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

[Sbane]

There will be no repealing of common sense legislation that ensures those who need help aren't thrown into jail while I am Senator! You guys want users to be put into jail? There is a difference between decriminalization and legalization. I suggest you guys understand the difference.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I certainty hope the senators who support re-criminalizing drugs have a plan to pay for this without deficit spending or raising taxes, because building all those new jails ain't gonna be cheap.  Now, if we're going to help these drug addicts rather than treat them like the scum of society, maybe there can be an effective and moral drug policy put in place that's worth the imminent cost.

[Napoleon]

I had thought that drug law liberalization was widely considered to be one of the most significant progressive accomplishments in Atlasian history.

There are only a few us of left from that era. You have to remember that many people aren't aware of past laws, and that many on the "Atlasian New Left" aren't nearly as interested in these sort of issues despite the huge impact on families, communities, public safety, public health, and national security. I think traditional progressivism is slowly making a come back though.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Wasn't "Traditional" Progressivism the kind of concept that pushed prohibition way back in the day?

[Napoleon]

Wasn't "Traditional" Progressivism the kind of concept that pushed prohibition way back in the day?

no, I am talking about the brand of progressivism the JCP promoted. You know, the good ol days.

[Marokai Backbeat]

social liberalism social liberalism social liberalism

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Wasn't "Traditional" Progressivism the kind of concept that pushed prohibition way back in the day?

no, I am talking about the brand of progressivism the JCP promoted. You know, the good ol days.

JCP? Isn't that the initials of a bankrupt department store, or something?

[Napoleon]

social liberalism social liberalism social liberalism

ah, yeah, imprisoning people for ridiculous reasons doesn't have any sort of economic impact.

[Marokai Backbeat]

social liberalism social liberalism social liberalism

ah, yeah, imprisoning people for ridiculous reasons doesn't have any sort of economic impact.

And of course, you know I don't think that. The Consolidated Marjuana Regulation Act was my proposal, I support the vast majority of most of the rest of decriminalizations that we've passed in prior years (with some exceptions, such as your cocaine bill) I just don't define myself on the basis of drug policy or other token social policies that you'd find gaining traction on a Facebook campaign.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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Sponsor Feedback: Origination
Status: The VP can call 24 hours on objections to the adoption of the amendment.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I'll support the amendment, but as for the bill itself, my opposition remains as strong as ever.  I will filibuster this if necessary, but hopefully it won't come to that.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I certainty hope the senators who support re-criminalizing drugs have a plan to pay for this without deficit spending or raising taxes, because building all those new jails ain't gonna be cheap.  Now, if we're going to help these drug addicts rather than treat them like the scum of society, maybe there can be an effective and moral drug policy put in place that's worth the imminent cost.

There has to be a balance between incarceration and rehabilitation.  Rehabilitation will play a major role in any serious effort to combat the scourge of hard drugs.  However, the balance scale has tilted far too heavily in that direction of late.  Using hard drugs is not a victimless crime, it destroys lives.  It is only a matter of time before those who use meth, cocaine, heroine, etc are dead on the inside (unless the addiction is broken).  It is to our nation's undying shame that we have legalized the use of these truly evil substances.  Marijuana is different, it is not a hard drug, I have no problem with it remaining legal.  As for your concern about the cost, Governor, I think that we will need some reasonable spending cuts and tax increases to help pay for new jails, but I also think we need to invest a great deal of money into treatment programs for addicts.  We cannot merely give up on the victims of this scourge.  With help, many can be saved and we owe it to them to help.  But again, there must be balance and we simply do not have that right now.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

There will be no repealing of common sense legislation that ensures those who need help aren't thrown into jail while I am Senator! You guys want users to be put into jail? There is a difference between decriminalization and legalization. I suggest you guys understand the difference.

Senator Sbane, with all due respect, you cannot simply order the Senate not to pass laws you don't like.  That's what votes are for, to decide matters like this.  However, there may or may not be a vote on this for quite some time.  We owe it to The People to take the time to have a full and complete debate of issues as important as this bill rather than rushing to a vote.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I certainty hope the senators who support re-criminalizing drugs have a plan to pay for this without deficit spending or raising taxes, because building all those new jails ain't gonna be cheap.  Now, if we're going to help these drug addicts rather than treat them like the scum of society, maybe there can be an effective and moral drug policy put in place that's worth the imminent cost.

There has to be a balance between incarceration and rehabilitation.  Rehabilitation will play a major role in any serious effort to combat the scourge of hard drugs.  However, the balance scale has tilted far too heavily in that direction of late.  Using hard drugs is not a victimless crime, it destroys lives.  It is only a matter of time before those who use meth, cocaine, heroine, etc are dead on the inside (unless the addiction is broken).  It is to our nation's undying shame that we have legalized the use of these truly evil substances.  Marijuana is different, it is not a hard drug, I have no problem with it remaining legal.  As for your concern about the cost, Governor, I think that we will need some reasonable spending cuts and tax increases to help pay for new jails, but I also think we need to invest a great deal of money into treatment programs for addicts.  We cannot merely give up on the victims of this scourge.  With help, many can be saved and we owe it to them to help.  But again, there must be balance and we simply do not have that right now.

The new jails will only be useful for punishing dealers and parents whose drug addictions impact their children.  If you jail a sick person, simply put, you're not helping them.  You're not rehabilitating them.  And a clear distinction needs to be made when determining how to deal with individuals involved with drugs.  One should not have to judge whether a harmless user deserves x% of incarceration or x% of rehabilitation.  Rehabilitation must be the primary goal.

I stated in my campaign thread that I also oppose cocaine as a legal drug, however, I insist that you cannot treat a person who was unfortunately drawn into these circumstances as a criminal, as is done in the United States.  The last thing addicts need is to have to endure the same conditions as rapists and murderers, let alone be forced to be near them every day; which I don't think you're advocating for, but I think this must be made clear.

We should also consider the racial biases associated with the American crime system, and ensure that such biases don't become a problem in our country.

[Sbane]

There will be no repealing of common sense legislation that ensures those who need help aren't thrown into jail while I am Senator! You guys want users to be put into jail? There is a difference between decriminalization and legalization. I suggest you guys understand the difference.

Senator Sbane, with all due respect, you cannot simply order the Senate not to pass laws you don't like.  That's what votes are for, to decide matters like this.  However, there may or may not be a vote on this for quite some time.  We owe it to The People to take the time to have a full and complete debate of issues as important as this bill rather than rushing to a vote.

I will do my best to block any attempt to recriminalize drugs. Anything less would not be representing the wishes of my constituents in the Pacific.

Also no hard drugs have been legalized. While I may not be able to order this Senate what to do, I do think I can tell you guys to at least educate yourself on the differences between decriminalization and legalization. Anyone pushing hard drugs is still a criminal. Anyone using those drugs is not. I don't think putting them in jail helps them. If you want to create more programs to help them, I am open to that, but I will oppose any attempts to put them in jail. Addiction is a disease. Let's treat it like that.

[Napoleon]

How hard is it for people to realize that most "users" are not "addicts"?

[Napoleon]

How hard is it for people to realize that most "users" are not "addicts"? Wasting money building prisons is not a solution to any problem.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Napoleon being a frequent cocaine user would explain a few things.

[Maxwell]

I have to say I'm glad Napoleon and Sbane are willing to fight to good fight on this issue. I will have a hard time voting for any candidate who wants to re-start the War on Drugs. If there were a War on Drugs in Atlas already and they just didn't want to end it, I could understand, but wanting to go back to blowing billions of dollars, ruining many innocent lives, and taking cops attention away from real crimes does not make an ounce of sense to me when we are living in a country where we have already come to the realization that we can't afford the immoral War on Drugs. We are in a better place as is.

[Marokai Backbeat]

For whatever it's worth I wholeheartedly support this proposal and everything, and I don't think it will have much trouble passing in the end. It's practically a formality, anyway, as we've already violated a s**t-ton of the stipulations in those treaties anyway.

[Sbane]

How hard is it for people to realize that most "users" are not "addicts"?

Yeah this is true as well. If we consider magic mushrooms to be a hard drug, it would be very hard for someone to actually get addicted to it. Mainlining heroin might be a different matter. Of course, most opiate addicts don't start there.

[Sopranos Republican]

I support the amendment, but I will have to think about the bill, if I'm still here at final vote.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I would absolutely support the amendment (and now the resolution as amended).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

There will be no repealing of common sense legislation that ensures those who need help aren't thrown into jail while I am Senator! You guys want users to be put into jail? There is a difference between decriminalization and legalization. I suggest you guys understand the difference.

Senator Sbane, with all due respect, you cannot simply order the Senate not to pass laws you don't like.  That's what votes are for, to decide matters like this.  However, there may or may not be a vote on this for quite some time.  We owe it to The People to take the time to have a full and complete debate of issues as important as this bill rather than rushing to a vote.

I will do my best to block any attempt to recriminalize drugs. Anything less would not be representing the wishes of my constituents in the Pacific.

Also no hard drugs have been legalized. While I may not be able to order this Senate what to do, I do think I can tell you guys to at least educate yourself on the differences between decriminalization and legalization. Anyone pushing hard drugs is still a criminal. Anyone using those drugs is not. I don't think putting them in jail helps them. If you want to create more programs to help them, I am open to that, but I will oppose any attempts to put them in jail. Addiction is a disease. Let's treat it like that.

Fair enough, I will be the first to admit when I am wrong.  I missed the point you were making, if dealers will still be prosecuted, than the domestic laws don't need to be changed (I'd prefer that they were, but I won't actively pursue that).  That said, I still strongly oppose formally withdrawing from these agreements until we have an alternative global framework for dealing with this issue.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

There will be no repealing of common sense legislation that ensures those who need help aren't thrown into jail while I am Senator! You guys want users to be put into jail? There is a difference between decriminalization and legalization. I suggest you guys understand the difference.

Senator Sbane, with all due respect, you cannot simply order the Senate not to pass laws you don't like.  That's what votes are for, to decide matters like this.  However, there may or may not be a vote on this for quite some time.  We owe it to The People to take the time to have a full and complete debate of issues as important as this bill rather than rushing to a vote.

I will do my best to block any attempt to recriminalize drugs. Anything less would not be representing the wishes of my constituents in the Pacific.

Also no hard drugs have been legalized. While I may not be able to order this Senate what to do, I do think I can tell you guys to at least educate yourself on the differences between decriminalization and legalization. Anyone pushing hard drugs is still a criminal. Anyone using those drugs is not. I don't think putting them in jail helps them. If you want to create more programs to help them, I am open to that, but I will oppose any attempts to put them in jail. Addiction is a disease. Let's treat it like that.

Fair enough, I will be the first to admit when I am wrong.  I missed the point you were making, if dealers will still be prosecuted, than the domestic laws don't need to be changed (I'd prefer that they were, but I won't actively pursue that).  That said, I still strongly oppose formally withdrawing from these agreements until we have an alternative global framework for dealing with this issue.

Actually, upon further reflection I will still actively pursue recriminalization of hard drug use.  However, it won't be the main priority on this issue (for now that will be opposing regressive legislation like this bill).