Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Some of the Global Repercussions of Proposition 19



The AP is reporting that certain Latin American leaders are questioning the wisdom of California's ballot measure to legalize marijuana. The five leaders mentioned are Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, Felipe Calderon of Mexico, Porfirio Lobo of Honduras, Alvaro Colom of Guatemala, and Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica.

Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, obviously does not believe in Colombian soveriegnty. He is quoted as saying, "How can I tell a farmer in my country that if he grows marijuana, I'll put him in jail, when in the richest state of the United States it's legal to produce, traffic and consume the same product?"

Whether or not it should be legal for a Colombian farmer to grow marijuana is a matter of Colombian soveriegnty, and should be decided independently of what U.S. policy is. In an ideal world, of course.

It is astonishing, the crass subservience to the U.S. government that these leaders espouse.

Felipe Calderon of Mexico, whose nickname in Mexico is FECAL, is not even the legitimate President of Mexico. He won by 6 tenths of 1 percent in an election in which there were credible allegations of fraud. Prior to his election, the Mexican Congress had passed a law that would have decriminalized a host of drugs, including marijuana. The former President vetoed it. Upon his election, the current President decided to make a "war on drugs" his top priority.

If democracy would have been respected in Mexico, the "war on drugs" would not be a top priority, the country would be under different policies with different results. Instead, 28,000 Mexicans have died over the last 4 years out of the sheer subservience of the Mexican government to the American government.

Porfirio Lobo of Honduras is not the legitimate President of Honduras either. He would not be President of Honduras if it were not for a coup. Some governments of the region have not yet recognized the legitimacy of his government, unfortunately, the U.S. has, and is even suspected of orchestrating the coup.

I do not know too much about Alvaro Colom of Guatemala or Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica, but judging by the company they keep, I would assume that they have similar perspectives. The group as a whole I would classify as the puppets of the Empire.

I have not yet read the California Legislative Analyst's assessment of Proposition 19. I have read an article which is critical of it by former California gubernatorial candidate and marijuana decriminalization advocate Dennis Peron. However, I certainly do agree with the concept decriminalizing marijuana. May California take a bold stance, either now, or in the near future.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,