California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has decriminalized possession of small quantities of marijuana. The Governator signed a bill transforming possession from a misdemeanor to an "infraction." That puts it on the level of a speeding ticket except you don't get points on your licence.
Schwarzenegger downgraded marijuana possession for a simple but, for California, compelling reason - cost. Accused charged with misedemeanors are entitled to trial by jury. Now possession of up to an ounce is punishable by a $100-fine but will not entail either arrest or a criminal record.
California is one of a dozen U.S. states that have downgraded marijuana possession laws. If that's the case in the U.S., it makes you wonder why Canada lags behind. Oh, I forgot, we've got a neanderthal with a raging prison fetish for a prime minister.
Showing posts with label marijuana laws. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marijuana laws. Show all posts
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
The Prince of Pot - Just What Did He Expect?
Marijuana activist Marc Emery will be extradited to the US sometime this week to serve up to five years in Uncle Sam's Greybar Hotel. Emery pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana in the US.
The debate isn't whether Emery sold marijuana seeds to Americans nor whether that is a criminal offence in the oh so United States of America. The issue is whether a five year tariff is remotely fair? Even the BC Court of Appeal thought a couple of months slammed up followed by a year of probation would be appropriate but that wasn't the issue before them.
I don't have a lot of sympathy for Emery. He did appear to enjoy his passing notoriety and made a bit of a martyr out of himself and, quite possibly, a good bit of money in the process (but I confess I don't know).
What is beyond question is this - Emery's martyrdom would be neutralized if only the government (both in fact) would decriminalize pot and market it in a manner similar to the way they reap the rewards of booze sales.
Now I'm a beer guy myself although I do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. That said, in my immediate region, pot growing may be what passes for agriculture. It's pretty much just rocks and Christmas trees here, rocks and Christmas trees and pot. That said, I think it's harmless enough that it deserves to be treated like our other pet intoxicants.
My best buddy of some 40-years now is a freshly retired Detroit cop and Vietnam marine. For the sake of this item I'll only refer to Bob as "Bob." Many years ago Bob, as I'll call him, told me that he was all for the decriminalization of pot. He explained that he'd been to too many domestic violence scenes where the evidence comprised a corpse, a still warm gun, and a nearly empty bottle of bourbon on the kitchen table. Yet he'd never attended a murder that featured a corpse, a still warm gun and a stoner sprawled on the sofa. There was pot violence, make no mistake about that, plenty of it. But the pot violence came from the criminal element that enjoyed the exclusive market to traffic in the highly lucrative, illegal product. Kill two birds with one stone, Bob argued, stop banging up kids for a relatively harmless intoxicant while simultaneously cutting out the powerful criminal element that was profiting from it.
If people like the Lord of Flies could truly stop the pot trade by retaining the criminal sanction I'd say okay. But he can't, and he knows it. Does he, or anyone remotely sentient, believe that mandatory sentencing is going to reverse that, is going to put a meaningful dent in the pot trade? That has to be the sine qua non. You have to have some weird shit going on in your cortex to buy that and, if you do, your problem is far worse than pot.
Unfortunately, Marc Emery's martyrdom is a diversion to the debate we need to be having on this issue. I guess that's why this guy gets under my skin.
The debate isn't whether Emery sold marijuana seeds to Americans nor whether that is a criminal offence in the oh so United States of America. The issue is whether a five year tariff is remotely fair? Even the BC Court of Appeal thought a couple of months slammed up followed by a year of probation would be appropriate but that wasn't the issue before them.
I don't have a lot of sympathy for Emery. He did appear to enjoy his passing notoriety and made a bit of a martyr out of himself and, quite possibly, a good bit of money in the process (but I confess I don't know).
What is beyond question is this - Emery's martyrdom would be neutralized if only the government (both in fact) would decriminalize pot and market it in a manner similar to the way they reap the rewards of booze sales.
Now I'm a beer guy myself although I do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. That said, in my immediate region, pot growing may be what passes for agriculture. It's pretty much just rocks and Christmas trees here, rocks and Christmas trees and pot. That said, I think it's harmless enough that it deserves to be treated like our other pet intoxicants.
My best buddy of some 40-years now is a freshly retired Detroit cop and Vietnam marine. For the sake of this item I'll only refer to Bob as "Bob." Many years ago Bob, as I'll call him, told me that he was all for the decriminalization of pot. He explained that he'd been to too many domestic violence scenes where the evidence comprised a corpse, a still warm gun, and a nearly empty bottle of bourbon on the kitchen table. Yet he'd never attended a murder that featured a corpse, a still warm gun and a stoner sprawled on the sofa. There was pot violence, make no mistake about that, plenty of it. But the pot violence came from the criminal element that enjoyed the exclusive market to traffic in the highly lucrative, illegal product. Kill two birds with one stone, Bob argued, stop banging up kids for a relatively harmless intoxicant while simultaneously cutting out the powerful criminal element that was profiting from it.
If people like the Lord of Flies could truly stop the pot trade by retaining the criminal sanction I'd say okay. But he can't, and he knows it. Does he, or anyone remotely sentient, believe that mandatory sentencing is going to reverse that, is going to put a meaningful dent in the pot trade? That has to be the sine qua non. You have to have some weird shit going on in your cortex to buy that and, if you do, your problem is far worse than pot.
Unfortunately, Marc Emery's martyrdom is a diversion to the debate we need to be having on this issue. I guess that's why this guy gets under my skin.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Mikey's Chance to Show Us His Spine. Nah, Forget I Mentioned It
The Harper Cons, who never met a prison they didn't like to fill, are back with their mandatory imprisonment pot bill. Renters caught with just six plants (although, in fairness, I really don't know how much pot that is) face a minimum 9-month sentence. Of course Harper is a firm believer in his American Idol, George w. Bush's "ownership society" so you only get slammed up for 9-months if you're a lowly tenant, not a homeowner.
Aside from the obvious offence of being "just" a renter, other aggravating factors include finding a gun on the premises (that one makes sense), whether the location is unsafe and whether the pot plants posed a danger to residents in a residential neighbourhood.
While I favour Paul Martin's proposal for the limited decriminalization of pot, I think it's ludicrous to scrap judicial discretion in cases of small-scale pot growing. What is it going to achieve other than providing another red meat issue for Harper to toss to his law'n odour fans?
Any Liberal leader who can't or won't defend Canada's judicial system against these redneck punks should be given a one-way ticket back to wherever he calls home. This ought to have been an issue on which the faux-liberal Liberal Leader could have taken a stand but, instead, the Libs supported Harper in resurrecting the bill. Harvard or no, this character is a total disappointment to anyone who embraces progressive liberalism. With this kind of leadership the LPC deserves to be polling at 26%. They've earned that. If they back mandatory minimum sentences for this, Harper already has them on a well-greased slippery slope.
Aside from the obvious offence of being "just" a renter, other aggravating factors include finding a gun on the premises (that one makes sense), whether the location is unsafe and whether the pot plants posed a danger to residents in a residential neighbourhood.
While I favour Paul Martin's proposal for the limited decriminalization of pot, I think it's ludicrous to scrap judicial discretion in cases of small-scale pot growing. What is it going to achieve other than providing another red meat issue for Harper to toss to his law'n odour fans?
Any Liberal leader who can't or won't defend Canada's judicial system against these redneck punks should be given a one-way ticket back to wherever he calls home. This ought to have been an issue on which the faux-liberal Liberal Leader could have taken a stand but, instead, the Libs supported Harper in resurrecting the bill. Harvard or no, this character is a total disappointment to anyone who embraces progressive liberalism. With this kind of leadership the LPC deserves to be polling at 26%. They've earned that. If they back mandatory minimum sentences for this, Harper already has them on a well-greased slippery slope.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Budget Woes? Here, Take a Hit
Is legalizing marijuana the elixir of states facing financial disaster?
A report from Reuters claims that several American states are looking at marijuana as a tax revenue source to replenish empty treasuries.
...California came the closest to taxing tokes last week by putting an initiative on its November ballot. The top marijuana-producing state could raise $1.3 billion annually, according to the California Board of Equalization, which collects taxes.
...Similar voter initiative efforts are underway in Washington and Oregon for 2010, and Nevada for 2012. New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are all considering legislation to legalize and regulate the drug, and states as conservative as Virginia and South Dakota are debating decriminalization.
Backers say the debate is gaining steam for a variety of reasons: a softening of attitudes, the spread of legal clinics for medical marijuana use and frustration with the drug war. Supporters say reducing the amount of money spent on marijuana law enforcement would help state budgets.
...Each time California or Oregon has stepped closer to making marijuana legal, others have made the same move four to five years later, said Allen St. Pierre, a spokesman for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Other states could follow California's lead, as more than a dozen did after it approved medical marijuana in 1996.
Steve, are you listening?
A report from Reuters claims that several American states are looking at marijuana as a tax revenue source to replenish empty treasuries.
...California came the closest to taxing tokes last week by putting an initiative on its November ballot. The top marijuana-producing state could raise $1.3 billion annually, according to the California Board of Equalization, which collects taxes.
...Similar voter initiative efforts are underway in Washington and Oregon for 2010, and Nevada for 2012. New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are all considering legislation to legalize and regulate the drug, and states as conservative as Virginia and South Dakota are debating decriminalization.
Backers say the debate is gaining steam for a variety of reasons: a softening of attitudes, the spread of legal clinics for medical marijuana use and frustration with the drug war. Supporters say reducing the amount of money spent on marijuana law enforcement would help state budgets.
...Each time California or Oregon has stepped closer to making marijuana legal, others have made the same move four to five years later, said Allen St. Pierre, a spokesman for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Other states could follow California's lead, as more than a dozen did after it approved medical marijuana in 1996.
Steve, are you listening?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
There's Gold In Green
California has a sometimes controversial medical marijuana industry. California growers produce 8.6-million pounds of weed annually valued at $13.8 billion. Now there's a proposal that could help California taxpayers - an excise tax on pot.
At $50 an ounce it would generate $1.4-billion in excise revenues atop the sales taxes already collected from purchasers. One can only imagine what California could take in if it decriminalized marijuana altogether and collected excise tax on all production, medicinal and recreational.
At $50 an ounce it would generate $1.4-billion in excise revenues atop the sales taxes already collected from purchasers. One can only imagine what California could take in if it decriminalized marijuana altogether and collected excise tax on all production, medicinal and recreational.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
As Harper Gets Tough on Pot, Obama Chills
Stephen Harper wants tougher sentences and mandatory imprisonment for growing even a single marijuana plant in a bid to ensure full employment for Canadian prison guards.
Harper's announcement came just a day after Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, announced federal drug agents would no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries in places where they're legal under state law.
Quite a few states have either decriminalized simple possession of marijuana or reduced it to a traffic-ticket style misdemeanour. But Stevie's pretty sure that Reefer Madness is a documentary.
So, while Stevie advances his social conservative agenda, Obama is beginning to dismantle George w. Bush's.
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/129383/
Harper's announcement came just a day after Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, announced federal drug agents would no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries in places where they're legal under state law.
Quite a few states have either decriminalized simple possession of marijuana or reduced it to a traffic-ticket style misdemeanour. But Stevie's pretty sure that Reefer Madness is a documentary.
So, while Stevie advances his social conservative agenda, Obama is beginning to dismantle George w. Bush's.
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/129383/
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