Marijuana was ultimately caught up in a broader cultural backlash against the perceived permissiveness of the 1970s. Proposals to decriminalize marijuana were abandoned as parents became increasingly concerned about high rates of teen marijuana use. Within just a few years, though, the tide had shifted. In October 1977, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. In January 1977, President Jimmy Carter was inaugurated on a campaign platform that included marijuana decriminalization. Nixon ignored the report and rejected its recommendations.īetween 19, however, eleven states decriminalized marijuana possession. In 1972, the commission unanimously recommended decriminalizing the possession and distribution of marijuana for personal use. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”Nixon temporarily placed marijuana in Schedule One, the most restrictive category of drugs, pending review by a commission he appointed led by Republican Pennsylvania Governor Raymond Shafer. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news.
We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. In June 1971, President Nixon declared a “war on drugs.” He dramatically increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants.Ī top Nixon aide, John Ehrlichman, later admitted: “You want to know what this was really all about.
In the 1960s, as drugs became symbols of youthful rebellion, social upheaval, and political dissent, the government halted scientific research to evaluate their medical safety and efficacy. Today, Latino and especially black communities are still subject to wildly disproportionate drug enforcement and sentencing practices. The first anti-marijuana laws, in the Midwest and the Southwest in the 1910s and 20s, were directed at Mexican migrants and Mexican Americans. The first anti-cocaine laws in the early 1900s were directed at black men in the South. The first anti-opium laws in the 1870s were directed at Chinese immigrants. So why are some drugs legal and other drugs illegal today? It's not based on any scientific assessment of the relative risks of these drugs – but it has everything to do with who is associated with these drugs. During her tenure as a minister, she was also responsible for the so-called jewelry law, which forces refugees to hand over valuables when seeking asylum.Many currently illegal drugs, such as marijuana, opium, coca, and psychedelics have been used for thousands of years for both medical and spiritual purposes. Stojberg’s reunification policies have drawn harsh criticism from the United Nation’s refugee agency among others.
DRACONIAN POLICIES TRIAL
The impeachment trial was launched by parliament this year after a legal probe identified Stojberg as the sole responsible minister. A favorite to become the next head of the country’s once powerful far right party, her sentencing could mean more hardship for the ailing political force. Stojberg, who earlier this year was forced to quit as deputy leader of Denmark’s main opposition party, became a symbol of some of European Union’s strictest laws on migrants. Stojberg argued that she was trying to protect girls from being forced into marriage before they’re adults. In 2016, Denmark separated 23 refugee couples upon arrival on her order which was later deemed unlawful by the parliament’s ombudsman as it failed to acknowledge that couples have the right for individual assessments. Prosecution had sought a 4-month conditional jail term. (Bloomberg) - A Danish politician behind some of Europe’s most draconian immigration policies was found guilty of breaching her ministerial duties by illegally separating refugee couples.įormer immigration minister Inger Stojberg, 48, was sentenced to 60 days of unconditional imprisonment, Denmark’s impeachment court ruled on Monday in the country’s first impeachment trial in almost three decades, saying she acted with intent.
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