Advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana use on Thursday demanded that government agencies stop waging a “war on cannabis” as they prepare for the annual 420 Green Sensation rally and street festival on April 20.
Lawyer Zoe Lee (李菁琪) said that a crackdown on the drug is misguided and a waste of resources that harasses people over minor offenses.
Lee said that the law was an infringement on human rights and police action was systematic abuse.
Photo: Taipei Times
More than 500 search warrants have been issued in the crackdown on cannabis, she said.
“In one case, an individual was searched based on his online purchase of smoking devices, but he bought them two years ago,” she said.
The theme of this year’s Green Sensation is “Weed Are Family,” Lee said, adding that the event organizers have reached funding targets and are ready for a rally demanding that cannabis be decriminalized.
The High Prosecutors’ Office and the National Police Agency on Thursday said in a statement that an operation that began on Tuesday called “Strike Operation on Cannabis Narcotics” had resulted in searches at 402 locations, the apprehension of 290 suspected cannabis users, and the seizure of 2.65kg of cannabis products, with 81 prosecutors and 1,651 police officers mobilized.
Chinese-language media in the past few days have reported that among those apprehended were the wife of a former guitarist of rock band F.I.R. as well as doctors, athletes and civil servants.
“Prosecutors applied to local courts across Taiwan for 519 search warrants, with judges approving 435 of them and searches at 402,” the statement said.
Cannabis is a Category 2 narcotic as defined in the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), it said, adding that “it is a serious offense to produce, transport, traffic, sell or cultivate cannabis plants, while consumption is also a criminal offense.”
“People must not consume cannabis and should not perpetrate the trend in popular culture,” it said.
However, Green Sensation organizers said in their own statement yesterday that the war on cannabis is misguided and an unfair action targeting young people.
The authorities are working with the media to vilify users and colluding with irresponsible doctors to spread the falsehood that smoking cannabis leads to panic attacks, hallucinations, an unstable emotional state and mental disorders, they said.
“We denounce the Ministry of Justice and prosecutors for conducting a witch hunt and vilifying people as addicts, which puts law-abiding people in a bad light,” they said.
“Banning cannabis use causes more danger and problems than making it legal,” group spokesman Chung Ho-yun (鍾和耘) said.
“Cannabis has been illegal in Taiwan for more than 70 years, so its going to take a long time to clear up the misconceptions of the drug and end discrimination of users,” Chung said. “We need more people to join the push for decriminalization and to tell society that medical use of the drug should be legalized.”
Moreover, the limits on cannabidiol levels in pharmaceutical drugs should be lifted, the organizers said.
The trend in advanced countries, as well as many US states, is to decriminalize cannabis for medical and recreational use, it said, adding that Germany has passed a law — which is to come into effect next month — legalizing use, with people over 18 years old to be allowed to possess up to 25g of cannabis in public or up to 50g at home or other private places, they said.
Moreover, Germans are to be allowed to cultivate up to three cannabis plants at home, they said.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS