Since April this year, it has become legal for individuals to own marijuana and to grow marijuana at home in Germany? For this reason, thousands of addicts have even danced and celebrated on the streets of Germany.
When Lin Zexu Humen smoked gunsmoke, he certainly did not expect that the smoke used by foreigners to poison the Chinese would eventually blow back to the foreigners' own homes.
Why do Western countries retreat from their attitude toward narcotics? Why do China, and most countries in the world, adopt an attitude of strictly banning and vigorously cracking down on drugs?
Legalization of marijuana in Germany
According to local media reports in Germany, after the passage of the partial legalization of marijuana, an adult can hold no more than 25 grams of marijuana products, and they can also keep no more than 50 grams of marijuana at home, and even grow a certain number of marijuana plants.
And after July 1, marijuana can be legally bought and sold in Germany, and it can be bought at the government-approved "cannabis club".
Therefore, although the use of marijuana in Germany is limited and restricted to adults, it is no longer difficult to obtain and use it, just like buying cigarettes in the supermarket.
Western countries reap the consequences
Although there has been a lot of discussion about the legalization of marijuana in Germany, in fact, there have been many countries that have legalized marijuana before Germany.
If you search for "marijuana legalization" in a search engine, the message that pops up is basically these Western countries, and the cannabis legalization movement is going on in the Western world.
From this, it can be seen that Western countries are very tolerant of drugs. Let's take a look at which countries have legalized the use of cannabis.
Human use of cannabis dates back to the third millennium BC. Although marijuana is used as an adjunct medicine in medicine, in modern times, there is still a consensus among countries about the dangers of marijuana. Cannabis is on the list of narcotic drugs controlled by the United Nations.
However, in recent years, the Western world has gradually promoted the legalization of the use of cannabis, and many countries have adopted relevant documents on the legal use of cannabis.
In 2012, Colorado and Washington, D.C., were the first two regions in the United States to pass laws legalizing marijuana. In both regions, the cultivation and production and sale of marijuana are legal, thus opening the door to the legalization of marijuana.
This was followed by Uruguay also announcing the legalization of marijuana in 2013, becoming the first country in the world to legally sell marijuana. In 2018, Canada also announced the legalization of marijuana, and later countries such as the Netherlands and Pakistan have successively passed laws on the legal use of marijuana.
Then the time came this year, and Germany also announced the legalization of cannabis use in March. It can be seen that more and more Western countries are gradually loosening their attitude towards cannabis.
Even in 2020, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs removed cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
How dangerous is marijuana legalization?
More and more countries in Europe and the United States have legalized marijuana, which means that more and more people are smoking marijuana. So, isn't there a danger in legalizing marijuana?
We all know that drugs can cause great harm to the human body, and drug addicts are often skinny. Although marijuana is a "soft drug", that doesn't mean it's not dangerous.
"Soft drugs" are drugs that are slightly less addictive, although the addiction is slightly weaker, but only relative to the highly addictive "hard drugs" such as ecstasy and ice powder, and long-term use of marijuana will also cause great harm to the human body.
Although commonly known as marijuana, not all marijuana plants are actually poisonous. Marijuana, which is commonly used to make drugs, is a variant of hashish.
Marijuana contains a psychoactive substance that can make the user's heart beat faster, lower blood pressure, and the whole person will be in a very excited state, and even hallucinate. Therefore, marijuana has a great attraction for young people in the West, and it can be said that they are "regulars" at parties.
At the same time, the legalization of marijuana will increase the number of drug users, which may threaten social security. According to credible sources, 5 million people, or about 5% of the German population, had already smoked marijuana before the passage of the German cannabis legalization law.
This may not seem like a high percentage, but in fact it has reached five times the proportion of opium smokers in the late Qing Dynasty. Moreover, in many Western countries, people's awareness of the dangers of marijuana is not very clear, and even many people believe that alcohol is more harmful. Because of the high consumption and dependence on drugs, some people will embark on the road of crime, which will affect social order.
And although this bill restricts the use of marijuana by minors, in fact, before the passage of this bill in Germany, there were already some minors who were exposed to marijuana for irritation. The legalization of marijuana will undoubtedly make it easier for minors to obtain opium.
And Germany is a microcosm of other countries that have legalized marijuana. Therefore, in general, the legalization of marijuana in the West is very dangerous, and it will have very bad consequences for local social security and people's life safety.
The mainland resolutely cracks down on drugs!
Contrary to Western countries, China's attitude towards drugs has always been zero-tolerance, whether it is "hard drugs" or "soft drugs", they are strictly banned and strictly prohibited.
Historically, drugs have brought great harm to China, that is, opium, which we are more familiar with. Opium was introduced to China through the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty.
However, in the late Qing Dynasty, in order to seek more benefits in China, Britain continued to send opium to China. This not only led to the loss of a large amount of Chinese silver overseas, but also poisoned the physical and mental health of opium addicts, causing great harm to the whole society.
Against this historical background, the mainland has always resolutely cracked down on narcotics. In the past, there was the "Humen Tobacco Sale" and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a series of anti-drug campaigns. After the founding of New China, the remnants of opium had not been cleared, and after three years of anti-narcotics campaigns, the mainland established a "drug-free country," which made a good start for the anti-narcotics cause in the future.
After the reform and opening up, along with the reform of the market economy, drugs from gray areas such as the "Golden Triangle" began to pour into the mainland, and new synthetic drugs such as ecstasy and methamphetamine that were more harmful to the human body and more addictive also appeared. The introduction of narcotics not only endangers people's health, but also affects social stability.
During this period, a large number of drug cases were solved, such as the "Mekong River Massacre", which occurred during this period. The state has continuously intensified its anti-narcotics efforts, set up a special anti-narcotics department, and has also continuously improved the anti-narcotics law to adapt itself to the new situation.
In addition to these policy efforts, in terms of publicity, the state has also made efforts to vigorously publicize the harmfulness of drugs, so we can often see some anti-drug signs and banners in communities and streets.
On the front line of anti-narcotics, countless anti-narcotics policemen sacrificed their lives to the country's anti-narcotics cause. Police are already a very dangerous job, and the injury rate of anti-narcotics police is ten times higher than that of other police branches.
On the mainland, the average life expectancy of anti-narcotics police is only 41 years, and about 400 anti-narcotics police officers die every year, 4.9 times that of other police branches. They have truly built a safe anti-drug Great Wall for the people with their own lives.
Thanks to the efforts of the state over the years and the silent dedication of the anti-narcotics police, the anti-narcotics work on the mainland has been carried out very well. According to Xinhua News Agency, in 2023, the 36th Anti-Drug Day, the mainland's anti-drug work is progressing smoothly.
The incidence of drug-related crimes has fallen to a nearly 10-year low, while the number of drug users has fallen by more than half from its peak, and the public's satisfaction with anti-drug efforts has remained above 96% since 2022.
Generally speaking, the mainland's anti-drug attitude is very firm and correct, and on the one hand, it can better protect our lives and health, and on the other hand, it has also created a safer social environment. Compared with the so-called "free" world in Western countries, our life is still very happy and safe.
Resources
The partial legalization of marijuana in Germany has caused controversy--Xinhuanet
Why is China resolutely anti-narcotic?