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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Soros Backs British Push To Decriminalize Marijuana
Reuter Sunday 07 Dec 1997 on Sunday endorsed a British newspaper campaign for the decriminal- ization of marijuana, saying arrests in connection with the drug were a waste of justice resources. In a letter to the Independent on Sunday newspaper in London, released by a New York-based drug policy research center funded by his Open Society Institute, Soros said he hoped others would join the drive. "While I do not favor the outright legalization of cannabis, I do favor its legalization for medicinal purposes as well as broader decriminal- ization, provided adequate safeguards are taken to minimize misuse among young people," he said. "It's a shame that the American War on Drugs continues to block these efforts to remove sanctions on doctors and patients to treat pain and nausea with whatever medications work," Soros said. "Even more tragic is the fact that marijuana arrests in the U.S. have more than doubled since 1991. This has been an absurd waste of our criminal justice resources," the letter said. Soros said a conference on cannabis organized by the paper was a "timely step" toward a "more rational" drug policy in Britain and he believed it would influence the policy debate in the United States. He said in the United States he was proud to have supported voter initiatives to legalize the medical use of marijuana and he would continue to support such activities in the future.
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