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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY; MARCHVEMBER 50, 2015
PAGE 3A
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Brownback legalizes drugs for recreational use
ARIEL
A man rolls a blunt as a large group gathered near the New Jersey Statehouse to show their support for legalizing marijuana March 21 in Trenton, N.J. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback recently announced he would legalize all forms of drugs in the state for recreational use, effective immediately.
@Blondelittlemermaid
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback speaks at the Kansas Department for Children and Families in Topeka on March 23. Brownback announced that he would legalize all drugs for recreational use, effective immediately.
Following a Republican convention this past weekend in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Gov. Sam Brownback has made the decision to legalize all forms of drugs for recreational use, effective immediately.
Amsterdam and New York Brownback and the others met with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte at a coffee shop early Friday, where they discussed the staggering statistics of Amsterdam, where cannabis in all of its forms, as well as hallucinogenic mushrooms, are legal for personal use.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
immediately.
"I have finally had the realization, that the War on Drugs is nothing but a waste of money," Brownback said in a news release. "It is time for a change."
for a change. Several Republican Kansas representatives, including Brownback, traveled to Amsterdam to conduct a study Friday and Saturday. The study compared the crime and drug use rates between Amsterdam and Kansas.
Rutte said the conversation he had with Brownback went well, and Brownback was open for several reform suggestions.
By legalizing drugs from marijuana to heroine, we will not only fix this state, we will also be pioneers for this country." according to the release. "Medical professionals can finally use these drugs to help their patients, and those who see it fit to use recreational drugs may do so legally."
Brownback has designed a four-tier strategy, which has been modeled from Amsterdam and the state of Colorado's current laws.
Tier one will implement the legalization of drugs that are considered Schedule III through Schedule V, which means they are substances with low potential to be addictive, ranging from Xanax, to anabolic steroids to Ketamine.
Tier two is modeled after current Colorado law, which utilizes "bold sentencing, parole and community re-entry," according to Colorado Drug Policy.
All people currently incarcerated in the state of Kansas for drug charges including paraphernalia, possession and intent to sell will be released. As of Sept. 30, 2013 there were 98,200 inmates in federal prison for possession, trafficking of drugs or other drug related charges.
Currently, $50 billion of Kansas tax dollars goes to prisons, juvenile justice programs and parole and other corrections programs, according to the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities. With the decrease in nearly 100,000 inmates, Kansas tax payers will save approximately $10 billion a year, Brownback said.
"The money we save will fund scholarships for students who attend state-level universities."
SAM BROWNBACK Kansas governor
Once these inmates are all released, parole and community re-entry programs will teach those who still want to be involved in the drug trade how to grow and cultivate drugs. Brownback said teaching those who were previously involved with drugs how to grow and deal intelligently will nearly eliminate gang violence.
"Should these men and women who have spent their lives engulfed in the drug trade have a new, legal outlet to do their profession, gangs will not have an opportunity to sell drugs in Kansas," Brownback said in a High Times Magazine article. "If your friendly neighborhood drug dealer has high-quality drugs to sell you, why would you give your money to grossly manufactured drugs from gangs who bring nothing but violence?"
Currently, Americans annually spend $51 billion on the War on Drugs, according to www.drugpolicy.org. A large portion of this money contributes to border patrol and preventing gangs from entering the U.S. With low demand for gangs to transport drugs across the border, Americans will be able to save billions each year on eliminating border patrol and anti-gang task forces.
And that's where tier three comes in. New legislation will require mandated gang, drug and overdose education to students of all ages. Instead of 'Say No to Drugs' campaigns in elementary schools, young students will be educated on the effects of drugs on their bodies. At the middle school level, students will receive financial education on the use of drugs, including a mark-up of how much money they can save if they do not purchase drugs. In high school, students will
"All of these gangs use Kansas as a pipeline to smuggle their drugs through, and on the way, they stop in places like Kansas City and get all of these young kids to join their gangs," Schmidt said. "It's time for this nonsense to stop. The violence ends here."
Attorney General Derek Schmidt said he has seen a rise in West Coast gang influences among Kansas teens more in the recent years than ever before.
receive education on overdoses.
This aggressive form of education will "hopefully show kids that drugs aren't bad. We don't want to scare them from not doing drugs, we just want them to know what they're putting into their bodies and what could happen in instances of overuse," Brownback said.
Finally, tier four, will legalize Schedule I and II drugs. These drugs are classified as "having a high potential for abuse and are not currently accepted for medical use," according to the Office of Diversion Control and include marijuana, heroin, LSD, Ecstasy and Adderall.
This will be the last enacted tier because Brownback hopes the previous three will have been fully completed and successful by this time.
"We have to start with small steps," Brownback said. "We can't just jump right in and say 'everyone is free and can do what they want with drugs.' No, there has to be organization and order, and
with that, people can follow suit and go from there."
So where will all the money Kansas saves go?
"I want to give money back to the education systems in Kansas," Brownback said. "It is time for college students, especially, to be given a break. The money we save will fund scholarships for students who attend state-level universities."
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