1 in 136 U.S. Residents Behind Bars...

[Powerman]

Very troubling. They should de-criminalize drugs, let the government sell and tax them. Get's rid of all of the incentive for gang violence because there is no reason to "defend" drug turf anymore. Then people will stop whining about guns, too....

Time to come out of the dark ages and use prisons for real criminals like they should be.

Yes

At the very least weed should be legalized immediately.

 

[CSM]

Yes

At the very least weed should be legalized immediately.

Good idea...and just to head off any future complications, ban smoking weed in public places (no second hand high for me thank you) and give the employer the right to discriminate against those who choose to partake of the cannabis. While we are at it, make sure the law legalizing pot contains a provision for heavy taxation at state and federal level; also a provision requiring manufacturers to label their product as hazardous to health. In fact, lets start the lawsuits against major weed producers now and save some time.

 

[Abbey Normal]

It's not legal in my jurisdiction but it has been decriminalised for many years. Unfortunately the fact of decriminlisation is a bit of a political football and the amount allowed before it becomes a criminal offence (personal use only) and the number of plants allowed to be grown for personal use before it becomes a criminal offence changes with changes in government. But it's still decriminalised at the personal use level. And our world has not collapsed.

Users/possessors/personal growers get an infringement notice for a small monetary amount (they can still contest it in court if they wish). First time "offenders" are cautioned and sent to an educational programme. Users who are pinched several times may be sent on a rehab programme.

Drug dealers get the can [bwhatever it is they're dealing[/b]. They only got get shot if they shoot first.

If pot is legal, why should the guy dealing pot be jailed?

 

[T-Bor]

Kind of fits in with the whole Red Blue state theory dont it ?

Is this disturbing to anyone other than me?

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/21/D8HODD7G0.html

 

[insein]

Kind of fits in with the whole Red Blue state theory dont it ?

I dont follow you. explain.

 

[Diuretic]

If pot is legal, why should the guy dealing pot be jailed?

If it was legal that would be right, it would be inconsistent, but it's not legalised, just decriminalised. It's still technically illegal to possess a small amount of cannabis or to grow more than one plant for your own use but if you're found by the police in possession of that small amount or the one plant you won't be arrested and put through the trial process. The officer will simply seize the material, give you a receipt for it and then give you an infringement notice (a bit like a traffic ticket) which you can choose to pay (I think it's about 55 days to pay) or you can contest it if you wish and go to court. The good thing is - no criminal record.

 

[Abbey Normal]

If it was legal that would be right, it would be inconsistent, but it's not legalised, just decriminalised. It's still technically illegal to possess a small amount of cannabis or to grow more than one plant for your own use but if you're found by the police in possession of that small amount or the one plant you won't be arrested and put through the trial process. The officer will simply seize the material, give you a receipt for it and then give you an infringement notice (a bit like a traffic ticket) which you can choose to pay (I think it's about 55 days to pay) or you can contest it if you wish and go to court. The good thing is - no criminal record.

Perhaps it should be decriminalized for the dealers as well then. They could be restricted to selling to each customer whatever small amount is determined to be ok. Just thinking out loud here.

 

[Diuretic]

Perhaps it should be decriminalized for the dealers as well then. They could be restricted to selling to each customer whatever small amount is determined to be ok. Just thinking out loud here.

Good point. It's perfectly logical. Sadly though you'd be looking far and wide to find a legislator that had the guts to propose that. The problem is that - I'm speaking about my own jurisdiction - we've had so many years of the "war on drugs" rhetoric that if a politician did stand up and try to argue that they would be harassed into silence.

 

[William Joyce]

The U.S. doesn't have a drug problem. It's got a race problem. A very disproportionate number of the imprisoned are black, Hispanic and increasingly, ILLEGAL. I've read that the California's prison population is more than half illegal aliens. This is how a white population afraid to confront its dwindling numbers in the face of hostile, growing and often violent non-white groups tries to deal with the situation. It would be more honest to stop non-white immigration (i.e., stop immigration), deport illegals, send the ones we have imprisoned back to their home countries so taxpayers don't have to foot their bill, and begin the process of domestically separating the races.

 

[jillian]

The U.S. doesn't have a drug problem. It's got a race problem. A very disproportionate number of the imprisoned are black, Hispanic and increasingly, ILLEGAL. I've read that the California's prison population is more than half illegal aliens. This is how a white population afraid to confront its dwindling numbers in the face of hostile, growing and often violent non-white groups tries to deal with the situation. It would be more honest to stop non-white immigration (i.e., stop immigration), deport illegals, send the ones we have imprisoned back to their home countries so taxpayers don't have to foot their bill, and begin the process of domestically separating the races.

RAFLMAO!! Couldn't possibly be due to unequal enforcement, at least in part, could it?

 

[dilloduck]

RAFLMAO!! Couldn't possibly be due to unequal enforcement, at least in part, could it?

No--might be due to thier inability to afford high priced defense attorneys tho.

 

[jillian]

No--might be due to thier inability to afford high priced defense attorneys tho.

Might be part of it. Although I think, often, they don't bother bringing certain types of charges against middle and upper class people and when they do, those charges get plea bargained away. Either way, it's not a "race" problem, per se. It's more of an endemic problem.

Anyway, gotta run! Spot you soon!

 

[dilloduck]

Might be part of it. Although I think, often, they don't bother bringing certain types of charges against middle and upper class people and when they do, those charges get plea bargained away. Either way, it's not a "race" problem, per se. It's more of an endemic problem.

Anyway, gotta run! Spot you soon!

Do you have any idea how many charges aren't filed on minorities because is simply isn't worth the time, money or risk of lawsuits?

 

[Annie]

Might be part of it. Although I think, often, they don't bother bringing certain types of charges against middle and upper class people and when they do, those charges get plea bargained away. Either way, it's not a "race" problem, per se. It's more of an endemic problem.

Anyway, gotta run! Spot you soon!

:shocked: No 'laterz'?

 

[dilloduck]

:shocked: No 'laterz'?

Maybe she was mocked so much for saying it that she quit using it.:huh:

 

[William Joyce]

Couldn't possibly be due to unequal enforcement, at least in part, could it?

You are suggesting that whites commit crimes at a rate proportional to or greater than blacks and Hispanics, but that police and prosecutors don't focus on them. That is preposterous on several levels. But anyone using as nonsensical as phrase as "unequal enforcement" is probably not going to be swayed by any of them. Tell me, jillian, about this "equal enforcement" idea: Should the cops be sitting down at the stationhouse with a ticker to make sure that we have it?

"Let this one go, Harry. He raped and murdered three people, but we're over the 'black quota' for the day."

Talk about falling on the floor laughing.

 

[Annie]

Maybe she was mocked so much for saying it that she quit using it.:huh:

Ya think?

 

[Hobbit]

You are suggesting that whites commit crimes at a rate proportional to or greater than blacks and Hispanics, but that police and prosecutors don't focus on them. That is preposterous on several levels. But anyone using as nonsensical as phrase as "unequal enforcement" is probably not going to be swayed by any of them. Tell me, jillian, about this "equal enforcement" idea: Should the cops be sitting down at the stationhouse with a ticker to make sure that we have it?

"Let this one go, Harry. He raped and murdered three people, but we're over the 'black quota' for the day."

Talk about falling on the floor laughing.

No, I got it. They take all the guys they've round up for the day, divide them into racial groups, then line them up by the seriousness of the crime. That way, they get the most serious offenders, and once they meet the quota, they let go of the 'milder' cases.

 

[Dr Grump]

Maybe she was mocked so much for saying it that she quit using it.:huh:

People mocked her for using it? How thick-skinned of them...

 

[Dr Grump]

You are suggesting that whites commit crimes at a rate proportional to or greater than blacks and Hispanics, but that police and prosecutors don't focus on them. That is preposterous on several levels. But anyone using as nonsensical as phrase as "unequal enforcement" is probably not going to be swayed by any of them. Tell me, jillian, about this "equal enforcement" idea: Should the cops be sitting down at the stationhouse with a ticker to make sure that we have it?

"Let this one go, Harry. He raped and murdered three people, but we're over the 'black quota' for the day."

Talk about falling on the floor laughing.

I think it's more related to economic status more than race....