Reefer Madness?

[konichiwa]

I just picked up Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser, and it's incredibly interesting. I've only read about fifty pages, but some of the stuff is astounding, and I think can provoke some interesting conversation:

• 11 years and four months in prison is the typical punishment for an American found guilty of murder ... Mark Young was arrested for brokering the sale of seven hundred pounds of marijuana. He had never before been chrgedwith drug trafficking. He had no history of violent crime. His role had been that of a middleman--he never distributed the drugs; he simply introduced the two parties. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
• The value of America's annual marijuana crop is staggering: plausible estimates start at $4 Billion and range up to $25 Billion. The value of the nation's largest legal cash crop, corn, was roughly $19 billion.
• It is illegal to use the US Postal Service for the advertisement, import or export of marijuana paraphernalia such as roach clips, water pipes, and, in some instances, cigarette papers -- a crime that can lead to imprisonment and fines of up to $100,000
• A yacht can be seized if a single marijuana joint is discovered in it. A house can be siezed if a single marijuana plant is found growing there. Property may be seized and forfeited even after a defendant is found innocent of the offnse, since the strict burden of proof that applies to people -- "beyond a reasonable doubt" -- does not apply to inanimate objects.
• In New York State possessing slightly less than an ounce of marijuana brings a $100 fine, if it's a first offense. In Louisiana possessing the same amount of marijuana could lead to a prison sentence of twenty years. In Montana, selling a pound of marijuana, first offense, could lead to a life sentence, whereas in New Mexico selling 10,000 pounds of marijuana, first offense, could be punished with a prison term of no more than three years. In some states it is illegal to be in a room where marijuana is being smoked, even if you don't smoke any.
• A person who has never operated a vehicle under the influence of marijuana may still lose the right to drive. Indeed, being caught smoking a joint on the couch of your living room, with your car parked safely in the driveway, can lead to a harsher punishment than being arrested for driving drunk.

Oh, the "war on drugs"...comments?

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: konichiwa
I just picked up Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser, and it's incredibly interesting. I've only read about fifty pages, but some of the stuff is astounding, and I think can provoke some interesting conversation:

• 11 years and four months in prison is the typical punishment for an American found guilty of murder ... Mark Young was arrested for brokering the sale of seven hundred pounds of marijuana. He had never before been chrgedwith drug trafficking. He had no history of violent crime. His role had been that of a middleman--he never distributed the drugs; he simply introduced the two parties. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
• The value of America's annual marijuana crop is staggering: plausible estimates start at $4 Billion and range up to $25 Billion. The value of the nation's largest legal cash crop, corn, was roughly $19 billion.
• It is illegal to use the US Postal Service for the advertisement, import or export of marijuana paraphernalia such as roach clips, water pipes, and, in some instances, cigarette papers -- a crime that can lead to imprisonment and fines of up to $100,000
• A yacht can be seized if a single marijuana joint is discovered in it. A house can be siezed if a single marijuana plant is found growing there. Property may be seized and forfeited even after a defendant is found innocent of the offnse, since the strict burden of proof that applies to people -- "beyond a reasonable doubt" -- does not apply to inanimate objects.
• In New York State possessing slightly less than an ounce of marijuana brings a $100 fine, if it's a first offense. In Louisiana possessing the same amount of marijuana could lead to a prison sentence of twenty years. In Montana, selling a pound of marijuana, first offense, could lead to a life sentence, whereas in New Mexico selling 10,000 pounds of marijuana, first offense, could be punished with a prison term of no more than three years. In some states it is illegal to be in a room where marijuana is being smoked, even if you don't smoke any.
• A person who has never operated a vehicle under the influence of marijuana may still lose the right to drive. Indeed, being caught smoking a joint on the couch of your living room, with your car parked safely in the driveway, can lead to a harsher punishment than being arrested for driving drunk.

Oh, the "war on drugs"...comments?

when it comes to the war on drugs, our gov't is way behind the times.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Don't worry, when the US starts setting policy for the world it will be outlawed in every other country as well, so we won't be behind the times anymore.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: Gonad the Barbarian
Don't worry, when the US starts setting policy for the world it will be outlawed in every other country as well, so we won't be behind the times anymore.

like the warning we give to canada?

 

[HappyPuppy]

Until the laws are changed, don't smoke, posess, transport or sell marijuana.

I don't do any of the above, but I believe the laws are unjust and morally wrong.

 

[IGBT]

The Criminal Industrial Complex of lawyers,prisons,drug testing and rehab industries make lots of money from the status quo of drug laws. And law enforcement makes money from property seizures and auctions of ill gotten gains from drug money...starting to get the picture??

 

[Trezza]

i used to smoke and let me tell you that the only problem that i see with any of those arguments (state to state punishments) is that they aren't uniform. Its illegal get used to it until things change. If you want to smoke it get together with a pro-smoking group and do you damnedest to make it legal... I wouldn't hold my breath, before I die i think the US will make tobacco an illegal substance or at the very least VERY EXPENSIVE.

 

[mastertech01]

So do we need lighter marijuana sentences or stiffer drunk driving enforcement and sentences?

I think we need both. DUI is still the number one killer on our highways is it not?

That said, how many people in prison today actually serve out thier sentences?

 

[Martin]

amazing.

 

[konichiwa]

Originally posted by: mastertech01
So do we need lighter marijuana sentences or stiffer drunk driving enforcement and sentences?

I think we need both. DUI is still the number one killer on our highways is it not?

That said, how many people in prison today actually serve out thier sentences?

I agree; both. One of the most interesting parts of the book talks about various marijuana legislations over the years, and particularly the presidents' reactions to them:

• President Nixon appointed a bipartisan commission to study the health effects, legal status, and social impact of marijuana. In 1972 the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse reached an unexpected conclusion: marijuana should be decriminalized under state and federal law. The commission unanimously agreed that possessing small amounts of marijuana in the home should no longer be a crime. Growing or selling marijuana for profit, using it in public, or driving under the influence would remain strictly forbidden. "Recognizing the extensive degree of misinformation about marijuana as a drug, we have tried to demythologize it," the commission explained. "Viewing the use of marijuana in its social context, we have tried to desymbolize it." Society should strongly discourage marijuana use while devoting more resources to preventing and treating heavy use. "Considering the range of social concerns in contemporary America, marijuana does not, in our considered judgement, rank very high." President Nixon felt betrayed by the commission and rejected its findings; he privately blamed the agitation for marijuana law reform on "the Jews".
  
  :Q

 

[Tab]

The only reason it isnt legal is because most of us (Americans) can't smoke the reefer and be responsible. Not to mention the sale of drugs to those whom are minors.

 

[Alistar7]

Originally posted by: Tabb
The only reason it isnt legal is because most of us (Americans) can't smoke the reefer and be responsible. Not to mention the sale of drugs to those whom are minors.

??????



the first comment is interesting, i had not realize you had spoken with the millions of Americans who smoked and they all admitted they couldn't be responsible.

it is far better to have the drugs being sold openly on the street with no regualtions, we all know the drug dealers moral base will not allow them to deal to minors anyway, meanwhile, if the sale were controlled in a govt. store ANYONE could just go in and buy them, minors included. it's not like they could do anything like maybe ask for ID...