cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Possession Should Be Legalized





Marijuana Possession Should Be Legalized
Posted by CN Staff on January 03, 2009 at 06:59:56 PT
By The Bristol Press
Source: Bristol Press
Connecticut -- On Nov. 4, our neighbors to the north voted to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. As of Friday, anyone in Massachusetts caught with an ounce or less would be issued a $100 ticket and would forfeit the pot. Those younger than 18 who are found to have less than an ounce of the drug must also complete a drug-awareness program within one year.Marijuana is not physically addictive and has been used for centuries without any serious deleterious effect. Overuse can cause problems, like anything else but, used responsibly, marijuana is benign, even more so than alcohol.
Thus, possessing small amounts of marijuana should not be a crime in and of itself. More and more states are decriminalizing marijuana for medical and personal use and Connecticut should do the same.The Massachusetts law makes a distinction between those who sell weed, and those who use it for medical or even personal use — and here’s the problem: The new law is imperfect, raising all kinds of questions about how users obtain the still-illegal substance.As Californians can testify, getting the stuff, even for legal medical use, is risky, thanks to a federal government that stands four-square against legalization and occasionally demonstrates this by prosecuting suppliers, whatever the state statute.Selling weed for profit is treated as a criminal act — indeed, many times pot sellers are prosecuted under interstate commerce regulations as well as anti-drug laws. But, should it be legalized, marijuana could be monitored, regulated for purity and taxed, like alcohol, as a further form of income for the state.The Massachusetts law makes no provision for this. The law is simply intended to take the stigma off those who use small amounts of marijuana and not cause them problems with school or future employment.What does keeping marijuana illegal get — to the north or here at home? Prisons crowded with non-violent stoners, room and board paid for by taxpayers.Decriminalization would be a cost-savings as well as a revenue generator.Source: Bristol Press (CT)Published: Friday, January 2, 2009Copyright: 2009 The Bristol Press Contact: editor bristolpress.comWebsite: http://www.bristolpress.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/6dZFlkDJRelated Articles:Safety Group Maps Plan for Tackling Pot Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24397.shtmlNew Marijuana Law Shouldn't Pose Problemshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24394.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 07:18:28 PT
Potpal... you said it so well.
But it does have to be repeated again and again. Obviously.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 07:13:06 PT
The truth...
but the truth scares the thunder out of some people.So first, they have to be calmed and assured past their "magical thinking". You might say, "They're having a bad trip" on their own thoughts and ideas. They have to be guided safely through it.It is just a plant. An amazing one, granted. There are many amazing plants. They all are, really. But the cannabis plant... or the coca plant, or khat tree, for that matter, is, and are, not as spooky, magical, and scary as dedicated prohibitionists imagine it, or them, to be. No doubt, some plants are quite poisonous, even deadly... Daturas, oleander, and poison ivy come quickly to mind. Some plants, many plants, are for an indisputable fact, very beneficial, even essential, health wise, to some people some times. To prohibit an entire population, with over bearing laws and violent government enforcement of those laws, from making their own individual choices about what plant they might consume is outrageous in itself. It doesn't take the state or government to keep me from consuming datura or rolling in poison ivy.It's not the end of the world as they know it in some seed or leaf. Some people don't like it. Some people find it to be a very unpleasant experience. Some people like it, just like some people like coffee, and some people don't. It's not from the devil or demons. It's not magical in any supernatural way. It can be a profound experience, usually it's just pleasant, for most people. Getting drunk off your ass is a profound experience, but the cannabis experience, though sometimes, profound, isn't that same experience. You can die from that drunk off your ass experience.Some people believed that locomotives and horseless carriages were from the devil and that the earth was flat. Some people truly believed, profoundly so, that some people could cast supernatural spells on them and their children, and that for the sake of public safety, and to protect others, and "The children", those people should be murdered.
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Comment #1 posted by potpal on January 04, 2009 at 05:59:41 PT
and futhermore
It would eliminate the black market greatly, the same source that may dish out illegal prescription pharmaceuticals, heroin, cocaine to those seeking the herb, it would free the police to persue these criminals, the violent lowdown variety, it would see an end to bankrupting 100s of thousands of otherwise law abiding citizens with fines and forced treatment and labor and ruining their lifes from then on, it would see a new era for police / citizen relations...back to protect and serve rather than collect and rule, it would lessen the corruption of our law enforcement agencies, it would create an industry above the table, thus creating jobs, it would allow for cannabis to be studied for medicial benefits rather than the endless propaganda that is forced down our throats by hack science and those who profit on prohibition in the never ending demonization of a plant that's served mankind for centuries in industry and medicine and yes art and creative endeavors, it would reduce the DEA's workload by 90% saving many tax dollars,...reefer gladness replacing reefer madness, truth replacing lies, light where there is darkness. Jeez, I could go on but its been said so many times here again and agaiin by much more articulate posters than I...is someone finally listening? Legalize and regulate it. 
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