Sitting Federal Judge Calls for End to Marijuana Prohibition
U.S. federal appeals court Judge Juan Torruella told an audience in Puerto Rico on Tuesday that “the only realistic alternative” to America’s failed war on drugs is to experiment with legalization, “beginning with marijuana.”
Torruella, 77, made his comments at the University of Puerto Rico’s law school, where he was a guest speaker for an audience of about 70 people, including the law school’s dean, Puerto Rico’s secretary of health, and many students. Here are some of his comments, courtesy of El Nuevo Dia (via Google Translate):
The judge said the U.S. goal was “a Drug-Free America by 1998″, or “drug free America for 1998, prompting many laughs from the audience. […]
“The only realistic alternative to the policy (drug) is currently experimenting with the legalization of at least some of these substances, beginning with marijuana,” Torruella said.
“I do not see how we can avoid the conclusion that the war on drugs does not only lost time but for some time that loss has had a high human and material costs,” said the veteran judge who gave the example of the increase of deaths associated with drug trafficking in Mexico when the U.S. authorities allegedly managed to reduce the traffic routes in the Caribbean. […]
He said New Zealanders and Americans are the most who smoke marijuana (42%) in the world, by far, and noted that in Holland, where consumption is legal, only 20% use it. [..]
The United States remains “the source of insatiable appetite that drives this industry,” said the judge.
Torruella sits on the Boston-based First Circuit Court of Appeals. He was first nominated to be a federal judge by President Ford, and was elevated to the appeals court by President Reagan in 1984, according to the Associated Press.
According to El Nuevo Dia, Torruella cited a recent study by the Cato Institute, as well as “British studies” showing marijuana is less harmful than alcohol “and therefore should be legalized.”
This is the second time in less than a week that commonsense marijuana policy has been endorsed outside of the 50 United States. On Thursday, a bill to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes was approved by the House of Representatives for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory. Unfortunately, the bill isn’t expected to pass through the Commonwealth’s Senate, where five out of nine senators plan to vote against it.
Tagged with: CNMI and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and First Circuit Court of Appeals and Juan Torruella and Puerto Rico and Saipan marijuana by the author
15 comments
I like this. This is what needs to happen. These are the type of people that need to say, “marijuana needs to be legal”. These are white collar citizens that have PULL.
Excellent. Big step forward.
When will they ever learn?????
The USA needs to follow the recommendation of the American Medical Association AMA and remove Marijuana from the list of Narcotics. We need to stop telling other countries to follow suit when the USA randomly adds another herb to the list of “Narcotics”. By doing so we end up alienating the countries that we brow-beat into following our poorly thought out schemes (the war on drugs, zero tolerence,forfiture/siezure, insert your favorite form of corruption here). After years of wasting money, killing harmless people and pets, ruining the lives of children, and dividing their country they realize they never should have listened to the USA in the first place.
Telling other countries how they should run thier law enforcement agencies is working about as well as us telling other countries how to run thier religious beliefs.
We don’t need another reason for other countries to hate us (Canada, sorry about the Marc Emery thing).
“No veo cómo podemos evadir la conclusión de que la guerra contra las drogas no sólo se perdió hace tiempo, sino que por algún tiempo esa derrota ha tenido un alto costo humano y material”
Better translation for this would be:
I cannot see how we can evade the conclusion that the War on Drugs was not only lost a long time ago, but for some time that defeat has caused great human and material costs.”
Trust me I’m Mexican.
Experimenting with legalization of marijuana. Is that possible?
A question, why don’t we introduce legislation or propose a ballot initiative to follow the dutch model of decriminalization/tolerance? Allow small amounts to be purchased by adults in licensed coffee shops or whatever, only thing different I would suggest is instead of having the illegal “back door,” have the city or state grow it for distribution to the coffee shops. If full legalization will not pass, why not try this direction?
New issue of Time magazine out today with a joint on the cover!!
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS389US389&q=Amerijuana#q=Time+Magazine+Amerijuana&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS389US389&nfpr=1&prmd=ivufd&tbs=mbl:1&tbo=u&ei=M-XbTLrNGMOBlAeh0LjqCA&oi=realtime_result_group_more_results_link&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CD8Q5QUwAw&fp=7845bac492b2c2dd
I wonder sometimes… In the United States, if you have the freedom to choose, and rules are made on what and how you can choose, are you still free to choose?
MPP we need a federal campaign to legalize, are there any congressmen or women that would draft a bill?
I, also, have wondered that very same thing Tim.
American greed.
America’s Distruction.
Plain and simple.
End this insanity or else.
If marijuana remains illegal, then alcohol should be illegal; but if alcohol is legal, than so should marijuana. They are both mind-altering, but acceptable for socially responsible people. However, they are in the same category- so you can’t have it both ways.. Either make them legal, or illegal; but not one and not the other.
Well this is good news, seeing as this is where we are back to. No more propisitions to vote on so back to just getting more members to the movement. Seems like we went back alittle bit but thats how things roll in this free country lol. Guess we just have to be excited over the next 2 years of the new supporters of marijuana. I am trying too
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31510813/ns/msnbc_tv-the_dylan_ratigan_show
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