NationStates Jolt Archive

Could a proposal requiring governments to let people acquire & use drugs when these are required for sacramental purposes (i.e. in religious rites, like Communion wine for most sorts of Christians) be classified as ‘Human Rights’, or should it be placed in the ‘Recreational Drugs’ category instead — as has already been ruled is the case for ‘medical marijuana’ proposals — although that would imply that all religious activity was itself just recreational and those people who take their beliefs more seriously than that might well find such a claim offensive?

Mods are the last resort, not the first. Post your proposed proposal in the UN forum along with your rationale for each possible category, and we might step in after you've had some player responses. I'm not going to make a blind ruling here, and the UN forum is the appropriate place for this discussion once the proposal is posted.

I've got ideas for two possible proposals on this topic, one aimed at each of those categories... and would rather not complete both of them if one or the other would presumably be illegal...

If the normal use of these drugs would primarily be considered recreational, and you want to claim an exemption based on the sacramental use, then it would have to start as a Recreational Drugs / Legalize proposal. I'm thinking of peyote, which certain native groups always considered sacramental, but the mainstream population would use recklessly and recreationally. An RD/L exemption for the native Americans may seem like an insult to them, but you have to put it in the context of the entire nation. This is exactly the same rationale we use for medical marijuana.

Would now be a good time to point out that there is absolutely no reason for such a resolution on the international level, as there are currently NO proscriptions about any sort of drug use currently on the books?

If the normal use of these drugs would primarily be considered recreational, and you want to claim an exemption based on the sacramental use, then it would have to start as a Recreational Drugs / Legalize proposal. I'm thinking of peyote, which certain native groups always considered sacramental, but the mainstream population would use recklessly and recreationally. An RD/L exemption for the native Americans may seem like an insult to them, but you have to put it in the context of the entire nation. This is exactly the same rationale we use for medical marijuana.

Okay, that's what I suspected., so I'll finish writing-up that version of the idea...

Would now be a good time to point out that there is absolutely no reason for such a resolution on the international level, as there are currently NO proscriptions about any sort of drug use currently on the books?

1/ Pre-emptive strike: I've seen more than one "Ban All Alcohol" proposal submitted, and even though I wouldn't expect one to pass better safe than sorry...
2/ I was planning to also include a blocking clause, defining legislation on drugs for non-sacramental use as a matter for the nations' governments.