GOOD

Should the United States De-criminalize Drug Possession (like Mexico Just Did)?

Patrick James
08.27.09

Big news from south of the border: Last week, Mexico issued a law de-criminalizing possession of pot, coke, heroin, meth, and acid in small amounts for "personal use," the idea being that prosecution is less effective and more expensive than rehabilitation-and that punishing non-violent users wasn't working. Clearly, this the stuff of controversy. And a consensus is rarely in sight when drug legislation is on the table-though the seemingly strange bedfellows of Reason and StreetCarnage are both scoffing at how little acid is allowed.Mexican authorities describe the legislation not as legalization per se, but an attempt at "giving citizens greater legal certainty," noting that police corruption is an ongoing problem, especially regarding the drug laws. Keep in mind this is a country that has seen 10,000 drug-war-related killings since January 2007 (more on that Wednesday). So while it's tempting to pose questions such as "will this work," it's probably a good idea to temper one's expectations for "working."Then again, consider the case of Portugal, which, in 2001, became the first European nation to abrogate criminal punishment for possession. As Time reported earlier this year, that much ballyhooed legislation worked rather swimmingly to reduce teen drug use and HIV infection. That news came around the time that the Obama-appointed drug Czar, Gil Kerlikowske, announced a shift the tone of American drug-legislation, which included the removal of the phrase "war" from the department's public lexicon. However, that was months ago, and for the time being, it seems like Obama's keeping quiet on the topic of Mexico.Considering how many people we have locked up on drug possession charges-and considering that, with all its pecuniary foibles, California is basically letting everyone out of jail anyway-do you think decriminalizing drug possession would be an effective solution for the United States?Image via Gawker. Thanks, Michelle.
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Greta Thunberg responds to Steven Mnuchin mocking her at the World Economic Forum

via International Monetary Fund / Flickr and Streetsblog Denver / Flickr

Seventeen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg made a dramatic speech Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In her address, she called for a public and private sector divestment from fossil fuel companies

"Immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies and immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels. We don't want these things done by 2050, or 2030 or even 2021 — we want this done now," she said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin mocked the teenager on Thursday during a press briefing in Davos.

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A study found running marathons might reverse some signs of aging

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Even though marathon running is on the decline, half a million people signed up to participate in the 2020 London Marathon. It seems wild that someone would voluntarily sign up to run 26.2 miles, but those half a million people might actually be on to something. A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that running a marathon can help reverse signs of aging.

Researchers at Barts and University College London looked at 138 first-time marathon runners between the ages of 21 and 69. "We wanted to look at novice athletes. We didn't include people who said they ran for more than two hours a week," Dr. Charlotte Manisty, the study's senior author and cardiologist at University College London, said per CNN.

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Tori, the Target manager who was Tweet-shamed by an irate cheapskate, just got a $30,000 vacation

A satisfying conclusion to an infuriating story.

via David Leavitt / Twitter and RealTargetTori / Twitter

Last Friday, GOOD reported on an infuriating incident that went down at a Massachusetts Target.

A Target manager who's come to be known as "Target Tori," was harassed by Twitter troll David Leavitt for not selling him an $89 Oral-B Pro 5000 toothbrush for a penny.

He describes himself as a "multimedia journalist who has worked for CBS, AXS, Yahoo, and others."

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