ~ News Friday, Jun 17, 2011, at 9:20 AM
​Twenty police officers, some in masks and riot gear, stormed an Arizona home last week after receiving a tip that the owner was in possession of an ounce of marijuana.
The homeowner, Ross Taylor, is a legal, card-carrying patient under the state's new medical marijuana law, and is therefore allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, reports Ray Stern at Phoenix New Times. Taylor is also the owner of Cannabis Patient Screening Centers, a new company that matches up patients with doctors for medical marijuana recommendations.
The aggressive cops handcuffed Taylor and his wife, served a search warrant on the home and found a grand total of two ounces of marijuana and a small amount of hashish, which is concentrated cannabis.
http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/06/swat_team_storms_home_seize_2_oz_from_legal_pot_pa.php

[AndKoolaidForAll]

08:56 PM on 06/19/2011

Someone will have to fix the cause of probably the most corrupted lawmakers on the planet first. Only, the lobby owned CONgress will never pass effective legislation that goes against the wishes of multiple industries fighting to prevent that legislation with 'bundled' campaign contribution checks (blatant legal bribes) delivered daily.

End of story.

[charon]

08:46 PM on 06/19/2011

Carter has too much common sense for his own good. Only points I disagree with him on are 1) that I believe pot should be completely legal. 2) Heroin should be regulated and distributed free by the state. 3) Drugs like Cocaine, meth, and ecstasy should require treatment. 4) LSD should be available to those over 18 by license and through a psychopomp.

[fumes]

08:35 PM on 06/19/2011

pot saves brains:

"Since 2000, research is starting to gather for yet another surprising possible THC/cannabinergic medical treatment, that being for neuro-inflammation of the brain.
The empirical research cited below suggests that THC offers neuroprotection to the aging brain by controlling neuroinflammation.

As the science supporting the validity of endocannabinoid therapeutics progresses, the criminalization of marijuana and the repressive position of the U.S. government is becoming increasingly absurd.

Big Pharma generally developed many new, very expensive drugs to treat conditions that, when studied over time, find that the original, inexpensive, generic older first-generation drugs many times outperform the new drugs, with fewer side effects, at a fraction of the cost. This is the case with cannabis: it's hard to improve on evolutionary perfection.

Remember: You can't spell "healthcare" without "THC."

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/06/worth_repeating_cannabis_may_help_combat_aging_of.php#more

[Sepulchre]

08:27 PM on 06/19/2011

"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the Prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." ~ Albert Einstein

[brooklyncitizen]

08:18 PM on 06/19/2011

And my lovefest for President Carter continues..he is pure awesomeness.

[sixx]

08:17 PM on 06/19/2011

"War on" is code words for corporate welfare payments.

[Nightangle]

08:13 PM on 06/19/2011

Carter - the President with a servant's heart.

[nostrodamusc]

08:02 PM on 06/19/2011

First I do not take drugs, nor have I ever taken drugs, except for medical reasons, and I think anyone who takes drugs such as heroin or cocaine or marijuana are just a bunch of idiots, saying that I also believe that this war on drugs has done nothing to stop anyone taking drugs, all it has done is enrich the criminals and overpopulated our prisons and created another government bureaucracy that needs more money to justify their very existence. Decriminalize drugs and if someone is stupid enough to take drugs let them, its better to tax their habit and use the money to fund medical clinics to treat the ones who want to kick the habit instead of imprisoning them. This war on drugs has also another corrosive effect on society, it has made the enforcers and judges and politicians corrupt and open to taking bribes and the society they are supposed to serve victims of their greed.

[dispagi]

07:58 PM on 06/19/2011

Afghanistan is really just another front on the failed drug war, no surprise that's not going so great. Rampant Afghan corruption? Sounds like the drug war to me.

[SitandStay]

08:50 PM on 06/20/2011

Obama will have a press conference on Wednesday on our involvement in Afghanistan. Hope we're getting out.....

[john frodo]

07:37 PM on 06/19/2011

If Carter had got a second term and Gore had beat GW, America would be a 21st Century colossus, instead its getting repeated swirlys from the Chinese.

[floridaviolinist]

07:31 PM on 06/19/2011

reelect Carter/Mondale!!!!

[EIBis4me]

08:01 PM on 06/19/2011

We did that in 2008.

[brooklyncitizen]

08:17 PM on 06/19/2011

I wish we had...we re-elected Bush senior and Quayle

[Freedom Lives]

12:43 AM on 06/21/2011

Perfect!

[SitandStay]

07:23 PM on 06/19/2011

To those that would defame President Carter, I suppose instead of a nuclear engineer you really do prefer an actor like Reagan who was employed immediately after college as actor or voice talent on radio. Reagan was not acceptable to the military for service overseas.
Or perhaps Bush 43, the cheerleader and another escapee from serving overseas military service.
As president, Carter created two new cabinet-level departments: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He established a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. In foreign affairs, Carter pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II), and returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama. President Carter graduated Carter graduated 59th out of 820 midshipmen at the Naval Academy.
"If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" was his motto.

[medic628]

08:54 PM on 06/19/2011

For a whole lot of present day Christians, the answer would NO!!

[BoulderIntellectual]

06:59 AM on 06/20/2011

For being a nuclear engineer - he sure is an idiot.

[josephRoehl]

07:10 PM on 06/19/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zHmi9y-KLo&feature=share An CBS documentary piece on the hippies from 1967. Woohoo. Wavy Gravy's idea of free food for everyone...that time is now urgently needed. Ginsberg's idea of rainbow love and hipster beatitudes, wow he should have gotten the Nobel Prize. Holy Smoke, it was and shall always be. We'd still I bet all like to live in a world of peaceful, loving, merciful kindness and share our lives and our world as one family. If only we'd gone down this path 40+ years ago. Better late than never.

[SitandStay]

07:57 PM on 06/19/2011

It would take a reinstatement of the draft to raise any consciousness again....if that is even possible. This generation in the U.S. is a bummer.