cannabisnews.com: Smoky Subject





Smoky Subject
Posted by CN Staff on January 04, 2009 at 07:03:52 PT
By Sam Allis, Globe Columnist
Source: Boston Globe
Massachusetts -- The Observer views 2009 with optimism and dread. It depends on the day. What's raising my spirits exponentially are visions of the enforcement of Question 2, the referendum approved in November that reduces the penalty for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a criminal offense to a giggle.Question 2 went into effect the day before yesterday. On first inspection, the law looks swell. Anyone over room temperature IQ knows that the criminal prosecution of someone with some dope in his pocket is lunacy. And the mere idea that someone could lose a student loan or flunk a job application because of a dope record is appalling.
Better still, the vast amount of money we spend busting and prosecuting people for illegal marijuana possession can now be devoted to chasing the real baddies.While the goals are admirable, the law's implementation belongs in Chapter 2 of "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland," the one where she says, "Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen . . ."It will be the source of much levity and, I predict, end up in a Letterman monologue. What the passage of Question 2 does is raise a blizzard of brain teasers best addressed by Talmudic scholars.My favorite will be the means by which police officers determine if the marijuana found on someone is more than an ounce. A woman in media relations at the Boston Police Department told me last week that officers are trained at the police academy to use their discretion about what's an ounce and what's over an ounce.Whatever that means.I envision something along these lines:"Frank, does this look over a lid to you?"No, Jimmy, it actually looks light for a lid. Back in the day, I'd have called the guy on it before I bought any. I always had my scale handy.""Yeah, but you don't have a scale. I don't have a scale. Nobody has a scale.""So what do we do?""Rock paper scissors.""Bingo."The civil penalty for possessing an ounce of dope or less for personal use is now a feather light hundred dollar fine - the price of a ticket for parking in front of a Boston fire hydrant. If you believe it's crazy to bother anyone carrying dope, then let's can the fines and legalize the stuff.But if you believe that smoking marijuana is a bad idea, that it is a gateway drug to heavier stuff, then we need a civil penalty consistent with that message. I'm thinking the fine should start at, say, $300, rise to $500 for the second citation and hit at a grand for a trifecta. What we've got now is the worst of both worlds.I talked to a veteran Boston police officer to see what he thinks about Question 2. The man doesn't want to be quoted by name, but he made his feelings clear."The police and DAs' offices were absolutely asleep at the switch on this one," he says. "You only heard one side of it. Shame on us."Do we start carrying scales?" he asks. "If we use scales, the scale now becomes subject to motions in court. A defense attorney is now going to say, 'I want that scale. Has it been tampered with? When was the last time it was tested?' "He adds, "There is no legislation written we know of that says, OK, you still have the right to search and seize. Nothing's defined." Before the advent of the new law, he points out, simple dope possession was a misdemeanor, not a felony, and cops routinely let people go if they were found with dope on them."If we had someone with some dope in his pocket and they had no record," he adds, "We almost always let them go. You never got arrested for it. Two bags of weed? See you later."Two lids in someone's pocket could be his monthly stash, the cop tells me, and the guy just happened to have made his regular buy when caught by police. "It's still possible that two ounces is for personal use."Somebody else could be carrying less than an ounce - 4 or 5 grams worth in separately wrapped dime bags ($10 each). This is a red flag to a reasonable person of intent to sell. What's the call?I'm sure there is truth to the charge that police are exaggerating the mayhem that will ensue, just as there surely is truth that proponents are lowballing the problems in the name of Doobie Nation and World Peace.Me, I think it will eventually get worked out, but not before we witness some hall-of-fame legal mud-wrestling.My guy maintains that much of the motivation behind Question 2 comes from "liberal America who want to save poor inner city black kids from getting records" through the state CORI law. (Criminal Offender Record Information)."Look, most of the guys agree that there definitely needs to be CORI reform but this isn't the way to do it," he says. "And there's also a very valid argument for legalizing marijuana. I'm not saying I agree with it, but you just have to look at the money being spent against drugs."For the record, I've heard nary a word of concern from the hordes of people I know who supported Question 2 about the effect of CORI on "inner-city black kids."They just think the idea of criminal prosecution for a small amount of dope is irrational. A younger cohort simply wants to be left alone to smoke a bone in peace.Let the games begin.Source: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Sam Allis, Globe Columnist Published: January 4, 2009 Copyright: 2009 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/UDajbUu7Related Articles: Boston Goes To Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24402.shtmlMJ Decriminalization Thrills Some, Worries Othershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24401.shtml
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on January 06, 2009 at 18:45:02 PT
runruff
Our minds go faster then our fingers can type. I do it often but I can fix my mistakes if I catch them. That's the benefit of doing CNews! LOL!
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Comment #24 posted by runruff on January 06, 2009 at 18:33:42 PT
beatufil?
A word my magic, flying fingers created-ha!You know, I remember a drink we used to make with Ripple wine and cranberry juice, We called it Cripple!
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on January 06, 2009 at 11:46:51 PT
runruff
I hope you have a beautiful day too.
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Comment #22 posted by runruff on January 06, 2009 at 11:22:37 PT
Foghorn Fish & Chips for a buck and...............
yea, imagine a drop of pure Owsley, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Electric flag, The Chocolate Watch Band, Thirteenth Floor Elevator, The Seeds, The Grass Roots, Country Joe and the Fish, Jefferson Airplane, The Loading Zone, It's A Beautiful Day, Sparrow, [later became Steppenwolf], Every Mothers Son, Humble Pie.Usually you get three or four of these guys per performance. Of course I don't remember any of it which proves that I was there.Have a beatufil day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cin0QzuEss
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on January 06, 2009 at 09:53:49 PT
runruff
That is really cool to read. It seems every New Years I think of the Closing of Winterland. They said that the joints were real that the man threw out of the flying joint. I looked for a picture online of the flying joint but I couldn't find one. What an amazing experience it must have been for you to be out there where everything was happening at that time.
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Comment #20 posted by runruff on January 06, 2009 at 08:50:23 PT
FoM, you mentioned Winterland.
Winterland and Filmore West, I used to date my little hippie honeys back in the summer of love 1967.Also there was the Avalon Ballroom run by "Chet Helms and The Family Dog" production company.He was good friends with Owsley Stanley and back in 1966 he sold tickets to the concerts for $2.00. 
$3.00 with a drop pure Owsley on it.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on January 05, 2009 at 06:42:10 PT
OverwhelmSam
I spent about an hour going thru the questions a few days ago. I didn't vote no on other questions since I think they are good questions. I skipped them and voted on a couple of the MJ questions. The one that seems to be the top MJ question is like the one from the first question session. I wish MMJ would have been up there instead. We stand a much better chance of a good answer about MMJ I think.
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Comment #18 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 05, 2009 at 05:08:51 PT
Final Push for Change
On change dot com I realised that everyone was voting their favorite issue related question yes and all other questions no. As this is the case, I voted no on all other issues and yes on marijuana reform related questions to give our issue more daylight. 
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Comment #17 posted by GeoChemist on January 05, 2009 at 04:25:52 PT:
Richardson quits
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090104/Richardson/
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 16:32:05 PT
Excerpt from excerpt.
"In 2007, law enforcement agencies arrested 775,137 pot smokers for possession. In contrast, police last year made a total of 597,447 arrests for all violent crimes – including murder, rape, and robbery."
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 16:27:30 PT
Reefer Madness: Top 10 Joints
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid%3A721404Excerpt: 5) Pot Arrests Peak ... Again The War on Drugs hit another low in September with the FBI's annual crime stats: In 2007, law enforcement agencies arrested 775,137 pot smokers for possession. In contrast, police last year made a total of 597,447 arrests for all violent crimes – including murder, rape, and robbery.6) And Walters Chases Unicorns The FBI stats didn't impress drug czar John Wal­ters (head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy). Last Septem­ber, he declared: "The fact is today, people don't go to jail for possession of marijuana." Finding someone in jail for first-time possession is like "finding a unicorn," he said, and offered a steak dinner to anyone who proved him wrong. Walters' pronouncement unleashed a flood of online responses, including lists of folks who had, indeed, been to the pokey for first-time possession. Steak still awaited.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on January 04, 2009 at 16:18:08 PT
Alcohol
They push alcohol so much in ads I think people believe drinking is cool or something. Many people from my generation saw how bad alcohol was with our parents and their friends use that marijuana became a safe alternative for many back then. Now alcohol has planted itself in the middle of almost every activity like sporting events and concerts. Alcohol can numb the senses and help people push thru guilt when they do wrong. It's a very limiting substance in my opinion.
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 15:49:31 PT
Sometimes
that long lonesome highway isn't so long for some people because of some really bad choices based, I suppose, on sheer ignorance and defiance of the very real danger. It seems like everyone should know, by now, that alcohol has a deadly dose and it's not as large as, apparently, some might think. 
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 15:36:15 PT
Another tragic alcohol poisoning...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28485089/Why don't they understand how dangerous this kind of excess is?Are they isolated somehow from this understanding? Have they never heard of this happening? How can that be?Prohibition of alcohol would only make this worse and more likely to happen... but why does it seem so many people can't understand and remember how dangerous excess alcohol is?Should we be spending less "Public Service" money on crazy anti pot commercials and more on serious anti alcohol binge commercials? I think, perhaps we should. Hazing like this is so wrong. Maybe it should be some serious anti-hazing commercials we spend that "Public Service" money on.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on January 04, 2009 at 14:46:26 PT
Hope
I like that. Our journey is our own.
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 14:00:44 PT
Ripple
A day for remembrance of long lonesome stretches of travel on the "roads" and "highways" of life."There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone."
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 10:58:54 PT
Amarillo by Morning
Thanks, Runruff. That's sweet, and sad, too. Made me have cold chills. Those are long, lonesome, hard roads that lead into Amarillo.Love that fiddle.
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Comment #8 posted by museman on January 04, 2009 at 10:46:38 PT
scales
The cops have had those pocket scales since cannabis was first decriminalized in the early '70s in cal. Being one of the first californians to get a 'pot ticket' I noticed that is what they used. When I got busted in Colo slightly over a decade ago, they used the same scale. Funny how they read it right in the '70s but couldn't seem to do it in the 90's (so I got arrested for a felony instead of a misdemeanor).I can sympathize. I have an equivalency of an AA in electronics, and trained for microsoft A+, but that little clock on the VCR (and my dashboard) has intimidated me for years. I guess its the same thing for the cops and that little scale. Their fingers are better suited for holding clubs and guns, not such a dainty thing as a pocket scale.Poor coppers, might have to be retrained!FREE POT FOR EVERYONE
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Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on January 04, 2009 at 10:08:09 PT
Hope
the picture you place in my brain of a Rube Goldbergian, flashing, screaming scale is quite entertaining and emblematic of the fear prohibitionists induce in themselves.Too funny ... and sad ...peace to illuminators of dysfunction
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 10:00:26 PT
If it's so important...
"Do we start carrying scales?" he asks. "If we use scales, the scale now becomes subject to motions in court. A defense attorney is now going to say, 'I want that scale. Has it been tampered with? When was the last time it was tested?' "Turn them in, the key chain ones, at the end of every shift, test them before they are returned to the OUT hook, to be picked up by officers at the beginning of their shifts.Sheesh, again.Yes... it does look "That simple" to me, if it's that important to you. You're the one wanting to arrest people, cuff them, and take them to jail, fingerprint them, and have them under your power, intimidate and punish them, for having the herb and all that. If it seems that difficult and burdensome to you... I don't care if you punish cannabis possession at all. But it's apparently important to do so, to you. So, if you really want and need to do it, at least, please, be calm and rational and reasonable about it.
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 09:46:59 PT
"Do we start carrying scales?"
For heaven's sake! Hang it on a key chain. They're little, tiny, and light, and apparently really accurate... like a tiny fish weighing scale... little, simple and inexpensive. Very inexpensive. If you can't read one of those... I guess you'll have to spend thousands of our hard earned dollars on digital electrical computer hooked up to god knows what with a big red digital readout mounted on the dash with forty three sirens attached, and a highly paid, stand by, maintenance team. It's so important?Sheesh.Or just forget about itThink of it as the scales of justice if you think there is any logic in wholesale criminality of possession of the herb.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on January 04, 2009 at 09:13:08 PT
A hundred dollars is a lot of money
to most people by itself. Then there is the state seizing your possession... your cannabis, which is no small matter, I'm sure, no matter how small the amount.People who don't realize that a hundred dollars is a lot of money need to keep quiet. Their state of extra privilege, unattainable by many, is showing, unbecomingly. Of course, those that see a hundred dollars as totally insignificant in their financial planning, see it as only those "Other" people's hundred dollars being rendered from them by the state ... certainly not their own. They're comfortable with this particular prohibition and can't see it's obscenity and harm, and are incapable of imagining that every body shouldn't be as comfortable with it as they are.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 04, 2009 at 09:03:17 PT
runruff
That was good. I always thought that was a nice song.Here's one I like.Jerry Garcia - Ripplehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVdTQ3OPtGYWe watched some of the The Closing of Winterland from 78. The flying joint was just too funny.
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on January 04, 2009 at 08:40:10 PT
We were asleep at the.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7Z7s2s7vno&feature=related"Asleep at the Wheel"
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on January 04, 2009 at 07:55:36 PT
globe
I think it's really amusing that the Globe has now had 3 different columnists write on Q2 and every column has been exactly the same. They use the informal tone of the columnist as a lauching platform for a slew of propaganda slurs and reefer madness myths. Cannabis users are smeared as dope users and potheads, and the gateway theory is trotted out repeatedly.And in each column the writer has started off as saying "I'm really with you guys, the people" before lauching into the propaganda. It's so transparent, the elitism comes right through. They want to raise the fine to $500. Just like the civil war, $300 for the rich to avoid the draft.
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