“Stop lying”: Uruguayan president calls out United Nations officials upset over marijuana legalization

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The head of the United Nations’ International Narcotics Control board says that Uruguay didn’t consult them before the country moved forward with the “surprising” legalization of limited amounts of cannabis earlier this month.
To that, Uruguayan president Jose Mujica says: bullshit, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone who was paying attention. Further, Mujica says he was open to talking about it with anyone and everyone who asked.


INCB head Raymond Yans says Uruguay has succumbed to “pirate attitudes” and that the country blatantly violated the 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs – the international law that threatens sanctions against countries who don’t abide by the rules.
Many scholars view the treaty as an extension of American ideals at the time and see the last 60+ years of the laws as America enforcing its domestic policies abroad. Basically, countries caught being lenient towards drug use face economic sanctions as well as restrictions in trade.
Mujica, however, says he is and has been open to discussing the move with anyone and that Yans is lying.
“Tell that old man to stop lying,” Mujica said in an interview with Uruguay’s Canal 4. “Let him come to Uruguay and meet me whenever he wishes… Anybody can meet and talk to me, and whoever says he couldn’t meet with me tells lies, blatant lies… Because he sits in a comfortable international platform, he believes he can say whatever nonsense.”

Jose Murica.


Mujica pointed to a lack of sanctions or even comment about Washington and Colorado marijuana laws passed in November of 2012 which in many ways are nearly identical to Uruguay’s new laws passed this month. “Does he have different rules: one for Uruguay and other for the world’s strong countries?” he asked in the interview.
Clearly, yes. They do. Several scholars and writers have said the U.S. is pretty much the top dog in the U.N. drug equation and party nations still rely on the U.S. for so much, nobody is willing to enforce it.
Uruguayan first lady Sen. Lucia Topolansky also jumped in against the U.N. accusations.
“I think he’s crossed the line, but anyhow I believe that he has had problems with other countries, Sweden, Denmark, Holland and they will be meeting him sometime in March,” she said before pointing out that the U.N. has much bigger fish to fry.
“To be honest, marijuana is not the heart of life or earthly issues,” she said.

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