California, the pioneer in forward thinking marijuana policy, brought into law Senate Bill 1499 on January 1st 2011. The bill signed by now former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during his last days in office brings an end to the criminalisation of californians in possession of the drug. It is now no longer a criminal offence in california to be in possession of up to an ounce of non-medicinal marijuana. Possession has been reclassified from a criminal misdemeanor to an infraction, punishable by no more than a $100 fine — meaning an end to court appearances, court costs, and most importantly criminal records. Whilst the drug remains illegal, recreational users no longer have to fear being criminalised for using it. The enactment of the law will spare tens of thousands of Californians from criminal prosecution, and will save the state tens of millions in court costs. Whilst California's new law is similar to existing laws in Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and New York as well as a select few countries across the world it is still surprising to see how few nations are willing to adopt such laws. It clearly makes more sense to move towards a system of decriminalisation, if not legalisation. Too many peoples lives are ruined daily by the criminal records slapped upon them for being in possession of narcotics. The illegality of drugs is justified as necessary to help protect the people, in more cases than not lives are ruined by being caught in possession of a substance than actually using the substance itself. If drugs are to remain illegal, then shouldn't police attention be focused on the providers and dealers rather than the user? A criminal record can significantly affect peoples lives, making it harder to find employment especially in certain professions such as those working with children or in a medical environment and can even go so far as to limiting travel. If our laws are in place to save people from themselves then we should help them rather than branding them a criminals for life.
Although california is on the right path with marijuana it still adopts draconian measures against the possession of all other narcotics. Portugal provides the world with the perfect example of how decriminalisation of all narcotics can work. In Portugal NO ONE is criminalised for the possession of small amounts of ANY DRUG. Portugal's liberal drugs policy has seen the country tackle many of the problems caused by and associated with drug use/abuse, has effectively reduced use of 'harder' drugs and has seen reduced appeal among the youth. All his has been achieved while avoiding the criminalisation of thousands upon thousands of citizens.
Whilst the world continues to believe in the effectiveness of the policy of prohibition and the war on drugs, decriminalisation seems like an obvious path to walk. Authorities should focus their attention on the providers of drugs whilst protecting the occasional user rather than punishing them.
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