Reform of Marijuana Law in the U.S.A.
60,000 individuals are behind bars for marijuana offenses at a cost to
taxpayers of $1.2 billion per year.
REFERENCE: Marijuana Arrests and Incarceration in the United
States. 1999. The Federation of American Scientists' Drug Policy Analysis Bulletin.
Taxpayers
annually spend between $7.5 billion and $10 billion arresting and
prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations. Almost 90 percent of
these arrests are for marijuana possession only.
REFERENCE: NORML. 1997. Still Crazy After All These Years:
Marijuana Prohibition 1937-1997:
A report prepared by the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML) on the occasion of the Sixtieth anniversary of
the adoption of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Washington, DC;
Federal Bureau of Investigation's combined Uniform Crime Reports: Crime
in the United States (1990-2000): Table: Arrest for Drug Abuse
Violations. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC.
The
state of California saved nearly $1 billion dollars from 1976 to 1985
by decriminalizing the personal possession of one ounce of marijuana,
according to a study of the state justice department budget.
REFERENCE: M. Aldrich and T. Mikuriya. 1988. Savings in
California marijuana law enforcement costs attributable to the Moscone Act of
1976. Journal of
Psychoactive Drugs 20: 75-81.
New
Mexico's 2001 state-commissioned Drug Policy Advisory Group determined
that marijuana decriminalization "will result in greater availability
of resources to respond to more serious crimes without any increased
risks to public safety."
REFERENCE: New Mexico Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group. 2001. Report and Recommendations to the Governor's Office. State Capitol:
Santa Fe.
Marijuana
arrests have more than doubled since 1991, while adult use of the drug
has remained stable. During this same period, the number of arrests for
cocaine and heroin fell by approximately 33 percent.
REFERENCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2000. Drugs and Crime
Facts.
Table: Number of Arrests by Drug Type, 1982-99. U.S. Department of
Justice: Washington, DC; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
1996. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings (1990- 1999). DHHS
Printing Office: Rockville, MD.
Police
arrest more Americans per year on marijuana charges than the total
number of arrestees for all violent crimes combined, including murder,
rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
REFERENCE: Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2001. Uniform Crime Report:
Crime in the United States, 2000. Table 29: Total estimated arrests in the United
States, 2000. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC.
Marijuana violations constitute the fifth most common criminal
offense in the United States.
REFERENCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2000. Drugs and Crime
Facts. Table: Estimated totals of top 7 arrest offenses, United States, 1999. U.S.
Department of Justice: Washington, DC.
More
than 734,000 individuals were arrested on marijuana charges in 2000.
Eighty-eight percent of those arrested were charged with marijuana
possession only.
REFERENCE: Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2001.
Uniform Crime Report Crime in the United States, 2000. Table: Arrest for Drug
Abuse Violations. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC.
Almost
5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana since 1992. That's
more than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington DC and Wyoming combined.
REFERENCE. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports: Crime
in the United States (1993-2000). Table: Arrest for Drug Abuse Violations. U.S.
Department of Justice: Washington, DC.
------------------------------------------------------
As you can CLEARLY see the legalization of marijuana would free up police resources to deal with more serious crimes and would save the United States BILLIONS. It also has the possibility of MAKING the United States billions if they could regulate the sale of marijuana and tax it, similiar to that of tobbaco and alcohol.
This leads me to my next point, and that is that criminal Marijuana
prohibition is MORE harmful than Marijuana itself.
According
to editors of the prestigious Lancet British medical journal: "The
smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It
would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat ... than
alcohol or tobacco."
REFERENCE: Deglamorising Cannabis. 1995.
The Lancet 346: 1241. Editorial. November 14, 1998. The Lancet.
According
to a 1999 federally commissioned report by the National Academy of
Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM), "Except for the harms associated
with smoking, the adverse effects of marijuana use are within the range
tolerated for other medications."
REFERENCE: National Academy of
Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). 1999. Marijuana and
Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press:
Washington, DC, 5.
The
National Academy of Sciences further found, "There is no conclusive
evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the
subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."
REFERENCE: National
Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). 1999. Marijuana and
Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press:
Washington, DC, 6.
More
than 76 million Americans have admittedly tried marijuana. The
overwhelming majority of these users did not go on to become regular
marijuana users, try other illicit drugs, or suffer any deleterious
effects to their health.
REFERENCE: Combined data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. 1996. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1994.
Rockville, MD and 1995. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Population Estimates
1994; Deglamorising Cannabis.
1995. The Lancet 346: 1241. Sydney Morning Herald, February 18, 1997.
According
to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 35 percent of
adults admit to having tried marijuana. Of these, only 5 percent have
used marijuana in the past year, and only 3 percent have used marijuana
in the past month.
REFERENCE: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. 2000. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
Table G.9. Percentages Reporting Lifetime, Past Year, and Past Month
Use of Illicit Drugs Among Persons Aged 26 or Older: 1999. DHHS
Printing Office: Rockville, MD.
According
to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter: "Penalties against drug use
should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug
itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the
possession of marijuana in private for personal use."
REFERENCE: President Jimmy Carter: Message to Congress, August 2, 1977.
Convicted
marijuana offenders are denied federal financial student aid, welfare
and food stamps, and may be removed from public housing. Other non-drug
violations do not carry such penalties. In many states, convicted
marijuana offenders are automatically stripped of their driving
privileges, even if the offense is not driving related.
REFERENCE:
Section 483, Subsection F of the Higher Education Act of 1998;
Amendment 4935 to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996; U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1992. Drugs, Crime, and
the Justice System. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington DC; NORML's State Guide to Marijuana
Penalties.
Under
federal law, possessing a single marijuana cigarette or less is
punishable by up to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine, the same
penalty as possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine or crack.
REFERENCE: J. Morgan and L. Zimmer. 1997. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts: A
Review of the Scientific Evidence. The Lindesmith Center: New York, 42.
In several states, marijuana offenders may receive maximum sentences of
life in prison.
REFERENCE: NORML's
State Guide to Marijuana Penalties.
REFERENCE: J. Gettman. 2000. United States Marijuana Arrests, Part Two: Racial Differences in Drug Arrests. The NORML Foundation: Washington, DC.
Government
studies conclude that marijuana decriminalization has had virtually no
effect on either marijuana use or beliefs and related attitudes about
marijuana among American young people in those states that have enacted
such a policy.
REFERENCE: L. Johnson et al. 1981. Marijuana Decriminalization: The
Impact on Youth 1975-1980. Monitoring the Future, Occasional Paper Series: Paper
No. 13. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
Citizens
who live under decriminalization laws consume marijuana at rates less
than or comparable to those who live in regions where the possession of
marijuana remains a criminal offense.
REFERENCE: E. Single et al. 2000. The Impact of Cannabis Decriminalization in
Australia and the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy 21: 157-186.
There
is no evidence that marijuana decriminalization affects either the
choice or frequency of use of drugs, either legal (such as alcohol) or
illegal (such as marijuana and cocaine).
REFERENCE: C. Thies and
C. Register. 1993. Decriminalization of marijuana and demand for alcohol, marijuana
and cocaine. The Social Sciences Journal 30: 385-399.
States
and regions that have maintained the strictest criminal penalties for
marijuana possession have experienced the largest proportionate
increase in use.
REFERENCE: Connecticut Law Review Commission.
1997. Drug Policy in Connecticut and Strategy Options: Report to the
Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut Assembly. State Capitol: Hartford.
REFERENCE: K. Model. 1993. The effect of marijuana decriminalization on hospital emergency room episodes: 1975-1978. Journal of the American Statistical Association 88: 737-747 as cited by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, 103.
Marijuana
use remains consistent despite a high level of enforcement, and there
is no detectable relationship between changes in enforcement and levels
of marijuana use over time.
REFERENCE: J. Morgan and L. Zimmer. 1997. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana
Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence. The Lindesmith Center: New York,
46.
Marijuana
users believe that their behavior will go undetected; thus fear of
arrest is usually not a factor in people's decisions whether or not to
use it.
REFERENCE: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse National Working Group on
Addictions. 1998. Cannabis Control in Canada: Options Regarding Possession. Ottawa.
Marijuana
laws have no "specific" deterrent impact on drug taking behavior.
Studies show that marijuana offenders continue to use marijuana after
their conviction at rates equal to those prior to their arrest. No
relation between the actual or perceived severity of their previous
sentence and subsequent use has been found.
REFERENCE: P.
Erickson. 1980. Cannabis Criminals: The Social Effects of Punishment on Drug
Users.
Addiction Research Foundation: Toronto
In
surveys, most individuals cite health concerns and family
responsibilities rather than legal concerns as their primary reasons
for ceasing (or never initiating) marijuana use.
REFERENCE:
National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). 1982. Marijuana and
Health. National Academy Press: Washington, DC
A
California police officer's study concluded, "The reduction in
penalties for possession of marijuana for personal use does not appear
to [be] a factor in people's decision to use or not use the drug."
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Comments
Drug Rehabs
Submitted on May 14th, 2008 by sam5684Is drug addiction curable? Yes, it is possible to make a person 100% drug-free. There are various methods which can make a person drug-free. Some of the most famous drug rehab programs are inpatient programs, outpatient programs, 12-step treatment programs, motivational enhancement therapy program, etc.
Yes, I do...
Submitted on August 22nd, 2007 by d1rektI smoke just about every day. I have nothing wrong with me and I've smoked for nearly 7 years now.
NORML - http://www.norml.org - Working to reform marijuana law
http://intheknowzone.com/mari
Submitted on August 20th, 2007 by NORML suckshttp://intheknowzone.com/marijuana/index.htm
bullcrap? i think not. i descriminate none but the stupid druggies of america. im guessing you use drugs just because of your poor logic.
failed drug war? we got bunches of people in jail. all we need is an efficient way of eliminating them.
this is not a health problem, its the stupidity of useless people.
im not a hippocrite, i dont do drugs or use alcohol, im straight edge.
and i would like to see your facts skidro.
Freedom
Submitted on August 23rd, 2007 by musical_dreamerYou're right about what the
Submitted on September 5th, 2007 by Commando303my bad
Submitted on September 5th, 2007 by musical_dreamerfinally, ive been waiting
Submitted on August 14th, 2007 by NORML sucksfinally, ive been waiting for this for years. this will set the strong from the weak. let the weak smoke till they all die, thats what they deserve. the strong will rise above the influence and be successful, and hopefully put the death penalty on those who do drugs. those states that will put you in jail for doing drugs are AWESOME. thats where druggies belong, because theres not much else in life they can do, much less be successful in anything, unless flipping burgers is their forte.
and for all of those special (retarded) people who use marijuana and say it is safe, here is some fun facts for you.
Long-Term Effects of Marijuana Use
Respiratory System Damage
Sweet, now you cant breath properly.
Immune System Damage
Have fun fighting viruses your body now cant handle.
Reproductive System Damage
Having kids? good luck, because chances are your kid will be as messed up as you.
Danger During Pregnancy
Oops!!! Now your kid is really screwed. Brain damage, impaired motor development? Yeah, thanks for giving the kid a chance.
Emotional Damage
Pshh, not like you have goals anyway, besides omg where will i get money so i can get high again? Caring? not that you care about anything but drugs. I lol at that, because you are really gonna be successful in school.
Intellectual Damage
Well its not that you need your brain cells, so you dont think or reason. attention? what attention?
Psychological Addiction
So if you dont heed this warning, thats fine, I and the strong will laugh over your graves.
You may want to take your
Submitted on September 5th, 2007 by The Morning ShowYou may want to take your pissin' match somewhere else, NORML sucks!
Really? So you were brainwashed too?
Submitted on September 4th, 2007 by mcrothI would really be interested in the study that provided you with all that information. Could you link me to it?
It seems like all of that is misinformation that has been scientifically disproved, and the negative side effects of marijuana that have been found through new, more accurate studies prove marijuana to be less damaging than alcohol.
Please do link me, provided I can process all that information with my pot addled mind.
give me a break!
Submitted on August 15th, 2007 by unionmillwrightYou know, if I never took a drink of alcohol in my life, I'm sure I could make a post just like yours. Full of bull crap facts and very discriminating remarks.
Or I could have been an alcoholic for years and write a post like this, just to show how much of a hipocrite I am.....
So which of these 2 fits you?
Sources Please?
Submitted on August 15th, 2007 by crs6785Would you mind giving me the link where you found all this info on marijuana?
I personally think it's sickening that you would consider the death penalty a useful way of dealing with those who use drugs. The fact that you think prison is the best place for drug users only shows your ignorance of the larger problem.
Our prisons are over crowded with people from our failed war on drugs. We spend more per person to keep them incarcerated than it would cost to rehabilitate them. And rehabilitating them, under a successful program, has a higher percentage of people who get off and stay off. Throwing people in prison just fuels the private prison industry and makes it impossible for them to get the help they need.
This is not a criminal problem, this is a health problem and needs to be treated as such. We need to follow the lead of some other countries approaches and stop being so oblivious to our own failure of a system. We could learn a lot from how other places handle the issue successfully, such as Holland. They have much more liberal drug laws. They have lower drug use rates and the people who are addicted live longer and healthier lives. They also have far less drug related crimes.
Check out this image I found at a Google Group for Mike Gravel
Submitted on July 22nd, 2007 by JaywinMarijuana Quick Facts
Submitted on June 24th, 2009 by kiemysterMarijuana Quick Facts, Special thanks to Travis James, information from Friendly Stranger.1- Cannabis is a plant that that grows like corn or wheat. It is not a powdered drug produced in a laboratory that has been juiced with many other chemicals.2- Many people use it, of all ages, and all professions. From teens, to doctors, lawyers, judges, politicians, and my personal favorite, police. http://youtube.com/watch?v=d-iBJQFMvgo 3- Cannabis is NOT physically addictive. It produces NO withdrawal symptoms despite how much is consumed by the end user.4- However, it is habit forming (psychologically addictive). Just like how people enjoy doing certain activities, such as playing a certain video game, etc.5- Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are all physically addictive, and are legal to this day.6- No one has ever died directly from marijuana use. It is non toxic and no deaths have been verified of direct use.7- It has been stated that a user would have to consume eight hundred cannabis cigarettes to induce a fatal reaction. After consumetion, the user would have to be introduced to a lethal dose of carbon monoxide. It is virtually impossible.8- Cannabis does not have a gateway effect, in other words, it is a soft drug and does not lead to harder drugs.9- Cannabis is usually ranked among the top medicines called panaceas, meaning cure all. This includes treating multiple sclerosis, asthma & breathing difficulties, glaucoma, AIDS, epilepsy, migraine, headaches, severe pain, as well as being a natural anesthetic. 10- Cannabis can be used to control inflammation, relief of nausea in cancer treatment patients, and the list goes on.11- Marijuana is less dangerous than tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time (responsibly speaking).12- Marijuana has the ability to replace at LEAST 10-20% of prescribed drugs currently in use.13- Marijuana was a banned in the Opium and Narcotic Drug Act of 1923. All facts that backed up its banning were illegitimate and today proven false.14- The US government spends about 15 Billion dollars of tax payers money annually just for housing “criminals,” and enforcing marijuana laws. That’s money that could be spent bettering the country.15- I personally recommend everyone to take the time and watch this video, if you support the cause or not. Don’t be ignorant; embrace the education and knowledge the world has to offer. http://youtube.com/watch?v=y_bloxNvuFQ
The war on drugs is a huge
Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by Al BundyThe war on drugs is a huge steaming pile of crap. The people who started it were/are huge hypocrites. The Reagan administration sold drugs to inner city neighborhoods to fund the Contras while they championed their vaunted war on drugs. They put Manuel Noriega into power and supported him, knowing full well that he was actually using the planes we used to send him supplies to transport drugs back into the United States. All the people who were responsible should be in jail but thanks to daddy Bush, who was also involved, pardoned their criminal asses, and now these people are still in some of the highest positions in the nation.
As a matter of basic Liberty...
Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by Midge PottsAs a matter of basic Liberty, a person should be able to grow a plant like Cannabis on her/his property for her/his own personal use with no interference from the government.
Maybe federal government has a Constitutional authority to regulate distribution, but the current laws restricting growing hemp or marijunan are clearly unConstitutional!
Growing even one plant will get you a felony charge. However, getting caught with around an ounce or less in most states is a misdemeaner... this encourages people to participate in the black market drug trade rather than growing their own.
Legalize Marijauna and you
Submitted on June 28th, 2007 by scorpionmattThis is a direct copy from the Issues page on this site.
Submitted on June 7th, 2007 by RydaxPRISON/DRUG REFORM
The United States incarcerates more people and at a higher rate than any other peacetime nation in the world. According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics the number of US residents behind bars has now reached more than 2.3 million.
We are losing an entire generation of young men and women to our prisons. Our nation’s ineffective and wasteful “war on drugs” plays a major role in this. We must place a greater emphasis on rehabilitation and prevention. We must de-criminalize minor drug offenses and increase the availability and visibility of substance abuse treatment and prevention in our communities as well as in jails and prisons.
We must increase the use of special drug courts in which addicted offenders are given the opportunity to complete court supervised substance abuse treatment instead of being sentenced to prison. We must eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws. We must increase the use of alternative penalties for nonviolent drug offenders. Drug defendants convicted of nonviolent offenses should not be given mandatory prison sentences. We should emphasize the criminalization of the importers, manufacturers, and major distributors, rather than just the street venders. Prisons in this country should be a legitimate criminal sanction -- but it should be an extension of a fair, just and wise society.
For more information watch some of the videos and listen to the interviews on this site... He lays out his plans quite clearly.
Here's a video link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38ma-nUmySo
medical use
Submitted on May 21st, 2007 by stephenstillwellI have been uncomfortable for as long as I can remember, like influenza with mostly just the ache. When I was a kid they called it "There's nothing wrong with you". Fibromyalgia is more difficult to live with than it may seem. A relatively minor aching all over is not so debilitating, but when it is constant and persists it sort of is. I didn't have much choice but to exist distracted. I was small and kept to myself. My kindergarten teacher remarked that I didn't play well with the other children. Today this would suggest a developmental disability, but since I was smart and non-violent no one cared much then. I pretty much feared people, to the extent that I would not even call the theater to see what was playing. I was taught that children should be seen and not heard and that was fine for me. I could rarely initiate contact with others. I needed to concentrate, or divert my attention from the constant discomfort. I read slowly and carefully, the letters had to be rearranged in my head to make sense. I spent time a lot of my time in the woods. I had a very good education in the suburbs of Washington D.C., where I generally scored in the eighty or ninety- something percentile on the standardized tests. I got a 35 on an ACT when I registered at the University of Arkansas, but I didn't take it until I was twenty-four years old, so I didn't get any scholarship money for it. I remember looking at my older sister's psychology textbook once when I was in grade school. I saw a picture of a street person huddled against a wall in an alley or something. The expression on this person's face was anguished, confused and I identified completely with it. The caption said "withdrawn schizophrenic." I thought, "This can't be good." When I was fourteen I had a drug education class in school. I was particularly interested because I had a chronic pain problem that might be psychological because "there isn't anything wrong with me". Descriptions of maladies similar to my experiences were traditionally treated with cannabis. This seemed too good to be true, because I'm poor and I could just grow it. My ancestors had used the herb since the Crusades, when they found they could better accept the tragedy of their existence and function more effectively than when drinking alcohol. Queen Victoria, (a user), George Washington, even the prohibitionists didn't have a problem with cannabis. When I was fifteen the unconstitutional tax stamp act was voided by the Supreme Court and I could smoke cannabis with others on federal ground. I was more comfortable. Not just my body, but I was more comfortable with people. Based on the education I received and my personal experience, I reasonably believed that I could continue improving my life thanks to the respite from anxiety and pain afforded by this plant. The propaganda used to make the plant illegal in the first place was so transparently false and prejudicial. The President had commissioned a study that was debunking many of the lies that produced previous legislation. All the research I read indicated that the plant was not dangerous and I knew it to be effective for me. No reason existed for the remaining state laws in light of the prejudicial federal law being struck down, and the facts. Unfortunately for my life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, the President ignored the evidence and the learned people, including two Surgeon Generals. He decided instead to maintain an enormous stream of income for crime, organized or otherwise and prevent any reasonable competition for alcohol and pharmaceutical producers, not that this was necessarily his intent, but it is undeniably the effect. Thank you for the recognition that the plant is not particularly dangerous. The laws of prohibition do nothing to protect the people. This prohibition has caused permanent, debilitating harm to many others and me. I am not allowed to care for myself in the best and/or least expensive way available. I cannot be employed in this country. I cannot participate in any activity with like-minded individuals, as we have been prejudged as criminals even though I have lived my life without committing any real crimes. I have been slandered and libeled by an army of the ignorant and the malicious since before I was born. I may not petition the government for redress of this grievance. These laws provide a source of income for criminals, supporting criminal and terrorist organizations. These laws and the lies used to create them provide criminals with leverage and propaganda to affect the thoughts of and control over otherwise law-abiding citizens. These laws are the major source of mistrust for law enforcement and also act to extort money from others and me by forcing us to pay doctors for consultation and manufactured drugs with a cure rate of zero, or engage in civil disobedience and pay for a plant that we could otherwise grow for free.
No reasonable advantage exists in spending money to treat an unsubstantiated state with drugs that don't claim to cure, create a dependency, mostly don't work and have unwanted side effects, versus an inexpensive or free plant that has been used with success for centuries, particularly when, even if the unsubstantiated state does exist there is no proof that the physical state is a dysfunction, or the body's reaction to stress. I hypothesize that the constituents in cannabis act to buffer some of the stress chemicals produced by the body that cause dysfunctional states. This cannot be examined because of the laws.
I recently heard a government official reproaching any doctor who would recommend smoking anything to anyone, as that would expose the patient to a risk of infection. This official dismisses out of hand the Physicians Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines, which recognizes the antibacterial and antiviral actions of the plant. My personal experience has been that during long periods of not using the herb I experienced regular upper respiratory and throat infections requiring antibiotics, once or twice a year from 1986 to 1994. This makes me more than a little concerned now that I can't use the herb because I have no access and don't want to endanger the careers of my children. My daughter is a national merit scholar with a BA in political science MA in American studies and is working on a doctorate in English. Her husband is about to finish his doctorate in chemistry and organic chemistry and is applying to medical schools. His MCAT scores are good enough for anywhere. Their student loan debt is enormous.
I have difficulty admitting that I can't support myself, that all the work experience and training I've had has no value. Arthritis is starting to become acute in my hands and lower back, on top of the constant ache that seems to have gotten worse. I don't sleep much. I tried my best for many years, but now I am broken.
Thanks again, sorry for taking up so much space
stephen s
d1rekt, if you don't mind...
Submitted on May 18th, 2007 by deepblue111decriminalization is not a
Submitted on May 18th, 2007 by markreavesdecriminalization is not a good enough answer to the cannabis laws. cannabis should be LEGAL just like any other plant. it is just a plant that some people use to feel good. thats it. it doesnt cause people to become violent. ive yet to see a violent cannabis user. i have however seem MANY violent alcohol users. my uncle drinks at the minimum 24 cans of beer every single night! the other night he urinated on an electric fence so he could see the electricity come out his toes (he was drunk). a cannabis user would never do something this stupid.
cannabis should be 100% legal just like tomatoes, cucumbers, petunias, and marigolds. simple as that. people should be allowed the right to grow cannabis just like any of those plants.
Agree, the taxes we are
Submitted on May 18th, 2007 by Van BurenAgree, the taxes we are paying on putting these people away, out ways the cost for it not to be legal, and Taxed just like Cigs. It would lighten up the whole Peace Keeper (Police) system that it would let them get to the more serious crimes!
Reform of Marijuana Laws
Submitted on December 6th, 2006 by ezeflyerI agree. However, Senator Gravel is running to give us direct democracy, a tool for this kind of change. BTW, in direct democratic Switzerland, marihuana use is legal.
I have waited forever, please legalize now!
Submitted on June 7th, 2007 by BeckyThe Reverand that married my husband and I now has MS and is in a wheelchair. This is a godly, brillant, individual. But there are spasms so painful with MS that nothing touches them much, except Marijuana. If this person has had to resort to a crime to have any quality of life, it is time to change the law!
My husband is a type one diabetic. The only reason he still has great eyesight and both his feet and legs is marijuana naturally lowers blood sugar and helps keep the pressure down in your eyes so you don't get diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness. If he had not discovered what he did overseas about treating type one diabetes with marijuana, he would be blind and have already lost toes or a foot. He is 51 years old!!!
Also, my mother was a violent alcoholic with three girls. You can not imagine the suffering we would have been saved if she had smoked marijuana instead of drinking vodka. It is time for all of us to stand up with Mike Gravel and come out of the closet on this issue.
I have an even worse story about the war on drugs, but that is a different post that belongs in truth to my husband to tell. I am living on disability, so I can't help with money, but I can vote and tell everyone else to vote - Mike Gravel 2008!
Becky