cannabisnews.com: Portugal's Reefer Madness 





Portugal's Reefer Madness 
Posted by CN Staff on June 15, 2004 at 21:20:26 PT
By Corey Friedman, Sun Journal Staff 
Source: Sun Journal
Any doubts that Europe takes its sports far more seriously than the United States went up in smoke last week.To discourage rowdy British hooligans from rioting during the Euro 2004 soccer tournament held in Lisbon, Portuguese police announced beforehand that they wouldn't arrest or detain visiting Brits who were spotted smoking marijuana because the drug decreases violent urges, according to British newspaper The Guardian.
In other words, they're actually giving England supporters the OK to get stoned in the stands.The country's lackadaisical drug laws criminalize cannabis consumption but technically, possession of a few ounces or so is legal in Portugal. Lisbon police said they will refocus their efforts on trying to curb alcohol consumption, which is often a main cause of postgame riots.Though it's an immense tactical blunder on the police's part to advertise its selective enforcement of a national law, their desire to put public safety ahead of nabbing a few harmless tokers is admirable, considering the many deaths that have resulted from raucous soccer fans on the rampage.Here in the States, law enforcement officials wouldn't let an ounce of pot go unpunished even if it was Super Bowl Sunday and the Cincinnati Bengals were up by three touchdowns.Of course, the athletes are pumped full of all manner of performance enhancing drugs, some legal, some illegal and some so new the Food and Drug Administration hasn't had time to ban them yet. The Guardian quoted a police spokeswoman as saying "If you are quietly smoking and a police officer is 10 metres away, what's the big risk in your behaviour? I'm not going to tap you on the shoulder and ask 'What are you smoking?' if you are posing no menace to others. Our priority is alcohol."This could drastically change European controlled substance laws, which are already far more lenient than American zero-tolerance policies that call for an all-out war on drugs.When Lisbon police place a temporary moratorium on marijuana arrests because the wild weed actually reduces violence, not incites it, lawmaking bodies around the world are going to have a much harder time justifying their inflexible intolerance for even the smallest amounts of pot.American sports would be dramatically different if cannabis was allowed and even welcomed in the nation's hallowed stadiums and ballparks. You'd see far fewer fights and perhaps a slight upswing in cases of the mid-game munchies from the fans, and just imagine the far-reaching effects it would have on the players.A joint or two could transform the NBA into more of an exhibition league where all 30 teams emulated the Harlem Globetrotters. You'd see a lot less shooting and a lot more dribbling, but fouls would be held to a minimum. Hockey players would benefit the most from a healthy dose of reefer. With a lessened desire to shove opposing skaters into the wall and pummel them with hockey sticks while the referees pet their seeing-eye dogs, we might start seeing average scores rise above two or three points per game.The crowds at NASCAR races would behave pretty much the same as they do now.And I must say, having Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong of stoner-flick fame in the press box calling games with Frank Gifford would certainly be entertaining.But the addition of yet another chemical diversion would ultimately serve only to further weaken the integrity of pro sports, which has already been rocked by countless scandals in the past decade alone. In the end, respect for the game and a love of its players should draw fans to the stadium -- not bongs and buckets of beer.Source: Sun Journal, The (NC)Author: Corey Friedman, Sun Journal Staff Published: June 16, 2004 Copyright: 2004 The New Bern Sun JournalContact: corey_friedman link.freedom.comWebsite: http://www.newbernsunjournal.comRelated Articles:It's OK To Smoke Dope, England Fans Told http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18986.shtmlBiggest Shake-Up of Britains Laws in 30 Yearshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18261.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 22, 2004 at 09:11:05 PT
afterburner
I checked out your link. I didn't know anything about this happening. I thought the world series was over. That's how much I know about baseball. That's a real shame about the young woman's death. I know when I went to Neil Young concerts I didn't know why alcohol was allowed. It made people nasty. When concerts happened when I was young there was only Pot, maybe LSD or diet pills but alcohol was shunned.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on October 22, 2004 at 08:32:10 PT
afterburner
I didn't know that. Are the World Series over yet? I love the lyrics and the song Where Have All the Flowers Gone. 
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on October 22, 2004 at 08:21:49 PT
Needless Tragedy
Red Sox Fan Killed by Police Projectile : A police officer shot the woman in the eye with what was designed to be a non-lethal projectile. http://tinyurl.com/4twc5"Boston's mayor said he was considering banning alcohol sales in the city during the World Series to avoid a repeat of the rowdiness." It's too bad Boston didn't follow Portugal's example. A crowd of fans high on laughing grass could have avoided this needless alcohol-fuelled tragedy. When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
LYRICS - Where Have All the Flowers Gone
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on June 18, 2004 at 16:38:18 PT
More...
Viewed at: http://www.boulderweekly.com/incaseyoumissedit.html 
Bong hits for England Portugal was a little uneasy hosting the European Championship soccer match between England and France this year, but not because of terrorist threats. Instead, rowdy English soccer fans-infamous for rioting-put fear into the hearts of Lisbon's police force. Lisbon's response? Smoke them out.Police let fans know before the game that no arrests would be made, no warnings would be issued if fans were found smoking pot. Cops even promised not to confiscate the ganja. The policy was pretty much smoke 'em if you've got 'em. On the other hand, police swore to lock up every drunk they could find.Authorities speculated that more pot and less alcohol would lead to fewer instances of violence. Whether or not the plan was successful is a matter of perspective.After France upset England and won the game, a segment of English fans did get rowdy-those fans who sought to ease the pain of their loss at the local pubs. Out of the approximately 50,000 French and English fans who merged in Lisbon to support their mates, only about 400 of them, mostly English, fought with police after the game-kind of a small miracle. Dejected drunks threw pint glasses, empty bottles and bar stools at police, who countered with dogs and the riot team.Perhaps the Portuguese police didn't go quite far enough. Next time they could try enforcing a "must get stoned" policy to get the English fans to relax a little. They could pump the smoke of burning marijuana into the stadium and let it waft through the happily sedated crowd. As long as the popcorn, peanuts and hotdogs flow just as freely, everything will be mellow, man.The fans could stand to take some initiative, as well. You can't be expecting the authorities to twist up the spliffs for you. 
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Comment #3 posted by rchandar on June 16, 2004 at 21:35:32 PT:
EURO 2004
Well--Such an idea would SHOCK THE S#%T out of some, but many of us--who love both--would welcome it. It would be fun; it also might mean we might notice the goings-on of the game more.--rchandar
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on June 15, 2004 at 23:48:08 PT
I'm having a laughing attack
I just deleted some spam with the subject line JOCKSTRAP EAVESDROP and the phrase is making me double over in laughter.The world has gotten so ridiculous.Marijuana is still illegal and I get email titled JOCKSTRAP EAVESDROP.I don't know what to make of this BRAVE NEW WORLD with cops stalking potheads more than ever and the most brilliant invention of the 20th century being used to provoke people with images of eavesdropping underwear.Calgon, take me away! As the housewives from the sixties were taught to say.
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on June 15, 2004 at 22:14:11 PT
This guy needs a brain on drugs
First, he did not outline the problem that the Europeans have had with the drunken English before. He really did not point out that Portugal is concerned about harm reduction and arresting people is a harm that needed to be reduced to the point of elimination if possible.I do not know if this is hate on prohibition or love on prohibition or ignorance on prohibition. This comes out of New Bern on the coast of NC and I would think the guy has a job because he works cheap. The London Times is one of Ruppert Murdock's holdings and it wrote a more glowing report of what cannabis did for sport, for England, and for enlightenment. What I say does not make sense if you do not read the article before it goes into archives- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13750-1144959,00.htmlEngland lost to France and the host team lost its first game which has not happened in 28 years. Spain had the remnants of what had been a glorious youth team from the early 90's hoping for tournament victory with a last rally of men now as old as 35. They would lose to Greece in Portugal's second largest city. Teams have always won and lost in these highly followed games, but cannabis is the story line here, especially in regards to the English, until the story of an ultimate victory replaces it.It will be interesting to see what cannabis means to the players themselves that are involved in a lot of physically punishing games in short order. Cannabis may actually enhance their performance by helping with pain and inflammation, and enough relaxation to get some good sleep. That is what I am most interested in- reports of use by the players themselves.The Olympics is less that 2 months away and Athens needs over $40 billion to pay off the debts that come with the Olypics. This guy is mistaken that this event will change things. Things have changed and in Euro 2004, we see policy reveal itself and for the betterment of all and especially the drunken bodies that will adopt cannabis as a life practice in pursuit of a healthier and longer life.
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