Journalism of Courage
From Colorado to Uruguay,experiments with legalising marijuana usage. India should take note.
Colorado,which along with Washington state,became one of the first jurisdictions in the world in November 2012 to legalise marijuana for recreational use as opposed to medical use,which was already legal in 18 American states,welcomed the new year with long lines and stoner jokes outside a store licensed to sell marijuana without customers needing to brandish prescriptions. This comes only a couple of weeks after Uruguay became the first nation to legalise not only its sale and consumption,but also its production. These decisions seem to signal a move towards a looser drug policy in many countries. They have prompted a revival of international debate on the nature and purpose of narcotics laws,which are predicated on the prohibition policy instituted by the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs.
Studies have also shown that public health concerns related to marijuana use are overestimated. In fact,a WHO study concluded that the public health risks from cannabis use were likely less severe than those posed by alcohol and tobacco. Similarly,Portugals 2001 decision to allow personal use of all drugs in small quantities did not lead to the prophesied apocalyptic landscape of cities torn apart by drug-fuelled criminals addiction and crime rates both declined. Such experiments should initiate a much-needed debate on narcotics law in India.
