Would it be legal to open up a raft somewhere in
international waters, selling dope to any passerby
in a boat?
I guess no one wants to touch this one 
Is it because you don’t know, or because you just
don’t like me? 
Give it time. Some of our Dopers are Parents, Easter Bunny work is tireing:D
The US Coast Guard and other countries’ shore patrols regularly raid suspected drug couriers’ boats while they’re in international waters. I think this is justified as preventing crime that could occur within their borders.
Since such a raft would be facilitating the possession of illegal drugs, the Coast Guard would be justified in raiding it.
Is it not true that in international waters, the US Coast Guard (or anyone else, for that matter) is “justified” in doing anything they damn please? What justice can you have in the absence of law?
IAACGBO, (I am a Coast Guard Boarding Officer) and here’s a few points. Authority & Jurisdiction. The USCG has A&J over all vessels/persons within US territorial seas, with very few exceptions, which are irrelevent to this. Now, in international waters, the USCG has A&J over any US flagged vessel, anywhere in the world, with the exception of foreign state waters. This usually doesn’t stop anything, as only an SNO (Statement of No Objection) must be obtained from the host gov’t prior to the USCG entering those state waters. This happens every single day, particularly in the Caribbean areas. About the only place in this hemisphere you could hide from the CG if you were smuggling, is Cuban waters. Remember, possession with intent to distribute is illegal, not because you are on US soil, but because you possess it with intent. That may be in Indiana, or the High Seas. Also, drug smuggling (which is how drug possession with intent to distribute would be viewed on the high seas/international waters) is in violation of international maritime law, of which the USCG enforces.
Hope this helps some. I’m not a subject matter specialist, just the guy they trained to do the “raiding” (lol) and paperwork, and I’ll try to answer any further questions best I can.
What if the vessels are flagged under Jamaica or
the netherlands, where Marijuana is legal?
Does international maritime law say specifically which
‘drugs’ (a term which does not include marijuana,
according to the OED) are considered illegal?
This is just a wild guess on my part, but I’d wager that if the USCG raided such a vessel that was near the US coastline (even if it was still in International waters) to the point that it was reasonable to assume that its cargo of Marijuana was destined for sale in the US that neither Jamaica nor the Netherlands would complain about the results.
(“But officer, I left one Jamaican port for another one, and was only going to sell this cargo in Jamaica. I got lost in a storm and am merely trying to find my way home. No, really, you say those buildings on the shore are part of Miami?”)
You waited 9 minutes & didn’t get a reply? Sorry, we didn’t get back to you sooner & I was asleep at 5am Grievar.
What ocean & what part of the ocean are you asking of Grievar?
Is marijuana totally legal now in Jamaic? CITE, please.
Without my manuals handy, I’ll try to answer from memory as best I can. Firstly, marijuana is considered a drug for the purposes of this discussion. Second, having been to Jamaica many times, I do not believe that it is legal. At least not for everyone. I believe (correct me if I’m wrong anyone) that mj possession is only legal for Rastafarians, as part of thier culture/religion. Last I heard, there were proposals underway in Jamaica to legalize it in some way. Drug smuggling from Jamaica is very common, mostly mj, and the USCG/USN routinely patrol the waters in and around Jamaica looking for “war canoes”, high speed, long, low go fasts for smuggling. Busts down there in and out of their waters are common. This is all with full cooperation of the Jamaican gov’t, as they lack the resources to combat this on their own, and much of it is headed to the US. (This is the case with most carib. nations, as well as Central & South America) The intent of the war canoes is clear. Now, say a CG cutter comes across a Jamaican vessel in international waters, conducts a boarding, either consensual (very common) or with an SNO (again, very common), and discovers personal use quantities of mj, and the owner claims to be rastafarian. To be honest, if I were the BO on that one, I would need guidance in what exactly international maritime law states (if in int. waters), and what action, if any, to take. We do this all the time, because most of our work down there deals with other nations, and we don’t take any action, ignorant of the facts, and cause any international incidents. My guess is that we would take no action, and be on our way. As far as the Netherlands, I would say the same goes, if it’s legal, provided it is clear that smuggling is not the case. I’m gonna guess that smuggling large quantities is not legal in the netherlands, despite what the personal use laws are.
To sum it up, when dealing with vessels of other nations, if laws are found to be violated in international waters, it is up to the host nation as to the disposition of the case. Usually, they request that we take action either on their behalf enforcing US law, or in accordance with international law, if applicable. Hope this clears it up some.
As Chandeleur mentioned, Jamaica is currently re-examining it’s cannabis prohibition policy.
And, despite it’s reputation, Marijuana is still illegal in the Netherlands due to its participation in the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961).
So does this mean that the old belief that you can do anything you want on international waters is totally false?
(Gasp!)The Simpsons lied to me!:eek:
Homer: We made it son. International waters – the land that law forgot!
Bart: Wow, you can do anything out here!
Homer: That’s right. See that ship over there? [points to a
ship with a large satellite dish on it] They’re re-broadcasting Major League Baseball with implied oral consent, not express written consent – or so the legend goes.
(Bart teases a Coast Guard cutter holding position just inside United States national waters.)
Bart: Hey, Coast Guard! Try to stop us now, you lousy Americans.
Coast Guard: We can’t hear you! Come three hundred feet closer!
Bart: Nice try. You’re not going to nail us.
Coast Guard: But we just want to party.
Bart: Oh, really? Then play some rock music.
[Man on cutter mimics the guitar riff from “China Grove”]
Homer: Come on, Bart! The Coast Guard’s covering the Doobs!
I know I read a Supreme Court case that dealt with this issue, but I can’t find it. Errr. Anyway, it sounds like Chandeleaur knows what he’s talking about. I’ll just add that Article 17(3) of the 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances says that a state which has reason to suspect that a vessel of another party is engaged in drug trafficking on the high seas has to request authorization from the flag state to act against the vessel. The treaty also encourages states to form bilateral treaties, and I imagine the US has entered into a number of them to facilitate searches.
On the general question of when a ship of another state (a state can always stop a vessel with its own flag) may be stopped on the high seas, here are the usual exceptions:[list=1]
[li]Stateless ships.[/li][li]Hot pursuit.[/li][li]Right of approach. When there are reasonable grounds to believe the ship is of the same nationality but is not flying the flag.[/li][li]Treaties that give states a reciprocal power of arrest over one another’s ships.[/li][li]Piracy.[/li][li]Belligerent rights during a time of war.[/li][li]Self-defense.[/li][/list=1]