(or are they? have I been disinfo'd?)

I am of the opinion that the drug war is evil: cops and jails ruining someone's life because of a recreational activity. And the evidence shows it does more harm than good, not stuff I have to go over again.

But DPRK and China are harsh on drugs, not sure about Cuba.

What's up with that?

First counterargument that comes to my mind is a lot of capitalist countries are very harsh on drugs as well, like the very capitalist Singapore, so you couldn't draw a correlation. What other counterarguments should a comrade consider?

  • Redcuban1959 [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    It's more an East Asian thing, it's banned in Japan and Taiwan too, idk about South Korea. But in the DPRK is pretty common to see people using cannabis.

    The Opium wars was one of the major reasons why they hate most drugs. Also drugs are banned in Cuba, as for SocDem countries in LatAm, Bolivia and Colombia allow the cultivation and usage of Coca plants. Cannabis is legal in Colombia.

    • ssjmarx [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      But in the DPRK is pretty common to see people using cannabis.

      This is actually a myth. The DPRK cultivates low-THC hemp for industrial use, and due to translation errors of articles about this the idea that they grew a lot of pot became widespread. People who've visited the country however, including a Swedish ambassador, confirm that the drug is not actually legal there.

      Here's an AP story about the myth, which drops the fun fact that it may have been started by Radio Free Asia.