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Bill: Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act
Details
Submitted by[?]: Federal Heritage Party of Hutori
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: September 4063
Description[?]:
| This bill seeks to redefine the terms used to classify recreational substances. This bill acknowledges that many naturally occurring recreational substances can in fact do irreparable damage to the human body. Such substances can include but, are not limited to certain classes of opioids, benzoylmethylecgonines and fungi. Article 1) A recreational substance is defined as a drug intended to be consumed for purposes not related to the treatment of illness or injury. Article 2) The possession of all recreational substances for intent to use or sell is hereby illegal. This does not include cannabinoids, alcohol, or tobacco products. Article 3) Possession of the aforementioned substances does not constitute criminal charges. Instead an offer of physiological treatment will be made to be accepted or denied by the offender. Article 4) If the offender has been treated by a medical professional in excess of three times for injuries or illnesses related to recreational substances use then the offered rehabilitation is mandatory. Article 5) Research by medical and biochemical professionals is permitted under guidelines by the Ministry of Health and Social Services. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change The recreational drug policy.
Old value:: All naturally occurring drugs are legal.
Current: All naturally occurring drugs are legal.
Proposed: The use of cannabis is legal.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 19:13:18, July 21, 2016 CET | From | Federal Heritage Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, We open this bill up for debate. Senator Jared Holt (F-AD) Federalist Senate Leader |
| Date | 19:32:30, July 21, 2016 CET | From | Moderate Capitalist Party | To | Debating the Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act |
| Message | Mr. Speaker-- Do not put this Ministry under further constraints by having to worry about what substances people are using. This is a violation of liberties when government could be doing much more important work (if the international dangers are to be believed). This is not something we can stand for, and we will vote it down. Dean Powell Health Minister |
| Date | 19:54:32, July 21, 2016 CET | From | New Athlorcaean Dawn | To | Debating the Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, Of course, we'd prefer to ban cannabis as well, but this is a step in the right direction. Drug dealers are scum of the earth who prey on the weak and destroy the lives among those east among us, the pest deterrent would probably be the death penalty. We may compensate this with laxer regulation for alcohol and tobacco and other things that civilized people use to relax responsibly. Morgana Saintheart PPP Human Rights Spokesperson |
| Date | 20:31:00, July 21, 2016 CET | From | Federal Heritage Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, It seems Minister Powell has a knack for being uninformed and or misrepresenting the issues. It is an unequivocal fact that the substances outlined above have been scientifically proven to be detrimental to a person's health. In some case leading to disabilities which the federal government then must pay for and in others leading to death. Now to be clear we are not suggesting that we treat this as a criminal justice issue but, as a public health issue. Which I might add has proven to be a better path than either treating it as a criminal justice issue or sticking one's head in the sand as Minister Powell proposes we do. Dr. Jonathan Henry Professor of Biochemistry Jameson University Federalist Health Critic |
| Date | 06:40:01, July 22, 2016 CET | From | National Monarchist Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act |
| Message | "Mr. Speaker, I assume the honorable gentleman also wants to ban alcohol and fatty foods? There's no reason to have either. They make you fat and impair your decision making. Are we going to build massive fat rehabilitation centers and cart obese people into them in massive cattle cars? Or are they allowed to make their own decisions? Dr. Henry pretends that a "rehabilitation facility" is not a jail, but if you are carried in and chains and not allowed to leave, what is that? And I might speak on what the spokesperson for PPP had to say when they attacked drug dealers. There are criminal drug dealers who deal in unnaturally occurring substances, and amazingly, they don't care for the law. The substances they sell are not controlled nor regulated. The addicts who go to them have no guarantees that they're getting what they think they're getting. By letting drug addicts into the light, we allow the healing process to begin. Drug addiction is a medical issue. If banning drugs worked, why don't we also ban cancer and high blood pressure?" - Sen. Robert Beaulier (LDP-FA) Former Minister of Health and Social Services |
| Date | 19:14:31, July 22, 2016 CET | From | Federal Heritage Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, While Senator Beaulier's hyperbole and straw men are certainly amusing it does little to actually contribute to the debate. Senator Beaulier rightfully calls both alcohol and fatty foods health risks. Yet his proposition is that we do nothing about them or the rampant drug abuse that goes on. As for his comparison of drugs to fatty foods this is a very uneducated comparison as while yes there are health risk to a high fat diet such a diet does not endanger others. Drugs which impair ones ability to properly function endangers everyone around them certain naturally occurring substances can have the side effects of heightened aggression, impaired judgement and decrease reaction time. All of which can lead to the death or injury of a non-impaired person. As for a rehabilitation center being a "jail" this is just a blatant misrepresentation of reality. Is it wrong to save someone from suicide? Or perhaps it is wrong to stop a child from consuming lead. While in these cases yes it must be done by force it is always for the individuals' betterment. Would you doom a child because they are ignorant or a person because they are suffering from depression? The answer that any compassionate human being would give is a resounding no, we would do our best to try and help them. And that is what we are trying to accomplish, we are trying to assist those who have a psychological dependence on these substances. We don't believe that throwing them in prison is the answer instead a more compassionate approach is required. Lastly, Senator Beaulier is correct it is a public health issue and just as the government provided treatment vectors for the H7N3 Flu so should we provided treatment plans for this public health issue. Dr. Jonathan Henry Professor of Biochemistry Jameson University Federalist Health Critic |
| Date | 00:04:01, July 23, 2016 CET | From | National Monarchist Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act |
| Message | "Mr. Speaker, It is both ridiculous and offensive to compare adult consenting citizens to children. The people of Hutori are not chess men on a board that the honorable gentleman can move around on a whim. In the Liberal Democratic Party, we do not believe in Utopias -- we only respond to facts. The Federalist Party knows little about what they imagine they can design." - Sen. Robert Beaulier (LDP-FA) Former Health Minister |
| Date | 02:59:22, July 23, 2016 CET | From | Federal Heritage Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Bill F-14: Harmful Substance Act |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, Once again Senator Beaulier engages in logical fallacies by cherry picking points from my argument and by engaging in hyperbolic rhetoric. Yes we compared adult citizens to children because in some cases their knowledge in the area of Biochemistry is that of a child's at best. This is of course through no fault of their own as we can not all be experts in every field and not all of us can be biochemists as Senator Beaulier's ignorance on the subject so eloquently proves. As for the Senator's accusation that we intend to maneuver citizens like chess pieces that is in direct contradiction of our intended goal and more indicative of the Senator's position. Compassion is our main goal we seek to help those with substance dependence overcome said dependence. We seek to give them the opportunity for freedom from this dependence while the LDP seeks to have our citizens remain beholden to drug manufacturers and to continue the cycle of perpetual dependence. We also would like to point out that the rehabilitation program is voluntary with only a single exception. So we would like to ask of Senator Beaulier who is the chess master those who seek freedom or those who impose dependence? Furthermore, I find it interesting that the honorable Senator does not argue from a position of scientific fact. Perhaps it is because if he did he wouldn't have ground to stand on. The Senator freely admits that these substance are harmful to the human body and potentially to those around someone who engages in these substances. Science is overwhelming in it's conclusion that in most cases substance abuse is due to underlying psychological issues. The evidence suggests that the best way to treat these issues is through mental rehabilitation. So how can the Senator deny these people the access to treatment and continue to perpetuate the current cycle of dependence? Dr. Jonathan Henry Professor of Biochemistry Jameson University Federalist Health Critic |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 173 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 388 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
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