SENATE BILL: End the Global War on Drugs Resolution (Passed)

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

End the Global War on Drugs Resolution

The Republic of Atlasia hereby denounces the following treaties, effective immediately:

- The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
- The Convention on Psychotropic Substances
- The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

Sponsor: Senator Nix

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

While I agree that the war on drugs isn't working, I also believe it is a situation in which the cure is even worse than the disease.  I cannot support any bill that will move us towards the legalization of hard drugs such as cocaine, heroine, etc.  Unfortunately, I doubt there is enough support to strengthen our drug laws (in a sensible manner, of course).  It is sort of like the war on terror in RL.  Is it winnable in the conventional sense?  Probably not, but what's the alternative?  To stop fighting would be even worse.  I oppose making marijuana illegal and I think we need far more focus on rehabilitation/breaking addictions than there is IRL.  I am also an extremely committed civil-liberatarian, but I am also a pragmatist.  Drugs such as cocaine and heroine are (too be blunt) fundamentally evil things that our society should not (and must not) legalize.  They turn people into de facto zombies.  When many people become addicts, they essentially die on the inside until the addiction is broken.  Hard drugs destroy families and ruin lives.  They cause people to steal from their parents and cause some parents to leave babies in bathtubs with the water running while they're getting high.  Hard drugs are like a disease that destroys everything it touches.  I realize this won't be a popular position, especially not with some folks who I both respect and who are key supporters.  However, this needs to be said.  There is a time for reasonable compromise and I try to look for it whenever possible, but in this case, it is a time which calls for standing on principle.  I cannot support this bill and strongly urge my fellow Senators to oppose it.  However, some good has come from it in that it has drawn my attention to the need to reform our nation's drug laws.

[Sbane]

Wait, you oppose making Marijuana legal, X?

Also, I don't know if denouncing this treaty would be consistent with our drug policies. Decriminalization does not mean we do not still have a war on drugs going on. Only the war against Marijuana has been ended.

[Napoleon]

I am open to supporting this but I would like to hear input from the Secretary of State first.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Wait, you oppose making Marijuana legal, X?

Also, I don't know if denouncing this treaty would be consistent with our drug policies. Decriminalization does not mean we do not still have a war on drugs going on. Only the war against Marijuana has been ended.

No (typo, sorry).  I support legalizing marijuana, but not hard drugs.

[Sopranos Republican]

Wait, you oppose making Marijuana legal, X?

Also, I don't know if denouncing this treaty would be consistent with our drug policies. Decriminalization does not mean we do not still have a war on drugs going on. Only the war against Marijuana has been ended.

No (typo, sorry).  I support legalizing marijuana, but not hard drugs.

Exactly how I feel, I'm glad SoEA Polnut has been contacted, I'd like to hear his insight.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Marijuana is already legal in Atlasia, just so we're all on the same page here.

[Sopranos Republican]

Marijuana is already legal in Atlasia, just so we're all on the same page here.

Yeah I knew that, I was just stating my position.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I will be working on a response, I will say in advance of that, that I am hesitant to support what is a pretty 'dramatic' step to take. I'm all for liberalisation within reason, but whether this is the step we need to take is what I need to work on.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I'm currently undecided. The spirit is noble, but to pull out entirely seems both isolationist and ignoring of the power that drug cartels still have.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I would also be comfortable with renegotiating these treaties to continue the fight against international drug cartels rather than withdrawing from the completely.

However, that will be a complicated process. Furthermore, we'll be negotiating from a somewhat problematic position - according to the UN, even legalized marijuana violates these treaties. As I said in my initial post, we haven't been abiding by the terms of these conventions for years, which is why I've proposed outright repeal.

I'd rather not simply not abide by the Marijuana portion than withdraw completely.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

May I make a suggestion?

It is undeniable that the Drug War has failed.  Make no mistake about it.  However, I sympathize with those who are reluctant to completely withdraw our international support to curb violence that are a result of these drugs, and I don't feel that legalizing hard drugs is the solution.  I feel that, instead, we should pressure countries, such as Mexico, to change their strategy on how they address this issue.  The Mexican president recently announced a new strategy to address drug-induced violence by improving the communities that are affected by it; specifically, poverty-stricken towns and cities.  I think this is a strategy that we should pledge our full support to.

If my good senator wishes to denounce these treaties for their stance on marijuana, or lobby for a change to them, I'm all for it, but I also oppose withdrawing our international efforts completely.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I would also be comfortable with renegotiating these treaties to continue the fight against international drug cartels rather than withdrawing from the completely.

However, that will be a complicated process. Furthermore, we'll be negotiating from a somewhat problematic position - according to the UN, even legalized marijuana violates these treaties. As I said in my initial post, we haven't been abiding by the terms of these conventions for years, which is why I've proposed outright repeal.

I'd rather not simply not abide by the Marijuana portion than withdraw completely.

I'm not sure if it's legal to choose which provisions we follow, especially if we expressed our intention to fully abide by those treaties by signing them in the first place.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I would prefer to renegotiate the treaties first then to abandon vital efforts on other, worse drugs, all for the sake of the almightly reefer.

Therefore, I am opposed to this.


Would this require two-thirds to pass? Does it fall under the treaty provisions of the Constitution?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

If we are unsuccessful, then we would consider something like this. It just seems like the more prudent approach to take, does it not?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Ah, yes, another picture I shall never see on my connection.


Yes, but aren't most wars also started by lack of prudence on the part of someone?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I'm pretty strongly opposed to this; can anyone convince me why we should be breaking previously made commitments?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I'm pretty strongly opposed to this; can anyone convince me why we should be breaking previously made commitments?

We've already broken these commitments by legalizing possession of marijuana, cocaine, and many amphetamines. I think that we should acknowledge that and begin negotiating a new global drug control regime.

Wait...when did we legalize cocaine???  Banning cocaine makes far more sense than denouncing these treaties.

[Napoleon]

LSD is legal too. And banning cocaine makes no sense unless you like drug cartels and violence. The War on Drug Cartels is a better cause than the so called war on drugs that only ends up destroying Atlasian lives, families, commjnities, and cities.

[Napoleon]

LSD is legal too.

Do you know the relevant statute?

23-5

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Thanks for compiling that to-do list. It'll make it easier to know what we should repeal.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I already put 46-11 on the chopping block

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Man, imagine the crime rate in this country.

[Sbane]

Decriminalizing drugs leads to a higher crime rate? Because prohibition works really great, right guys?

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Thanks for compiling that to-do list. It'll make it easier to know what we should repeal.

Indeed