To The Next Level: Marijuana Regulation in the US

Welcome to the future of US marijuana regulation - please watch and share HCLU's new movie!

The filming crew of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) traveled to California and attended the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in LA to find out what are the latest development of the battle for legal marijuana in the US. We interviewed activists from several organizations, asked questions about the chances of state level ballot initiatives, we even saw how people will use cannabis in the 21st Century. Do you want to know more?

PLEASE WATCH AND SHARE OUR VIDEO!

Although the Federal government of the Unites States of America lists marijuana as a Schedule I substance – that have high potential for abuse and no recognized medical use – there are recently 16 states that ignore the federal ban and made marijuana available as a medicine. There is a wide range of regulatory models from unregulated distribution in some parts of California to a centralized state control in the state of Colorado. The medical models are paving the way to the next level of regulation - in which all adults who would like to enhance their wellnes will have legal access to marijuana for personal use.

Last year almost half of Californians voted yes on Proposition 19, a ballot aiming to legalize the use of marijuana for adults. According to Gallup’s poll, this year is the first in the US history when more Americans support the legal regulation of cannabis than those who prefer the current prohibition. After so many decades, there is a significant chance now to end the war on drugs. It seems the US is slowly moving towards legal regulation. I said, slowly, because the resistance of the old prohibition regime is very strong: after all, this is a huge business for the prison-industrial complex. California, for example, is spending 10 percent of its general fund on prisons and 7 percent on higher education. And it is not only the profit motive: the war on drugs is used for social control of poor and colored communities, many say it is the New Jim Crow.

The federal government is still fiercly opposing the idea of legalization, Obama is a disappointment for many drug policy reform activists who feel betrayed by him now when the federal attorneys declared a new war on medical marijuana dispensaries. Most activists we interviewed are optimistic after all: they say it is only the question of time before Americans will vote yes in one of the next ballots and legalize the use of marijuana for adults. In two states, Washington and Colorado, activists have managed to gather signatures well in excess of what is necessary to qualify to get an initiative on the ballot. Will legalizers win the next battle? We don’t know – but our filming crew will follow up this story!

Posted by Peter Sarosi

THIS ARTICLE IS A DUPLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL AT DRUGREPORTER.NET. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO POST A COMMENT, PLEASE DO SO ON DRUGREPORTER BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK

Share

Related articles

Without a Chance - The experiences of the HCLU's Romaprogram

The documentary produced by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, a human rights watchdog NGO in Budapest, introduces to the viewer the most common rights violations that Roma people suffer in Hungary.

WHERE IS THE JUSTICE? - Sex Work in Hungary

"If someone works in the bakery, she sells bread. I am a sexworker, I sell my body, but I do not sell my soul." The HCLU produced a short documentary about sex work in Hungary, and about how the Association of Hungarian Sex Workers (SZEXE) tries to help and empower sex workers.

Addicted to Stigma

One of the worst negative consequences of the global war on drugs is stigma - watch our movie and count the costs with us!