Drug Decriminalization

Although I haven't used illegal substances for years, I strongly favor drug decriminalization, especially for marijuana. Here is some news on ballot initiatives from this month's election:
Voters in Massachusetts voted to remove the threat of arrest or jail for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana and replacing it with a $100 fine, which could be paid through the mail rather than getting lawyers and courts involved.
Michigan approved an initiative that will allow registered patients with certain debilitating medical conditions to use medical marijuana. Unregistered patients and primary caregivers will be allowed to provide medical reasons for using marijuana as a defense to any prosecution involving marijuana.
Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Hawaii County, Hawaii, both approved measures that would make adult marijuana possession laws the lowest priority for local law enforcement. [Atlanta Progressive News]

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 14, 2008 at 10:20 PM

    Funny you should mention this. I just finished showing my students the documentary "Grass" which prompted all kinds of discussion, from double standards of justice, the Rockefeller drug laws, to how muchmore heavily the younger generation uses pot (this from a woman who'd been clean for 15 years). The excerpts from "Dragnet" cracked me up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 14, 2008 at 10:43 PM

    If people would take a non-emotional look at how decriminalization has worked in other countries, maybe we could pull our heads out of our asses and stop locking up people for non-violent drug offenses. That is what pisses me off the most and why I love what Mass. did.

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