Copenhagen votes to legalise marijuana

Copenhagen votes to legalise marijuana

Marijuana could soon be legalised in Copenhagen, after the city voted overwhelmingly in favour of a scheme that would see the drug sold through a network of state-run shops and cafes.

telegraph.co.uk
By Richard Orange, Malmö
2:55PM GMT 18 Nov 2011

The scheme, if approved by the Danish parliament at the start of next year, could make the city the first to fully legalise, rather than simply tolerate, marijuana consumption.

The drug is already sold openly on the streets of Christiania, a self-proclaimed 'free town' in the city centre, despite the closure of the neighbourhood's Amsterdam-style coffee shops in 2004.

But marijuana has never been officially decriminalised and those caught in possession of even small amounts face fines of up to £450.
"We are thinking of perhaps 30 to 40 public sales houses, where the people aren't interested in selling you more, they're interested in you," said Mikkel Warming, the Mayor in charge of Social Affairs at Copenhagen City Council. "Who is it better for youngsters to buy marijuana from? A drug pusher, who wants them to use more, who wants them to buy hard drugs, or a civil servant?"

The City Council voted on Thursday night, by a margin of 39 votes to nine, to empower Mr Warming's Social Affairs committee to draw up a detailed outline of how the plan would work.

Northern Europe ftw.

Awesome, always wanted to visit Denmark. Sounds like a good reason to start planning.

Odd_nonposter said:

Copenhagen votes to legalise marijuana
"Who is it better for youngsters to buy marijuana from? A drug pusher, who wants them to use more, who wants them to buy hard drugs, or a civil servant?"

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In my humble opinion, this is the right kind of mentality to have in relation to the war on drugs - not just in the U.S., but globally - and also a healthy drug policy for the economy and society in general (among other things).

As a Dane, I can say that this still faces some magnificent obstacles, namely that the city politicians must still convince the national politicians to let them do it. Local government in Denmark does not have the same kind of autonomy as, say, in the US. And these national politicians will, as in every other country, care far too much about garnering as much of the vote as possible.

lulzkiller said:

As a Dane, I can say that this still faces some magnificent obstacles, namely that the city politicians must still convince the national politicians to let them do it. Local government in Denmark does not have the same kind of autonomy as, say, in the US. And these national politicians will, as in every other country, care far too much about garnering as much of the vote as possible.

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The U.S. states and towns are at the behest of the federal government for seemingly every issue. It's pretty bad here despite the fact that we have "dual federalism" and "states' rights" in theory.

They are definitely on the right track.

EndlessSummer said:

The U.S. states and towns are at the behest of the federal government for seemingly every issue. It's pretty bad here despite the fact that we have "dual federalism" and "states' rights" in theory.

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They most definitely are. However, some states, such as California, have still managed to set up a billion-dollar MMJ industry despite the federal government's effort to control it.

Uhhh yea and the Feds are closing that shit up now. And humboldt county voted not to decriminalize pot last year because of the amount of money made around here with it being illegal.

Why won't the UK fucking follow??

Follow up: Legal marijuana gets one step closer

the only dispensaries getting closed in cali are the ones not following the rules completely. they have to be run as 'non profit' organizations and if they make any more than whats needed to pay employees and keep the business running, theyre supposed to give it to the state. that might be a dumbed down explanation but thats how it was said to me by someone in the business out there.

“We don’t want to make it easier to get hold of hash because then more people would use it and be worse off for it,” Hækkerup told Jyllands Posten newspaper. “If you look at people who use hard drugs, two thirds of them started with hashish.”

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Somehow there's always this douchebag.

nowdubnvr6 said:

Uhhh yea and the Feds are closing that shit up now. And humboldt county voted not to decriminalize pot last year because of the amount of money made around here with it being illegal.

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Pretty much. Every state that has wanted to sensibly increase marijuana decriminalization has argued they can't because of the Feds.

Notice how the Founders called the country "these United States" and now it's "the United States." That's because the federal government has long since become the de facto arbiter of what is and what is not acceptable in the country and dictates these to states whether through brute force or through monetary withholding.