drug laws in Venezuela

[Rev. Bob]

There are many messages about Venezuela in CannabisAction archives.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/cannabisaction -an MMM public
archive.

---Forwarded message below is archived here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narconews/message/606 and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ctrl/message/36785 -Public archive.

-----Forwarded message begins-----


From: "Alberto M. Giordano" <narconews@h...>
Date: Thu Jan 15, 2004 11:57 am
Subject: Venezuela Decriminalizes Drug Possession



January 15, 2003
Please Distribute Widely

Dear Colleague,

The new participatory journalism model of Narco News is soon to emerge
from
the lab. Meanwhile, here's some breaking news from our beat, that I've
posted as an entry on my weblog:

Venezuela Decriminalizes Drug Possession

http://www.bigleftoutside.com/archives/000313.php

Today's neo-libertarians, if they truly believe what they claim to
believe
about freedom, really need to take a second look at Venezuela and it's
president Hugo Chávez.

The democratically-elected government of Venezuela has survived
attempted
coups - military, economic, and mediatic - and keeps moving forward with
the
most sweeping reforms and advances in democracy and human rights in the
hemisphere today.

The latest: a reform of the penal code that, while increasing penalties
for
drug traffickers like every other country, has just decriminalized
possession. According to the oligarch's daily El Universal, which leads
its
report in a panic over the reform's simultaneous legalization of
abortion
and euthanasia, here's what the new law does for drug users:

"As personal dose for consumption, the (allowable) quantity of the drug
substance is extended to that which is necessary for average individual
consumption for no more than five days; and as a provisional dose, the
quantity of the substance that is employed for average individual
consumption (according to forensics experts) for no more than ten days."

In sum, the drug addict or user no longer faces prison or penalty in
Venezuela if he possesses small amounts of his drug of choice
(specifically
mentioned by the law are marijuana, hashish, cocaine and its
derivatives,
opium and its derivatives, and synthetic drugs).

This is truly revolutionary. How and why did it happen? This giant step
for
drug policy reform and human freedom in this hemisphere happened because
Venezuelan democracy was defended and US-backed coups were defeated.
This
historic development is a discrediting knockout blow to all the
hysterical
accusers who claimed that the government of Hugo Chávez would somehow
become
"authoritarian" simply because he and the Venezuelan majority don't
agree
that "the market" should govern their land.

The vestiges of McCarthyism or "Fear of a Red Planet" appeared in recent
years even from some quarters that claim they want to liberalize drug
laws.
Our own newspaper, Narco News, took heat and sustained hard hits over
the
past two years in particular for our strong defense of Venezuelan
democracy.
"But that has nothing to do with drug policy," the fearful voices
accused.

Today, you can see the whole truth, kind reader. Fear no more. In
January
2004, Venezuela decriminalized the drug user and the small doses he
possesses. And if the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela sustains the
inevitable backlash from Washington that will now come for daring to
exercize its democratic will to increase human freedom, you will soon
see
other Latin American nations follow suit. Ecuador had already done it
quietly (reported only by Narco News -
http://www.narconews.com/Issue29/article703.html ), but Venezuela's
action,
because of the size and influence of the country and its economy, and
the
context of its role in the current American drama, now provides cover
for
Brazil, Argentina, and the rest of the continent to do the same.

To those of you who wisely understood this connection between defending
democracy in Latin America and reforming the insane war on drugs, and
who
raised your voices across the world to prevent the coups d'etat, this is
your victory, too. Congratulations, remain vigilant, apply for your
copublisher account to amplify your voice across the continents, and
onward...

Apply for your co-publisher's account, here:

http://www.narconews.com/copublisher/application.php

From somewhere in a country called América,

Al Giordano
Publisher
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com/
narconews@h...

Narco News is supported by:

The Fund for Authentic Journalism
P.O. Box 71051
Madison Heights, MI 48071 USA
http://www.authenticjournalism.org

The Fund receives online donations at this web page:

http://www.authenticjournalism.org

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----end of forwarded message----

---------------------


MMM. Million Marijuana March. 236+ cities globally.
Pro-capitalist, anti-corporatist, anti-Fox News morons!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cannabisaction
4.7% of Texas adults in jail, prison, probation, or parole!
Republicrat USA: Nearly half a million people are behind bars
for non-violent drug law violations. More than Western Europe,
with a larger population, incarcerates for everything! Please forward.



from : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ie-cannabis/
_________________
Rev. Bob

Use the Cannabis as a Sacrament ;
http://www.thc-ministery-eire.tk

http://www.3mz.utvinternet.com

[mc nick-grassmoke]

sounds great. Venezuela is probably a beautiful place to live, lovely South American woman and herb friendly laws sounds great to me.
my girlfriend is from Colombia and she says its legal to smoke herb there, USA will just deal with it, its Decriminalized in alot of states in the US, things will get better, slowly but surely.
_________________
Liscensed Herbillest. Contact www.herbillest.com for Perscriptions.
HERB HipHop branded! LEGALIZE IT!

[machete]

I live in Ecuador and I had no idea about it, could you tell me where else can I find more information about the the decriminalization of personal drug use in Ecuador. Nothing has been said here about drug laws.

Thanks.