U.S. Drug Policy Would Be Imposed Globally By New House Bill

[mschaos]

The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill yesterday that would make it a federal crime for U.S. residents to discuss or plan activities on foreign soil that, if carried out in the U.S., would violate the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) -- even if the planned activities are legal in the countries where they're carried out. H.R. 313, the "Drug

Comments

[mercystars]

mmmm, smells like ~small government~ to me!

[sesmo]

It's actually better than that. If my client comes to me, and asks my legal opinion about whether he would be open to prosecution for smoking pot in Amsterdam, under this law, we would both be conspirators.

If this passes, I *will* go up to random congress persons and "discuss or plan" with them my intent to go smoke pot in Amsterdam. I hope they all get arrested.

[notgarystu]

That. Would be so beautiful. :')

[anjak_j]

That plan is just awesome.

[wrestlingdog]

DO IIIIIT

[anjak_j]

From what I remember of trying to buy medications whilst staying in the US a few years back, medications that are common OTC pharmacy drugs in the UK (and much of Europe), this could cause a lot of problems just in this regard.

I mean, from what I'm getting from this, if I were a US citizen and for example, I called a friend in the UK who was travelling who told me they had a particularly bad headache...if I advised them to go to Boots and buy a box of Paracetamol + Codeine, I could be charged with a criminal offence, just because codeine is a prescription only medication in most of the US states, never mind that buying codeine OTC without prescription in low doses is legal in the UK.

[snarksnarklaugh]

They made those laws because America had a little problem and still does with people making meth out of OTC.http://wyden.senate.gov/issues/issue/?id=de8e8c09-c27a-4768-95b5-b4f58446a77b
They passed thoughs laws to make it harder to get at least some of the common ingrediants. Codeine being an opiate often leads to abuse even though it's on the mild side.
I think they won't use that loose of an interpetation in who they charge because that would draw a lot of unwanted attention.

[anjak_j]

Meth is made out of pseudoephedrine from OTC medications mainly designed to be decongestants - cold/flu medications mostly, and some anti-allergy (specifically, allergic rhinitis) medications

[snarksnarklaugh]

I wasn't saying codeine is made into meth, just that it's abused on it's own merits. Most of the people in prison belong there.
I was looking up some statistics to back that up but it's too early in the morning and I can't find one that seperates probation, parole, jail, state, federal, custody pre trial detention and also breaks it down by crime etc.
dated info is dated but
State prisons held a total of 1,296,700 inmates on all charges at yearend 2005. In absolute numbers, an estimated 687,700 inmates in State prison at yearend 2005 were held for violent offenses: 166,700 for murder, 177,900 for robbery, 129,200 for assault, and 164,600 for rape and other sexual assaults. In addition, 248,900 inmates were held for property offenses, 253,300 for drug offenses, and 98,700 for public-order offenses. It doesn't say anything about overlap were people were charged with more then one crime...

[hinoema]

"The strange thing is that the purchase of and smoking the marijuana while you're there wouldn't be illegal. But this law would make planning the wedding from the U.S. a federal crime."

Intent to commit a crime is not a crime, even if it were a crime and it isn't because anything beyond your borders and into someone else's is out of your jurisdiction. Idiots.

[anjak_j]

Amen to that sentiment.