If an American talks about using marijuana or other drugs in countries where such activity is perfectly legal, or even just discusses the hypothetical idea of such an activity with a friend or family member, he or she will be committing a felony crime under a heinous new bill recently passed by the US House Judiciary Committee.
Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2011 essentially applies US policies in the "War on Drugs" on the entire world, and makes it a crime for Americans to engage in, or even just talk about, activities that are legal abroad, but illegal back at home.
"Under this bill, if a young couple plans a wedding in Amsterdam, and as part of the wedding they plan to buy the bridal party some marijuana, they would be subject to prosecution," said Bill Piper, director of the national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, a group advocating for reform of US drug laws.
"The strange thing is that the purchase of and smoking the marijuana while you're there wouldn't be illegal. But this law would make planning the wedding from the US a federal crime."
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