The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is beginning the New Year by coordinating the nomination of the Netherlands for a Nobel Prize for its achievements in minimizing drug use in its citizens, while at the same time restricting imprisonment.
With few peers at the international level and despite tremendous pressure from the United States, the Dutch government and its people have proven for more than 30 years that it is more cost effective, humane, and practical to be “smart on drugs” rather than “tough on drugs.”
The following quotes from physician Stephen H. Frye’s book ‘Twenty-five Reasons to Legalize Drugs – We Really Lost This War!’ document the validity and appropriateness of this nomination:
“The drug war, not the drugs, kills people.
This is now a real war. Although it started out as political rhetoric, it’s become a genuinely deadly conflict…It has caused hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths and untold misery, especially to our children, teens, women, and minorities. And like all wars, it’s been hugely expensive and wasteful; to date, it has cost more than a trillion dollars. And this is just in the United States; the international devastation is incomprehensible. Furthermore, like many wars, it’s based on lies.
“The few deaths that are caused by the drugs are due to impurities, dosages that are not standardized, and reluctance to call 911 when someone overdoses out of fear of being arrested. Replacing prohibition with sensible health-oriented alternatives, including legalizing currently illicit drugs, can eliminate these drug-related deaths.
“The Dutch should be recognized for their remarkable human rights achievement of regulating and decriminalizing drugs and equally important, offering comprehensive treatment to its affected citizens. The number of lives they have saved, as well as assaults, robberies, rapes, child abuse, and other prohibition-related criminal activities that they’ve prevented, is a major humanitarian and public health accomplishment. Their success in minimizing the catastrophic effects of the War on Drugs cannot be overstated. For example, the U.S. has six times as many people in prisons as the Netherlands per capita, and still we have four times their murder rate. Compared to ours, the Dutch prison population is negligible and they actually provide education and rehabilitation for their inmates. Furthermore, their incidence of AIDS and hepatitis is a fraction of ours.
“Taken together, these groundbreaking medical, human rights and humanitarian accomplishments are of unprecedented magnitude. They not only serve as an inspiration to the rest of the world, they also demand emulation. Because of this, it is recommended that Louk Hulsman, Professor Emeritus of Criminal Law at the University of Rotterdam, who was originally responsible for crafting the forward-thinking drug policy in the Netherlands and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, who administer their very successful current drug policies, be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.”
The world owes a great debt of gratitude to them, along with many thousands of activists, academics, and religious and business leaders, for demonstrating that a scientifically-crafted harm reduction drug policy based on researched public health models, not an unyielding prohibition, prison oriented model, results in a healthier, safer, and less imprisoned population—that also uses fewer drugs.
The deadline for submission is February 1, 2009, and according to the Nobel Prize webpage, people from every country can nominate, but it is limited to members of national assemblies, governments, and international courts of law; university chancellors, professors of social science, history, philosophy, law and theology; leaders of peace research institutes and institutes of foreign affairs; Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of previous years; board members of organizations that have received the Nobel Peace Prize; present and past members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; and former advisors of the Nobel Institute.
–Nobel Nomination Process Information–
All that is necessary is for a qualified nominator, as listed above, to send a letter to Geir Lundestad, Ph.D., Director, Norwegian Nobel Institute, Henrik Ibsens gate 51, NO-0255, Oslo, Norway, indicating the names of those nominated and the reason for the nomination, and it must be received by February 1, 2009.
The Dutch have shown us the path to peace and now is the time to recognize their achievement.
While NORML is a cannabis-only reform organization, by nominating and educating the world about the success of the Netherlands’s drug policy, we are committed to using this public campaign as the first high impact project for worldwide drug policy reform in this New Year. This e-mail is being sent to U.S. and international drug policy organizations, seeking the names and contacts of qualified Nobel Prize nominators. The email is also being sent to organizations for children, teens, women, minorities, and the environment, as all these people and the environment are severely harmed and actually killed by the drug war.
It is time to stimulate this crucially important worldwide conversation, and this is a project all drug policy reform and civic-minded groups, regardless of their mission statements, can support. The webpage and other promotional campaigns in support of this nomination have been launched, but gathering qualified nominators needs to be the first step as there is a short deadline. Please ask nominators to send their letters directly to the Nobel Institute, and also notify NORML at nobel@norml.org as we are coordinating and tracking this campaign.
Also, please feel free to forward this email notice to all relevant organizations and anyone you feel can assist this ‘Netherlands For Nobel’ movement—especially qualified Nobel Peace Prize nominators.
It is truly time to end the drug war and start the peace process.
Thank you in advance and best wishes for an exciting 2009 pursuing the Nobel Peace Prize for this most noble cause.
www.Netherlands4Nobel.org
Absolutely the smartest think anyone has done in tho 20th and 21th century based on multiple benefits across the board.
In other words, if you know anyone who could be a nominator, call them, email them, or leave them a myspace comment pointing this article out and ask them chip in a response, but don’t hit the bong first because the deadline is right around the corner.
I remember D.A.R.E. in the sixth grade. I was not allowed to graduate because a girl class mate who lived in my neighborhood saw me using my inhaler outside my house and told the shchool I was smoking pot. No investigation, No questions, No graduation. I knew what marijuana was in 6th grade, but didnt use it until 7th. This helped me build resent towards prohibition.
Your number of a trillion is probably way off most of the 3 million plus in us prisons are there for drugs. Instead of creating hundreds of billions a year in economic activity they are sapping huge amounts of tax dollars.
Funny to think as the Chinese abandon their own police state they are financing ours. Twenty years from now maybe we’ll be stowing away on container ships to find freedom in China or at least the Netherlands.
Amen…. I second the vote!
By keeping a clear head against all odds; The Netherlands have continually shown the whole of the world that the War on Drugs is winnable! We can win by simply changing our standpoint. From imprisonment and condemnation to responsibility and logic.
They have shown the world a way to stop the thousands of deaths and killings; the lying and murdering; the imprisonment and misuse of law.
For that, the Netherlands most certainly deserve a bid for the Nobel Prize.
Salute,
Tone
Yes, this is a good idea.
EVERYONE LOOK HERE!!!!!
The change.gov website has new voting going on and ending Marijuana prohibition is only 1500 votes from first place. Everyone please vote!!!
here’s the link
ttp://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/
ideaList.apexp?c=09a800000004fo6&lsi=2
“We can win by simply changing our standpoint.”
Great point! Please visit and vote asap:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/
legalize_the_medicinal_and_recreational_use_of_marijuana
The first step to change is to find a correct step to take. I think that the Netherlands have found this correct step and now have shown the world how to implement their strategy. America is an amazing country, but America is the most stubborn country in the world. It takes results to change American minds while elsewhere in the world it simply takes ideas! The Netherlands get my vote for the Nobel Peace prize simply for being one step ahead of the entire world for world peace! Congratulations and may the Dutch continue to educate through implementation!
The U.S.goverment needs to get their heads out of
the sand.Its only a money thing for our capitol.
Our U.S.goverment would rather get all that money
from drug,alcohol&tobacco so they can stuff their
paints instead of doing whats right. I TAKE MY HAT
OFF TO THE NETHERLANDS.
IT MUST BE CATCHING ON IN AMERICA AS WE CONSTANTLY PLACE #1 ON…………….
ALL IDEAS AND QUESTIONS ON BOTH CHANGE.ORG & CHANGE.GOV
peace & blessings of health & higher vibration thru burnt offerings of the kine sacrament, our holy healing motherplant, rev.baker aka “rev.420” of http://www.greenfaithministry.com
This is our new movie about drug tourism and coffee shops in the Netherlands:
http://www.drogriporter.hu/en/drugtourism
I know this is off topic, but Obama has another round opening up.This is a discussion topic session. I know; he will blow it off as well. But this is our last opportunity to have change occur peacefully. There are many areas in which this depression will create violence. It is not an accident, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept it. Please, wage peace against the madness that is our government on this site. Don’t go quietly into the dark night. Peace, Rev. Jim
The US looks sooooo stupid right now with the uk even relaxing their cannabis laws. Im done f***ing waiting for our shit box government.
It is time !
We all need to concentrate on our local “leaders” start in your town tell the “officials” to make cannabis a LOW PRIORITY , like somewhere below looking for lost cats. If we can’t get our locals to back off , how will we ever get the FED to?
I’ll do what I can to gather my friends and see what we can do. WILL YOU ?
Don’t look now, but CNBC is looking a lot like NORML these days. They have a gallery of medical marijuana (looks nice) AND they have an article advocating legalization or decriminalization. He makes a lot of the same points NORML does. Reformers have momentum. Keep up the good work!
In “Joe Versus the Volcano”, an old Tom Hanks flick, Joe is convinced that he suffers from a “brain cloud”. I think our political system and the mainstream press suffer from this condition. They have a brain cloud that prevents them from grasping the fundamental facts about cannabis. To bad they can’t all be tossed into a volcano.
funny some of the things our government tells us what we can and cant do.whats next asking permision to go to the bathroom?
the barbarians are coming, the barbarians are coming….
the prison/judicial/military/mercenary/paramilitary industrial complex
that feeds of Prohibition have destroyed the fabric of societies across not just our inner cities but Latin America (Colombia is a para/narco democracy while Mexico is well on its way as well)… for what? to prevent somebody ingesting a substance that is not harming anybody else???
the height of folly and mercenary madness!!
barbarians at DEA, Customs, Prisons, Private Prisons ( a growth industry… imagine that.. what a failure as a society) Raytheon, Hughes, Monsanto, (maker of glyphosate, the poison being pumped to “kill the coca leaf or poppy” yet it just gets sprayed and sprayed with no positive reduction in supply, Lockheed Martin, Blackwater, Exxon, Conoco Phillips, Chiquita, Drummond etc
get a real job buddy!!
There has been a new response posted to the following discussion on Change.org:
Idea for Change in America: End the war on drugs
———————————————-
THE WAR ON DRUGS IS WORSE THAN DRUGS.
posted by Timothy J Lamber
A couple of years ago, I overheard something in a restaurant. A man who seemed to be in his twenties or thirties was there with a boy who was probably seven or eight. The kid was a typical happy kid, goofing around between french fries. The man was talking about visiting a friend in jail. Then he says to the kid: “You want to visit your friends when they’re locked up ’cause you gonna want them to visit you when you locked up.”
Some of the people I told about that reacted ‘What an asshole. Talk about low expectations!’ But I keep hearing that a black male child around the age of 5 stands a one in three chance of spending some part of his life locked up.
It was more than 5 years ago, but I’ll never forget that. It’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard.
It’s the War On Drugs that’s creating the opportunity for people to get involved in dealing. Ending the War On Drugs WILL SAVE LIVES. Have you heard what’s been going on in Mexico? Do you care? How about America? We cannot afford this madness, we never could.
This is the most farcical thing NORML could be investing tim and energy in. Will this get any media play at all? Not a chance. Does this have a chance of being considered serious for even a moment? No. So why are we wasting our time on this when a whole new administration is coming into town? Let’s see some fresh ideas for a campaign in the halls of Congress and trying to leverage more progressive pols in the new environment, not rehashing a bad campaign that was a stupid idea when George Bush was sitting in the Oval Office.
Obviously we agree with the sentiment but this is a nonstarter.
Props to NORML for publishing that comment. Now if only NORML staff would begin engaging on these boards themselves.
“…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races. Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing. Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its user’s insanity, criminality, and death. Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind. Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”
– Harry J. Anslinger – America’s 1st Drug Czar (FDR – JFK)
“Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control man’s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very priciples upon which out government was founded”
Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. President.
Speech, 18 Dec. 1840 to Illinois House of Representatives
This is a good thing, no a great thing!!!! God bless the Dutch!!!!!
It could be that the President Obama will see that the nation needs him to be a President of Action and not someone who continues to allow the American public to be savaged by this war that all America is caught in the crosshairs of. Please Mr. President, the people of America are begging , no demanding mercy, and a chance for a new life. A life not lived in the shadow of this insane drug war. Let’s end this and start new again. Then the rest of the world will have to take notice. Let us be the Head for once instead of the tail, Lets take the Dutch Model and improve it. Can I hear Freedom coming to our land? Yes, I CAN!!!!!!
stand strong,please i got over 25 years on a proyect that will change our lives together and for ever,thank you dr stephen h, frye,thank you unlv criminaljustice profesor mr randall g.shelden p.h.d. and especial mention to NORML /as soon as cristmas 2012 we will be showing off the proyect and the real journey will take place for a better world…..updates from our soul will be posted….kind regards biut