HB 1160: Federal Drug Policy Reform Act (Final Vote)

[Associate Justice PiT]

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Atlasian Senate
Passed 5-1 in the Atlasian Senate assembled
Be it resolved, X Senator PiT, PPT
[/quote]

Sponsor: NEEDED

     I hereby open the floor for debate. A sponsor is needed for this bill.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

I will sponsor this bill. The war on drugs has been a disaster, and it simply isn't worth having the government continue to recklessly spend large amounts of taxpayer money on such a futile fight. We can shift our efforts to weakening the cartels which pose an even greater threat to our people, and invest in more anti-drug education in order to limit the amount of drug use. This bill is far from perfect in my opinion, but that's why we are going to negotiate this.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Representatives have 24 hours to object to Representative LouisvilleThunder assuming sponsorship.

[JGibson]

I echo the statements of my colleague LouisvilleThunder, and I say it's time to end the disastrous and often racist war on drugs era!

[VPH]

I do not support this bill. Dangerous drugs such as ecstasy should not be liberalized. I can get behind moving shrooms and LSD to schedule 2, where research can be conducted on them, but I just cannot support the extent to which this bill goes.

Additionally, funds should not be cut for drug enforcement, they should simply be better targeted at rooting out both supply chains and curbing demand.

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

This is a great bill.

[RFayette]

I do not support this bill. Dangerous drugs such as ecstasy should not be liberalized. I can get behind moving shrooms and LSD to schedule 2, where research can be conducted on them, but I just cannot support the extent to which this bill goes.

Additionally, funds should not be cut for drug enforcement, they should simply be better targeted at rooting out both supply chains and curbing demand.

I agree with this reasoning.  Because many of these drugs have pretty negative potential effects, I am definitely concerned about the effects of moving them down to Schedule 3.  Ecstasy in particular gives me pause.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     With no objections, Representative LouisvilleThunder becomes sponsor. I see he has already made a post advocating for this bill, but given the negative responses it has received the Representative may want to reply to them.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

How are the different schedules handled in terms of penalties?

[Associate Justice PiT]

How are the different schedules handled in terms of penalties?

     I would also like to see an answer to this question.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

My question is still pending!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Schedules aren't used to determine how someone is penalized for using a certain drug.  They are basically used as a scale for how abusive drugs are.  Schedule 1 drugs are considered the most harmful with no medical benefits, and the rest descend from there.  This page lists examples in each category.

The only drug this bill "legalizes" (deschedules) is peyote, as it's commonly used in certain indigenous religious communities.  The rest remain controlled substances.

I think it's most important that we withdraw from these agreements that we support the global war on drugs, which only emboldens cartels and hurts farmers in South America whose crops (along with the rest of the ecosystem) are killed by herbicides.

Also, I'm fairly certain that Atlasia is already in violation of these conventions by letting the regions legalize marijuana.

We need to stop supporting this expensive, racist, ineffective war on drugs, and by no longer being held to these conventions we will be free to reform our drug policy to lower our bloated incarceration rate and allow for research and legitimate medical usage.

[JGibson]

The esteemed Senator Scott is right.

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

The esteemed Senator Scott is right.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

How are the different schedules handled in terms of penalties?

I'm sorry for the delay, and to answer your question, and I propose giving the power to decide the penalties to the regions based on the rescheduling of these drugs as listed in this bill. I believe that drug policy is exactly the type of issue that should be delegated to the regions because they can gave a better idea of how current illicit drug trafficking is affecting their own communities. As Senator Scott said, I believe that we should withdraw from international agreements which only cause harm to our people by emboldening the cartels and increase the violence in our communities associated with drug dealing. Also, it has been shown that legalization of marijuana in some states has caused a decrease in overall drug demand and usage due to a lack of a the "illegalness" enticing people to get drugs by any means necessary and through enhanced safety regulations and taxation. I believe that if we regulate the sale of these drugs similar to how alcohol and marijuana currently are, then it can further boost government revenues without having to cut essential services or raise income taxes, and we can have an easier time at keeping a balanced budget because of this. This is a smart policy which will make government work better for hardworking, taxpaying Atlasians.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Is the sponsor then arguing for a repeal of all federal drug laws, period? That was not my understanding of the substance of this bill.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Is the sponsor then arguing for a repeal of all federal drug laws, period? That was not my understanding of the substance of this bill.

No, I'm not arguing for a repeal of all drug laws, but I support what is already contained in the bill. I'm also willing to compromise on individual details inside the bill if it is necessary for its passage.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Is the sponsor then arguing for a repeal of all federal drug laws, period? That was not my understanding of the substance of this bill.

No, I'm not arguing for a repeal of all drug laws, but I support what is already contained in the bill. I'm also willing to compromise on individual details inside the bill if it is necessary for its passage.

(*federal drug laws)

I kind of assumed you were when you said "drug policy is exactly the type of issue that should be delegated to the regions," so thanks for clearing that up.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     This has been quiet for a couple of days. I am unsure if people want to continue discussing this, but if we're ready then we can take this to a final vote in 24 hours.

[Former Senator Haslam2020]

I like a lot of what Rep. Louisville Thunder said.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     A final vote is now open on this bill. Representatives have 72 hours to vote aye, nay, or abstain.

[RFayette]

Nay

[JGibson]

AYE

[VPH]

NAY

[Illiniwek]

Hesitant, but nonetheless, AYE