cannabisnews.com: Tougher Pot Penalty is Opposed 





Tougher Pot Penalty is Opposed 
Posted by CN Staff on February 15, 2006 at 09:15:59 PT
By Tony Cook, Post Staff Reporter
Source: Cincinnati Post 
Ohio -- A proposal to toughen the city's penalty for marijuana possession met firm resistance Tuesday from residents and some Council members.Saying that Ohio has the most lax marijuana laws in the nation and that local police need more tools to combat drugs, Councilman Cecil Thomas proposed stiffer penalties for marijuana possession.
But Councilmen Jim Tarbell and David Crowley said they would not support the measure, echoing a chorus of citizens who attended a meeting of Council's Law and Public Safety Committee."Whatever energy we have, we need to put it into more glaring problems," Tarbell said, emphasizing that former Councilman David Pepper made a similar proposal in August that failed for lack of support."There was absolutely no conspicuous support from this community," Tarbell said of Pepper's measure.That was also the case Tuesday for Thomas' proposal."I see drug dealers down there all the time," said Susan Frances of Over-the-Rhine. "They're not dealing marijuana."The city needs to concentrate on more serious crime, she said. "Marijuana is a peaceful drug," she asserted.Thomas wants to change the city code to make possessing less than 200 grams of marijuana a first-degree misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Now, possession of less than 100 grams is a minor misdemeanor under state law, meaning police can only write a $100 ticket.Thomas said his plan would discourage those in neighboring states from coming into the city to buy drugs.Those possessing less than eight ounces of marijuana in Kentucky face a maximum sentence of at least a year in jail and a $500 fine. In Indiana, those caught with less than 30 grams face up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine."All 49 other states have some form of physical arrest or community control," said Thomas.He said increasing the violation to an arrest-level offense also would make it easier for police to search offenders and their vehicles and perhaps find guns. That's why Councilman Chris Monzel gave his support."Let's try to address something small and try to get something bigger out of it," he said.The new law would also allow judges to put offenders on probation and required them to get treatment, Thomas said.But residents voiced concerns about jail space, limited police resources and the effect on the county's legal system.Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis has said he didn't think Thomas' proposal would pose a big problem for the county jail, since most offenders could be processed and released with a court date.But Cincinnati State student Todd Roy said the law change would inevitably cost taxpayers because more public defenders would have to be hired.Council Members Jeff Berding and Leslie Ghiz said they would like a more thorough and holistic analysis of the issue.The law committee referred the matter to city staff for study and will deal with it at the next law committee meeting.Source: Cincinnati Post (OH)Author: Tony Cook, Post Staff ReporterPublished: February 15, 2006Copyright: 2006 The Cincinnati PostContact: postedits cincypost.comWebsite: http://www.cincypost.com/Related Article:Toughened Penalty for Pot Has Found Support http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21561.shtmlCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #21 posted by whig on March 15, 2006 at 16:07:43 PT
Weather forecast
Partly cloudy, with a chance of frogs.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #20 posted by whig on March 15, 2006 at 15:55:18 PT
Hope
Good answer.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #19 posted by Hope on March 15, 2006 at 15:25:44 PT
This morning
the National Republican Party called me. They asked to ask me some questions. I must have given them the wrong answer because they only asked one and said goodbye and didn't even ask for money. They asked, "Do you think if the Democrats won control of government next time, would it be worse for the country, better for the country, or would it make no difference." I said I didn't think it would make any difference. They said , "Thank you." and hung up.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #18 posted by FoM on March 15, 2006 at 12:37:14 PT
Hope
After seeing the documentary it makes me wonder if people turned against Democrats because of Waco at least people from the south. Tom and Rollie were killed under Bush's watch. It doesn't matter who is running the government it's how they are running the government. We are the country. We are the people. Why don't we let people live and let live? The censorship is what keeps people from getting angry. Only CNN has stayed on top of what is going on in New Orleans. The TV News shows us the results of tornados but we don't hear about how the insurance companies won't pay them for their loss for any number of reasons. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by Hope on March 15, 2006 at 12:25:59 PT
Documentary
I didn't figure I would be able to stand it. I know the Davidian Christians thought they were in a battle against Satantic forces, possibly even the Beast, himself. In a way they were right.The government didn't have to do any of the things they did to those people. They just wanted to because some of the enforcers thought it would be fun and a chance to do some exciting intimidation on people. Seriously, I wouldn't doubt that siezing all their go carts and recreational vehicles looked to the enforcers like they could have a lot of fun with that stuff themselves, once they had siezed them. It's sickening that they were allowed to get away with it. Everyone from Reno on down should have been prosecuted for murder and harrassment.People involved in that horror actually got promoted and commendations...just as they did after Ruby Ridge.Our government is worthy of being truly despised. I'd like to know where the outrage is about those incidents. Virtuous Bill wanted to know where the outrage over people's personal consumption of herbs and drugs was. I want to know where the outrage was over those murders by the government.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by FoM on March 15, 2006 at 12:16:13 PT
It's Over Now
What a tragedy. Where is reason? Why didn't they talk more with them even if it took a long time? They use to talk down a person who was going to jump off a building. Why is violence resorted to when talking and negotiations can help end an event non violently? They wonder why we fear our government. Tom and Rollie might not have died if they had given them more time. We don't seem to have the time for peace anymore.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by FoM on March 15, 2006 at 12:01:01 PT
Hope
This is by far the most horrible documentary I have ever seen. Damn them is all I can think to say.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by FoM on March 15, 2006 at 11:34:33 PT
Tom and Rollie
I am shocked by this documentary. They just showed little pretty children waving bye bye and now they are attacking the house. Why do they call it a compound? It's where they lived.A week or so before 9/11 we lost two men.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/rb.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by Hope on March 15, 2006 at 11:24:18 PT
Waco
"I thought we were allowed to be different. I guess we really aren't." I think you're right about that. Did they mention the drug connection? At first that was their excuse for going in there in force, like they did. It's very odd that that did happen, I remember it well, but I haven't heard it mentioned in years.Guess I'm not the only one who get's spitting mad. http://tinyurl.com/zfofg
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by FoM on March 15, 2006 at 11:04:59 PT
Hope
We are watching the Waco documentary. This is so sad and so wrong. I don't believe like they believed but I thought we were allowed to be different. I guess we really aren't.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by Hope on March 15, 2006 at 10:41:42 PT
Anger
You're right, FoM. I do control it and I only lost it once, many years ago. I'd never do it again, but I think it's righteous anger, yet I try to put it away reasonably without acting on it. I try to follow the suggestion that I not let "the sun go down on my anger" so as not to give that "devil" of anger and hatred a "foothold" in my heart. Anger usually comes with a surge of adrenaline, but in the long run it weakens a person. It's a real tug of war sometimes.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 15, 2006 at 10:09:34 PT
Hope
I don't have a temper much anymore. I get upset but not really angry. I think it is because I know there is so little that I can change. When I was younger I thought I could fix everything. All I can do now is what I do here and live in peace as best as I can. Anger stops growth in my opinion. Anger just can't fix anything.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by Hope on March 15, 2006 at 09:07:17 PT
Am I of Italian ancestry?
First let me clear up who "they" are in the sentence, "They are as vile as those "white washed sephulcres"...full of filth and decay and "dead men's bones".""They"...being the people behind hogwash and dangerous laws like the one being foisted on the citizens of Cinncinati. I have traced my ancestory to about twelve different nationalities...but I must have missed some Italian somewhere. I want to spit on the people, like some old Italian women use to express their disdain, who are behind these egregious laws. I just have a terrible desire to spit forcefully right in their faces. My mouth is watering to do so. Oh, well.Control. It's about self-control. I only gave in to that inclination one time in my life and I was really sorry that I did it. I bought balloons and hired a cartoon character to deliver them to the person I did it to. They pushed me way too far and while I would never physically hurt anyone for offending me, I did give in to that one time in my life. I was sorry about spitting in their face. Yet....I will shoot them the old time honored Arab "finger"...show them the bottom of my foot! 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 15, 2006 at 08:59:48 PT
Guns and Marijuana
Hope you know I don't like guns and we don't have one in our home. I wish guns and marijuana weren't even in the same sentence. If people want to own a gun it doesn't matter to me though. I really don't have any friends that like guns from this area. Many times a person gets caught with marijuana and they own a gun. Reagan if I am not mistaken made it if a person is involved in illegal drugs and owns a gun they will get in big trouble. I wish I could remember better what that law was about.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Hope on March 15, 2006 at 08:52:21 PT
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses.
"...it would give officers broader powers to search people or vehicles." More "tools" and more "powers" and more money for the prison industrial complex people. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer. What's the guys problems with guns? Does the Second Ammendment not apply in Ohio?I'd love to see a mass exit from Cincinatti of all the people against this particular little experiment in law.They know marijuana isn't dangerous, except for the danger of conflict with law enforcement and all that means...but it's an "excuse" to do other things to people. That really sounds illegal. It's not really about marijuana...it's about searching for and seizing guns? Why not make a law about searching for and siezing guns?The war on marijuana and drugs has been used as an "excuse" to destroy the lives and freedoms of so many Americans.They are as vile as those "white washed sephulcres"...full of filth and decay and "dead men's bones". 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by FoM on March 15, 2006 at 07:56:20 PT
Cincinnati Poised To Toughen Pot Law
March 15, 2006Starting today, getting caught with a little pot could mean a little jail time - for at least the next year.Cincinnati City Council's Law and Public Safety Committee adopted a tougher marijuana ordinance Tuesday - over the objections of a dozen citizens who testified at the hearing.The full council will consider the ordinance today - but a majority, five members, has already voted in support of it. The ordinance would increase the penalty for possessing less than 100 grams of marijuana - even a single joint - from a written citation and a $100 fine to arrest and a possible 30 days in jail.Councilman Cecil Thomas promoted the ordinance, saying it would be a way to get guns off the streets and make neighborhoods safer because it would give officers broader powers to search people or vehicles. Committee members were lukewarm on the idea, until a compromise one-year sunset clause was added - meaning the law would expire after a year unless renewed by council.The compromise was brokered by Councilman Jeff Berding, who said the city administration would give reports after six months and one year on a number of issues: the amount of drugs and guns confiscated as a result of the stiffer law, the impact on police and jail capacity, the impact on open air drug "markets," and the cost. "By placing a one-year sunset clause, we're forcing this council to analyze the information," Berding said. "Then we can decide with a lot of knowledge if it's effective."Snipped:Complete Article: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060315/NEWS01/603150342/-1/CINCI
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by Had Enough on February 15, 2006 at 14:32:19 PT
More New Laws
He said increasing the violation to an arrest-level offense also would make it easier for police to search offenders and their vehicles and perhaps find guns. That's why Councilman Chris Monzel gave his support. Increasing the violation to an arrest-level offense, so everybody gets to pay for the price of violent armed criminals that law enforcement has their hands full, keeping up with. "Let's try to address something small and try to get something bigger out of it," he said. Let’s take a small issue and make it larger than life, put people in jail, ruin their families, and bankrupt them in the process.  At least he is admitting it is not such a big deal after all.The new law would also allow judges to put offenders on probation and required them to get treatment, Thomas said. The new law would keep making criminals out of people who weren’t so they can keep the status quo going, and their money flowing.All of the above do not represent WE THE PEOPLE. Register and Vote, and take a friend with you. Vote these people out of office.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 15, 2006 at 10:54:13 PT
PainWithNoInsurance
I wish that the powers that be would stop all this about marijuana and do something about serious problems we face in society.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on February 15, 2006 at 10:36:14 PT
Though Times
Indiana has tough laws on MJ, and at the same time is one of the most bankrupt states in the union. The state has put its financial burden on property owners with very high property taxes. Why waste tax payer's money on something that doesn't work and harms no one.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 15, 2006 at 10:02:03 PT
Ohio
I lived in Ohio when the penalty was a 20 to 40 year sentence. It was one of the toughest marijuana laws in the nation. I was afraid to move to Ohio because of the laws. I saw a person sentenced to 20 to 40 years. He was released after 2 years because they changed the law while he was serving time. Since that time marijuana hasn't been an issue. Don't get caught drinking and driving though. We have or had a judge called the hanging judge when it comes to alcohol and driving.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on February 15, 2006 at 09:55:49 PT
It Harms One Man
I don't know how Councilman Cecil Thomas can sleep at night knowing the law is so lax. It must be so important to him knowing that nobody is being harmed from this law but him.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment