NationStates Jolt Archive

Description: SITUATION: Drugs such as crack, cocaine, steroids, ecstacy, and many others kill many people each year not only due to the drug but also due to hundreds and possibly thousands of additives that dealers include; rat poison, bug repelant, and chlorox for example.

SOLUTION: The countries of the UN take steps to create the goverment controlment and distribution of legal drugs. The following drugs would be legalized;crack, cocaine, heroin, LSD, dope, speed, PCP, steroids, and weed. The resolution would provide room for the UN to expand the drugs included here if they find other drugs widely used.

REASONS:
1.)For too long policy makers have used prohibition as a smoke screen to avoid addressing the social and economic factors that lead people to use drugs. Most illegal and legal drug use is recreational. Poverty and despair are at the root of most problematic drug use and it is only by addressing these underlying causes that we can hope to significantly decrease the number of problematic users.

2.)The market for drugs is demand-led and millions of people demand illegal drugs. Making the production, supply and use of some drugs illegal creates a vacuum into which organised crime moves. The profits are worth billions of dollars. Legalisation forces organised crime from the drugs trade, starves them of income and enables us to regulate and control the market (i.e. prescription, licensing, laws on sales to minors, advertising regulations etc.)

3.)Recent research shows that nearly half of all 15-16 year olds have used an illegal drug. Up to one and a half million people use ecstasy every weekend. Amongst young people, illegal drug use is seen as normal. Intensifying the 'war on drugs' is not reducing demand. In Holland, where cannabis laws are far less harsh, drug usage is amongst the lowest in Europe.

4.)Legalisation would help us to disseminate open, honest and truthful information to users and non-users to help them to make decisions about whether and how to use. We could begin research again on presently illicit drugs to discover all their uses and effects - both positive and negative.

5.)The illegal drugs market makes up 8% of all world trade (around £300 billion a year). Whole countries are run under the corrupting influence of drug cartels. Prohibition also enables developed countries to wield vast political power over producer nations under the auspices of drug control programmes.

Legalisation returns lost revenue to the legitimate taxed economy and removes some of the high-level corruption. It also removes a tool of political interference by foreign countries against producer nations.

Now could someone please help me refine this and get the word out to get it voted on.

Someone please repsond

Description: SITUATION: Drugs such as crack, cocaine, steroids, ecstacy, and many others kill many people each year not only due to the drug but also due to hundreds and possibly thousands of additives that dealers include; rat poison, bug repelant, and chlorox for example.

SOLUTION: The countries of the UN take steps to create the goverment controlment and distribution of legal drugs. The following drugs would be legalized;crack, cocaine, heroin, LSD, dope, speed, PCP, steroids, and weed. The resolution would provide room for the UN to expand the drugs included here if they find other drugs widely used.

REASONS:
1.)For too long policy makers have used prohibition as a smoke screen to avoid addressing the social and economic factors that lead people to use drugs. Most illegal and legal drug use is recreational. Poverty and despair are at the root of most problematic drug use and it is only by addressing these underlying causes that we can hope to significantly decrease the number of problematic users.

2.)The market for drugs is demand-led and millions of people demand illegal drugs. Making the production, supply and use of some drugs illegal creates a vacuum into which organised crime moves. The profits are worth billions of dollars. Legalisation forces organised crime from the drugs trade, starves them of income and enables us to regulate and control the market (i.e. prescription, licensing, laws on sales to minors, advertising regulations etc.)

3.)Recent research shows that nearly half of all 15-16 year olds have used an illegal drug. Up to one and a half million people use ecstasy every weekend. Amongst young people, illegal drug use is seen as normal. Intensifying the 'war on drugs' is not reducing demand. In Holland, where cannabis laws are far less harsh, drug usage is amongst the lowest in Europe.

4.)Legalisation would help us to disseminate open, honest and truthful information to users and non-users to help them to make decisions about whether and how to use. We could begin research again on presently illicit drugs to discover all their uses and effects - both positive and negative.

5.)The illegal drugs market makes up 8% of all world trade (around £300 billion a year). Whole countries are run under the corrupting influence of drug cartels. Prohibition also enables developed countries to wield vast political power over producer nations under the auspices of drug control programmes.

Legalisation returns lost revenue to the legitimate taxed economy and removes some of the high-level corruption. It also removes a tool of political interference by foreign countries against producer nations.

Now could someone please help me refine this and get the word out to get it voted on.

We have long been in favour of drug legalisation in Compadria, particularly given its potential to help transfer control of the market away from the dealers and into the hands of society, so that quality controls can be enacted and drug users better protected. Also, treatment can be provided for those who wish and warnings put on drugs that are sold as part of a campaign, coupled with openess about drug use, to limit consumption and addiction.

For these reasons, we strongly second parts 1, 2 and 4. We would like to see more statistical proof for 3 and are somewhat perturbed by the naked economics in part 5. Any revenue should be used to fund anti-drug campaigns and help those at risk from drugs, for there can be no avoiding the reality that drugs are a serious risk to the health of individuals. Equally, we would like to see the effects of the resolution limited to C and B class drugs. A class drugs should, with some exceptions, remain illegal, but greater social support for addicts, i.e. clean needles, substitutes for detoxification purposes, etc.

May the blessings of our otters be upon you.

Leonard Otterby
Ambassador for the Republic of Compadria to the U.N.

Well thought out and argued, but needs some work to be legal on nationstates UN.

First of all, you are not allowed to reference real life in yur resolutions (i.e. all your statistics, mentioning Holland). Along the same lines, slang should definately be avoided. Legalizing "weed" does nothing in nations where marijuana is not refered to as weed.

Always be very careful with wording your proposals. For example, what is "controlment"? Also, the operative statements (i.e. verbs) are of the utmost importance. Don't state what the proposal "would" do, state what it "encourages", "mandates", "urges", etc. This ensures functionality and make it clear what exactly the resolution does. In your case, are you only looking to legalize the drugs or do you have further steps you want to include (ensuring that drugs are not laced with other chemicals, the licensing issues you mention, education programs, etc)? I would also suggest looking at past passed resolutions. They can help give you feel for the best way to lay out a proposal.

Finally avoid being belligerant. I'm not sure accusing those who are against legalizing drugs of putting up a smoke screen. It provokes anger, and ignores those with legitimate moral objections (i.e. drug usage is against my state religion). Feel free to mention that there are important economic and social aspects of drug usage that are often ignored, maybe even add clauses to your proposal authorizing research to combat these underlying aspects, just dont be antagonistic about it.

I'm impressed with what you've written, it just needs some work before it can succeed on NS. I'm sorry I dont have time to give you more detailed help, but good luck and let me know when/if you have another draft you would like to have looked at.

I would second Frozen Chosen's remarks. Equally, you should try and present it in slightly more diplomatic language, as it sounds a little too passionate for a cool, level-headed debate forum.

Leonard Otterby
Ambassador for the Republic of Compadria to the U.N.

Thanks guys ill rephrase when i repost it for voting to make sure it is a sure shot endorsement deal :sniper: if you see it reworked and your a delegate please endorse it i would like to see how it goes over in voting. Also if you could try and get your UN Delegate friends to endorse it also.