The Dutch policy would not work in the USA. People here drive a lot more than they do in Holland..... They can afford to stumble around stoned, we can't... DD
Having an expulsion hearing is an excellent way to educate him on the subject. I think it would be silly to actually expel him for the year over this, but I think it's good to subject him to all the hoopla of a hearing to really bring to bear the potential danger in taking drugs not presribed to you. You send a message that it is a serious matter, but you grant clemency at the same time. Works for me.
Although mar1juana, when used to intoxication, does impair performance in a manner similar to alcohol, actual studies of the effect of mar1juana on the automobile accident rate suggest that it poses LESS of a hazard than alcohol. When a random sample of fatal accident victims was studied, it was initially found that mar1juana was associated with RELATIVELY as many accidents as alcohol. In other words, the number of accident victims intoxicated on mar1juana relative to the number of mar1juana users in society gave a ratio similar to that for accident victims intoxicated on alcohol relative to the total number of alcohol users. However, a closer examination of the victims revealed that around 85% of the people intoxicated on mar1juana WERE ALSO INTOXICATED ON ALCOHOL. For people only intoxicated on mar1juana, the rate was much lower than for alcohol alone. This finding has been supported by other research using completely different methods. For example, an economic analysis of the effects of decriminalization on mar1juana usage found that states that had reduced penalties for mar1juana possession experienced a rise in mar1juana use and a decline in alcohol use with the result that fatal highway accidents decreased. This would suggest that, far from causing "carnage", legal mar1juana might actually save lives. http://www.drugtext.org/sub/marmyt1.html
What the boy did was dangerous, and I think we can all realize that, and so should he. But even if something happened to the girl and she was seriously hurt, it wouldn't change my view of it. But the main point here is that he didn't give it to her so she could get high. She didn't take it for recreational use, it was given to her because the kid thought she was in real trouble. And that's why it shouldn't apply to this zero tolerance policy, because it's just not the same.
Are we back to that one again? There already is a law that deals with the issue of driving under intoxication. People who drive high should be punished the same as people who drive drunk. There is a breathalyzer for mar1juana, and they already use it in Holland.
i didn't say that you said dutch drugs policy was stupid no i just said that because alot of country's ahve alot of problems with the dutch drugs law like france. i think it is not wise to punish a boy who just want to help somebody he cares about. ofcourse he should learn that medicins could be dangerous. but this hype is not good for the boy, atleast IMHO. maybe next time he will be to afraid to help at all, even if he really could help.
Actually, France has been cracking down on mar1juana users lately. Britain has liberalized mj policy in certain areas and are no longer arresting users, just confiscating the stash of people who use in public. BTW, there have been very few consequences to this action, the most notable being that they still force the black market to distribute the stuff instead of regulating and taxing sales by legitimate businesses. While I don't think that expulsion is warranted, it is important to make sure that the boy knows that there can be major consequences that stem from giving someone your prescription medicine. It seems to me that in this case, the boy knows the girl and was well aware that they use the same medicine. This is why "zero tolerance" does not work. There can be extenuating circumstances and each case (each person) deserves to be judged individually.
You guys do know that mar1juana is ILLEGAL in Holland, right? They just choose to NOT ENFORCE the laws....but technically it is still illegal. At least that was the case when I was there a couple of months ago, and had the chance to talk to the police outside one of the pot bars... DD
Yes, it is illegal because of the three UN resolutions that are the cornerstone of worldwide prohibition. I think it is execrable that these resolutions bar countries from doing things to improve drug policies in their own countries. The US pushed those resolutions through and in doing so have created a worldwide empire of criminal organizations that will stop at nothing to see that their products are consumed by as many people as possible. First, the US solidifies the Mafia in America by attempting prohibition of alcohol and now they allow criminal organizations and terrorists to profit from our latest failed attempt at prohibition. It is truly sad that people do not see the vast amounts of harm caused directly by prohibition. It is even more sad that it will take a tooth and nail fight to the death to overcome these drug warriors and their failed strategy. We can keep our kids off drugs if we use brains rather than brawn to tackle this issue.
Andymoon- after having read your plan and the responses to it, I must say that I don't like it too well. Don't get me wrong, you are to be applauded for the time, effort, and thought that I am sure went into such a plan, but I honestly don't see how it solves our drug problem. People are still going to overdose on drugs, people are still going to die from drug use, people are still going to rob and kill for drugs or drug money, the only difference is that now the drug use will all be legal. What a great society that will be. If you make drugs legal, people will use them. That does not stop drug use. It seems to me that your method of stopping drug use by giving drugs to everyone is illogical. You're saying that we should allow people to use drugs merely because they will have taken a class, and that this class will act as a guarantee that they will exercise good judgment when consuming drugs. Sadly, this is not true. People are licensed to drive, yet many drive foolishly, even recklessly. Being licensed for something does not guarantee good judgment. While a novel idea, this is completely unworkable and even worthless. All this does is monitor who buys what drugs. It does nothing to monitor what happens once that person leaves the store. All you have to do is look on the sides of the highways of America, littered with empty cigarette packs and beer cans, to see the futility of this plan. I have never smoked mar1juana, nor have I bought it, nor have I sold it, so I have no clue how it is transported or packaged for sale. For the sake of argument, however, I'm picturing a clear plastic bag with your bar codes and trackers on it. That's fine, but what stops me from putting that mar1juana into a different plastic bag and selling it to someone else? What stops me from buying beer and selling it to minors, with the provision that they destroy the cans after drinking? I agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, you are mistaken in assuming that the war on drugs is the reason police officers don't garner more respect in the streets. No one respects authority anymore. It's not because of prohibition, it's a deeply ingrained cultural attitude. We, as a culture, have an attitude of "You can't tell me what to do". And you know what your plan will do? It will make it worse! All of a sudden, all of the people who had to hide their drug use will flaunt it for the police, especially since, under your plan, public drug use warrants nothing more than a ticket. "Hey pigs, I'm smoking weed, and you can't say sh*t about it!" There's your new general attitude. Hate to tell you, but overdosing and abusing will be just as easy under your plan as they currently are. As I said already, your tracking system does nothing more than monitor who buys the drugs. It does not monitor where the drugs go when they leave the store. Let's imagine that you, John, Ricky, Paul, and I all buy our government-allowed portions of herione. Paul then offers to buy the herione off of the rest of the group. The rest of us, now that we live in a society where drug use is legal and acceptable, consent and sell him our portions. Paul overdoses and dies. How hard was that? Don't forget that you're creating an atmosphere with drugs similar to our current situation with alcohol. Alcohol is everywhere, and it is widely acceptable for adults to drink. In our new society, drugs will be everywhere, and it will be widely acceptable for drugs to be used. Much in the same way that family, friends, and coworkers turn their heads when they suspect that someone has a drinking problem, people will now begin to look the other way when they suspect someone has a drug problem, which completely goes against your theory that we will be able to educate people to recognize and act upon signs of addiction or abuse in those around them, and that people will do so. And replaced with the corruption caused by widespread and acceptable drug use.
i coudn't have said it better. if you legalise drugs, there will be less problems. in what way is drug more dangarous then alcohol? of sigarettes? if people know what can happen if you use drugs, then it is their choise to do or don't do drugs. and i think most people will do the wise thing. In holland where drugs is mostly legal not everybody is stoned. most people i know do not do drugs. and for alot of people knowing it is illigal makes it more exiting to do it.
