By: Prim Janez Remškar, dr. med
While passing the law on cannabis for medical and research purposes, the coalition parties Gibanje Svoboda and the Levica submitted a law on the personal use of cannabis into procedure, without the consent of the SD party.
Did I hear that right? I checked twice. The lady, or rather comrade, to avoid offending her, the Vice President of our Parliament declared that she was pleased they had reached the point where they are fulfilling the will of the people and that, with these two laws, they will destigmatise cannabis users as well as cannabis itself, ensuring safer use, under supervision, of course! She even compared it to alcohol and smoking. That was the original statement. When I tried to verify it by watching the footage in the RTV Slovenia archive, that part of the statement had been cut! Can you imagine supervision in people’s gardens or pantries, weighing cannabis, while far more critical areas are failing all around us?
Years ago, Dušan Kebr managed to restrict the sale of alcoholic beverages, despite general ridicule. It is now clear he only succeeded on paper! I was part of Minister Andrej Bručan’s team when we struggled to convince the public, the media, and MPs about the dangers of smoking and the need to pass a law restricting it. It was a hard-fought battle with bar owners, tobacco manufacturers, and some MPs influenced by lobbies and interests that benefitted a few while harming the majority.
In both cases, corrupt representatives of the people were found in Parliament, those who gave in to the interests of alcohol and tobacco producers, and even the state, which, thanks to excise duties (look at how much the state earns on a litre of petrol due to taxes), is very much interested in ensuring that supply and sales do not dry up! I remember my visits to the U.S., where along the highways I often saw large billboards with just three words: ALCOHOL = NICOTINE = DRUGS! These are vices, addictions, harmful to users, exploited by those dealing in drugs!
I repeat: all of it, alcohol, smoking, and now cannabis, is harmful because of the presence of substances, even in small amounts, that lead to addiction. In most cases, it eventually results in substance abuse! Our country, with the current system of oversight, which is also underfunded, cannot and does not successfully monitor this. Sometimes it even refuses to sanction it. Without hesitation, I say this is about interests, profit, perhaps even the comfort of a minority, at the expense of the majority, which, through laws like this, must bear the cost of the consequences, especially in healthcare. When we were passing the law on smoking restrictions, I had data in front of me showing that Italy spent more on treating the consequences of smoking than it collected from tobacco revenue. But decisions were made based on lobbying and the interests of influential manufacturers! That is why I consciously state: the MPs who supported and will support such a law are irresponsible and harmful to society! Let it also be clear: if something is supported by the media, that does not mean those media are not helping the ruling coalition!
I would also like to add this: just because something is adopted in the West does not mean it is independent or free from lobbying and capital interests, both there and here! It is interesting how our politicians love to cite the West as an example, especially in areas that are increasingly tearing the West apart! Meanwhile, on other issues, like the European Parliament resolution on remembering the victims of postwar communist repression in Slovenia, our media barely reported anything. Because we have no solutions (not even in the EU) for social issues, managing interethnic tensions, or raising spoiled youth, many of whom are growing up without parents (since family no longer matters) and are permitted everything, even harmful vices, it is easier to legalise than to fix! Let me say this clearly: I do not know what real benefits the Netherlands gets from legalising drugs, aside from some capital. Is that the kind of democracy we want? No. These are merely responses to the inability to solve serious problems in modern society. That goes for the entire modern world, which is becoming increasingly entangled and lost by abandoning order and values. In such a world, all sorts of manipulators emerge, supported by the media! Dictators are born! We will regret it if we do not stop this in our small community.