cannabisnews.com: HI: Criminal Classification Of Cannabis Is Unwarranted HI: Criminal Classification Of Cannabis Is Unwarranted Posted by CN Staff on February 08, 2007 at 18:28:42 PT By Paul Armentano Source: Hawaii Reporter Hawaii -- Legislation pending in the Hawaii legislature that seeks to reclassify the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana from a petty misdemeanor to a civil violation is a step in the right direction for those who value civil liberties and fiscal responsibility. To date, 11 states – California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon – have ‘decriminalized’ the use of cannabis so that possessing the drug yields only non-criminal penalties, such as payment of a small fine. One state, Alaska, has legalized the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis within the privacy an adult’s home. According to numerous government surveys, these long-standing state laws relaxing pot penalties have not led to an increase in marijuana use, nor have they negatively altered adolescents’ perception of the drug. By contrast, criminal marijuana prohibition has had no discernable long-term impact on marijuana’s availability or use, especially among young people. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, teenagers report that pot has surpassed tobacco and alcohol as the easiest drug for adolescents to obtain. This result is hardly surprising, given that annual federal data compiled by the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future project reports that an estimated 86 percent of 12th graders say that marijuana is “fairly easy” or “very easy to get.” This percentage has remained virtually unchanged since the mid 1970s – despite remarkably increased marijuana penalties, enforcement, and arrests since that time. Otherwise law-abiding citizens who smoke marijuana responsibly are not part of the crime problem, and the law should stop treating them like criminals.In 2005, the last year for which nationwide data is available, law enforcement arrested over 786,000 persons for marijuana violations. Of these arrests, 88% were for simple possession only. According to US Department of Justice figures, US taxpayers now spend over $1 billion incarcerating Americans for violating pot laws.Locally, law enforcement arrest approximately 1,300 Hawaii citizens each year for marijuana violations at a cost of nearly $5 million to taxpayers.This misguided law enforcement effort wastes limited police resources and distracts personnel from focusing their efforts on more serious public safety activities. Moreover, criminally classifying cannabis is disproportionate in relation both to its inherent harmfulness, and to the harmfulness of other substances – particularly alcohol and tobacco. In general, population studies have failed to document demonstrable deficits in neurocognitive performance in long-term pot smokers compared to non-users, nor have they identified many of the significant negative health consequences typically associated with tobacco smoking – such as increased incidences of lung, upper aerodigestive tract, and oral cancers – in cannabis-only populations. A pair of recent case-controlled studies reported that past use of marijuana, unlike alcohol use, is not associated with an increased risk of injury, including both violent injuries and non-violent injuries such as burns. Self-reported use of cannabis is also associated with a substantially decreased risk of injury requiring hospitalization compared to self-reported use of alcohol and/or other illicit drugs. Finally, removing criminal penalties for the possession of small quantities of marijuana enjoys support from the majority of Americans. According to the latest CNN/Time Magazine poll on the subject, 76% of Americans favor a fine over criminal penalties for the possession of marijuana. Marijuana isn’t harmless and the proponents of cannabis law reform do not claim that it is. However, pot’s relative risks to the user and society are arguably less than those of alcohol and tobacco, and they do not warrant the continued arrest of thousands of Hawaii's citizens every year. According to government statistics, approximately 94 million Americans self-identify as having used cannabis at some point in their lives, and relatively few acknowledge having suffered significant deleterious health effects due to their use. Senate Bill 1296 and House Bill 1711 reflect this reality rather than denying it. Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst of NORML and the NORML Foundation in Washington, DC. Reach him via email at: paul norml.org Complete Title: Hawaii's Criminal Classification Of Cannabis Is UnwarrantedSource: Hawaii Reporter (HI)Author: Paul ArmentanoPublished: February 8, 2007Copyright: 2007 Hawaii Reporter, Inc.Contact: Malia HawaiiReporter.com Website: http://www.hawaiireporter.com/NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #31 posted by FoM on February 10, 2007 at 11:56:13 PT Hope I have been fortunate enough to not see much about police violence. We don't have any swat teams around here. The police live in the towns they work in so they know the people. I always knew we were behind the times but sometimes being behind the times is a good thing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by paul armentano on February 10, 2007 at 10:53:18 PT Hope, et al Okay, this looks to be the new link to the corrected story at Hawaii Reporter.http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?698686d7-be04-47bb-b900-1fe9c6a4d45b http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?698686d7-be04-47bb-b900-1fe9c6a4d45b [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by Hope on February 10, 2007 at 07:23:24 PT Also It's not unreasonable to believe that someone crashing into your home like it was "WAR"... is certainly up to no good.No good, at all. [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by Hope on February 10, 2007 at 07:20:03 PT What we have now. "They grind people's faces into the floor. They put knees in their backs. They put shotguns in their backs after they've forced to them floor."And sometimes, that trigger on that shotgun pointed at their back get's pulled, somehow, by their gigantic combat knife in it's holster among holsters. And sometimes they're an eleven year old boy whose going to "Heaven" before he "wakes up" from his "nightmare".They have become the face of horror. [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by Hope on February 10, 2007 at 07:14:08 PT Me, too, FoM. "I was taught not to ever resist or challenge the police."Actually, I was taught to "trust" police officers. I never had any personal problem with it. Police are different now. Very different than they were in those days.I have had them scream at me, terrify my children, and point guns at me, threaten me, and come into my home on one occasion that I know of, without permission. I had a neighbor and family "friend", Texas Narcotics Task Force officer, invite me to his backyard pool party with my grandchildren...only to turn his drug dog loose when I stepped in the yard. It "scanned" me. I stayed calm. It was a big german shepherd. But it frightened me...that I had had a trained german shepherd police dog turned loose on me. Police now kill old ladies in their beds. Sometimes they scare them to death in their own living rooms, early in the morning, or late at night. They trick children into telling on their parents and encourage them to spy and tell on others. They break down doors and crash through windows. They bring intimidating, sometimes vicious, dogs to threaten and hurt people. They go in and kill people in their homes...many of them completely innocent of the suspicions and situations that brought the officers crashing and screaming through their doors and windows. They throw bombs into people's homes. They break and destroy things. They call people really bad names. They point guns at children...and everyone else. (I have had a gun of sorts since I was twelve years old. I have NEVER pointed it at another human being. NEVER. I hope I never have to.)They grind people's faces into the floor. They put knees in their backs. They put shotguns in their backs after they've forced to them floor. They pull their hair. They call men "MFs" and "MF sons of ...." They call women and girls "MFn B....es". They scream stuff at you. They threaten you.The only kinds of people that I ever knew of, that did things like that, were murderers, Nazis, and Kluxers, or low life thugs. If they busted in my home. I wouldn't shoot if I KNEW it was them. I would just brace myself for the ordeal.But sometimes...people don't realize it's the police...because for one reason...they have no reason to believe that it could be happening to them or no reason to believe that police would do something like that to them."No tolerance". "No reasoning". "No sanctuary"....not even a person's home.I started to say, "They just fall short of using tanks to bust in peoples' homes."...But I remembered Waco. [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by Hope on February 10, 2007 at 06:46:05 PT Comment 15 Paul A. They likely were putting their "spin" on it...to make you appear to be "confused" and "incoherent". "What's he talking about? He doesn't even make sense."I sense a prohibitionist in the woodpile somewhere.When I checked it after your note that it had been corrected...there was NOTHING there.Hmmm.Little selective prohibitionist editing there, it seems to me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by Hope on February 09, 2007 at 21:16:31 PT Comment 17 Laduncon Well said, my friend. Very well said. [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by konagold on February 09, 2007 at 14:36:22 PT: update Aloha the above bills have not yet been schedualed for hearing datesthe bill on tues is to move pot from the narcs[public safety] to public health and a couple of other positive changesMahalo for the positive thoughts; law of attraction ya knowAlohaRev. Dennis Shields http://thereligionofjesuschurch.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by paul armentano on February 09, 2007 at 14:33:44 PT They've fixed the headline b">http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?698686d7-be04-47bb-b900-1fe9c6a4d45>b [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on February 09, 2007 at 13:48:31 PT Toker See I'm one of the short people. My one dog outweighs me by at least 50 pounds. Little people like big dogs! LOL!Short people have no body. Short people have no reason to live! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by Toker00 on February 09, 2007 at 13:43:14 PT FoM "I have 2 big dogs as protection."Very good.I have 2 little dogs as protection. Now that I have my little girl back home, the two of them sound like little terrors when they alert. That's really all the protection I depend upon. Let me know somethings up, and I'll take it from there. Which will probably be head out the back door, because the only gun I have is an antique SAVAGE MODEL NO. 220A 20ga. shotgun that I haven't fired since I was a teenager. I would be afraid to actually use it, except for visual intimidation, or for a conk on the head. lol.Toke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by FoM on February 09, 2007 at 13:40:28 PT Toker00 You mentioned Hope. I consider her my friend. We share pictures and how we feel about lots of things not related to our issue here. I know about her family and she knows about mine. I have learned a lot about the southern way of thinking and it is different then what I have been exposed to in my life. Being different is good because it can help balance a country more then any politics can. Does this make sense? I am not a gun person but I believe that people should be allowed to have guns if they want. I sometimes think the southern states are afraid of our often mellower way at looking at issues but that's the way many of us really are. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by Toker00 on February 09, 2007 at 13:28:56 PT laduncan/FoM "To ensure against mistaken identity as thieves, the police should announce their presence, thus eliminating any legal or logical argument for the homeowner to use self-defense against them."Couldn't agree more, my friend, couldn't agree more. It's really never been about protecting ourselves from others as much as it has been the original goal, which was and still is to protect against Tyranny. We've never needed our arms more than now. What they should be doing instead of developing weapons that maximize pain and damage, is developing non-painful, non-violent restraints. Why does being apprehended have to be painful? Tasers are the worst weapon the police have against us. They can and do use them whether a person is unruly or not. Why can't they just inject a sedative into the aggressor, it doesn't HAVE to render them unconscious, just settle them way down and remove the pain and damage from aggressive "enforcement"? Don't they tranquilize wild animals then move them to safety? We don't deserve that much respect? Oh, I know FoM. The south is used to the stigmas. Many people do say things bad about the south that is unfair, and I try to explain that we live in modern America too, and are learning just like everyone else. The north has it's faults, but that is not my goal to point out. I love everybody. At least the ones that allow me to. Why don't you and Hope switch homes for a month. You would learn a whole lot about the south and Hope, the north. It might not be all good, but you would understand some of our comments and attitudes a bit more. I could see you guys doing this! HA! :)Toke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on February 09, 2007 at 11:23:51 PT laduncon I believe people that want to have a gun should be able to have a gun. We have a gun but we don't keep it in our home. I have 2 big dogs as protection. They alert to anything that is happening around our house and that will keep most people away. We have security equipment that can alert us too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by laduncon on February 09, 2007 at 11:17:34 PT Protect the Right to Defend ones Home Many Americans exercise their right to own firearms for self-defense, especially home defense. If the police raid someone's house (used to be their "castle"), without identifying themselves as police, under the guise of a "no-knock warrant", especially when they end up raiding the wrong house as in the case of the elderly woman, they might be fired upon as they are logically deemed by the homeowner to be armed intruders that endanger his/her life & liberty. Obviously, if the homeowner recognizes that they are in fact police, no armed response is warranted or lawful.However, protection against gun weilding intruders raiding your house is exactly the reason many people own firearms in the first place, and it should not be a surprise what happens when the unfortunate situation arises in the form of a botched police raid. The 2nd Amendment doesn't say the police can have guns to use against the citizenry exclusively, and that the citizens must cow down as they have outsourced their security to an agent of the State. A sad state of affairs when plainclothes police can indiscriminately raid homes and people are expected to "go along with it" and hopefully sort it out later. Depriving someone of their liberty, with just cause or not, should not be so easy, and indeed Natural Law's recognition of man's inalienable equality underscores this reality.Protection against an overbearing police State is precisely the reason the right to bear arms is included so prominantly in the US Constitution. If someone doesn't want to exercise that right, so be it; but don't infringe upon my ability to exercise the right to bear arms for self-defense.The police should cease executing no-knock warrants, and exercise raids on houses only in extreme circumstances where other options have been exhausted and imminent danger to other humans is suspected. To ensure against mistaken identity as thieves, the police should announce their presence, thus eliminating any legal or logical argument for the homeowner to use self-defense against them. After all, most suspects can be safely apprehended outside of their home, where the possiblility of an armed response is greatly diminished, and they do not believe they are being robbed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on February 09, 2007 at 10:47:22 PT Paul Thank you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by paul armentano on February 09, 2007 at 10:25:01 PT Headline My original headline for this piece was: "Criminal Classification Of Cannabis Is Unwarranted." Why the editors changed it to "Hawaii's Pending Criminal Classification Of Cannabis Is Unwarranted," I have no idea? Not only is there new headline confusing; it's inaccurate.Regards, Paul Armentano [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on February 09, 2007 at 10:14:35 PT Rev. Dennis Shields Good luck to you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by konagold on February 09, 2007 at 10:11:09 PT: Testifying Tuesday AlohaI am going to Oahu to testify on a med pot billIf there is a hearing for the above bill I will testify for it alsoI only found out last nightPrayers are appreciatedAlohaRev. Dennis Shields http://thereligionofjesuschurch.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 09, 2007 at 09:31:07 PT Toker00 I didn't mean what I said as anything bad but just my observation. I don't know what people do about protecting themselves up further north. Guns just aren't much of an issue. Some people have guns and hunt during hunting season but that's all. I have never been around guns since they haven't ever been a topic of interest for people I know or even my own family. That's even the thoughts with my nieces and nephews too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Toker00 on February 09, 2007 at 09:21:27 PT In Defense of the South... Guns and violence are not exclusively a "southern" thing. True, most men in the south were taught about guns and know how and when to use them, and their knuckles, as well. Does that not happen in the North? Do men not stand up and fight for what is right in the north just because another man wears a "BADGE"? What use to happen in the south when a cop got too big for his britches and before all the protective laws they have passed to shield them from the citizenry, was homegrown justice. That cop would eventually be brought out to the woods, stripped of his badge and gun, and be blanket partied. That cure not only worked on the "Too good" cop, but the corrupt cops straghtened our real nice, too. Of course, that was when we actually believed we were free, and before TASERS. The South has always been rough and rowdy, but not all people from the south follow this clanism their entire lives. I would never and did never participate in any blanket party, in the military, or at home. But they sure used to work for our community.FoM, I know you were not being accusatory, but I feel I had to say something to defend those of us south of the Mason- Dixon.Toke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on February 09, 2007 at 06:01:58 PT OverwhelmSam I did read about how they might charge the police in this case. I guess because I am not from the south that I just don't understand the guns and violence. I never heard of anyone even thinking about pulling a gun on a policeman around here. If the police come to arrest a person they just get arrested and no conflict. I was taught not to ever resist or challenge the police. If a person is innocent let it be shown in the courts. Police don't fear the people and the people don't fear the police. Thanks Whig. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by mayan on February 09, 2007 at 05:47:21 PT Madness According to US Department of Justice figures, US taxpayers now spend over $1 billion incarcerating Americans for violating pot laws.We want our money back! Go, Hawaii!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Michael Moriarty, Emmy / Tony Award Winning Actor says OKC and 9/11 are "Inside Jobs": http://911blogger.com/node/6072Wolfowitz Warns of 'Surprise like Pearl Harbor' Months Before 9/11 Attacks: http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/070207_wolfowitz.htmlWolfowitz chilling speech (video): http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bf6197a44dGround Zero EMT: We Were Told Building 7 Was to Be "Pulled": http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/february2007/080207building7.htmCheering Movers and Art Student Spies: Was Israel Tracking the Hijackers Before the 9/11 Attacks? http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/08/16102549/11Truth: Methods of Manipulation: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MqOakVVrRw8&mode=related&search= [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Toker00 on February 09, 2007 at 04:00:25 PT Re-Legalize!/Stop the Backdoor Draft. On topic: Stop the half steps. RE-LEGALIZE!Here's a petition and some good reads.http://grassrootsmissouri.org/CloysStoryToke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by whig on February 08, 2007 at 22:55:40 PT FoM A petty misdemeanor is something that could affect job prospects, as employers routinely ask if you were ever convicted of a misdemeanor or felony. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by The GCW on February 08, 2007 at 22:13:17 PT Lost and Found US CO: Plow driver spots pot plantsPubdate: 9 Feb 2007 Source: Summit Daily News (CO)Viewed at: http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070208/NEWS/102080074 [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on February 08, 2007 at 21:35:46 PT Took The Poll City by city, state by state, politician by politician, the laws against cannabis consumers will change.FoM, did you see that the DA in Georgia is pressing charges against the narcotic officers who shot that elderly woman in her house? Good, not enough criminal police going to jail.I've been reading disturbing articles about bully parents beating their kids up over their drug use. Federal government tells parents they have to protect their kids from drug use, even if it kills them. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 08, 2007 at 19:20:37 PT fight_4_freedom Thank you. I went ahead and did the poll. I thought the questions were simple and to the point. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 08, 2007 at 18:56:13 PT: legalization poll http://www.pollingpoint.com/ scroll down to the bottom and you'll see that ever so pretty cannabis leaf. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 08, 2007 at 18:54:09 PT Just a Note I removed my comment because I read the article wrong. I wonder what it means. What is the difference between a petty misdemeanor and a civil violation? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment