Why A UN Official’s Threats Shouldn’t Blunt Uruguay’s New Marijuana Law
Why A UN Official’s Threats Shouldn’t Blunt Uruguay’s New Marijuana Law
By Nicole Flatow on December 11, 2013 at 5:14 pm
A United Nations official charged with overseeing international drug law compliance didn’t waste any time in issuing a public rebuke of Uruguay for passing a law late Tuesday to legalize marijuana.
International Narcotics Control Board President Raymond Yans charged that the first-of-its-kind law to regulate the growth, distribution, and sale of marijuana is a blatant violation of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, to which Uruguay is a party. Under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, marijuana is listed as a “Schedule I” drug, meaning states are tasked with implementing a system for limiting usage of the drug to medical and scientific purposes.
In a press release published on the United Nations website Wednesday, Yans said he was “surprised that a legislative body that has endorsed an international law and agreements, and a Government that is an active partner in international cooperation and in the maintenance of the international rule of law, knowingly decided to break the universally agreed and internationally endorsed legal provisions of the treaty.”
The warning isn’t new for Yans. He issued a similar rebuke when Colorado and Washington passed their legalization measures, although he didn’t go so far as to say the state actions were an outright violation. And he warned Canada not to halt its “safe injection sites” program. Both programs have expanded in spite of the warnings.
More:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/12/11/3050641/officials-threats-blunt-uruguays-marijuana-law/
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