Era of Citing Adults for A Victimless Crime Is Over?
DENVER - A city panel in charge of overseeing marijuana possession crimes in Denver recommended on Wednesday that the fine for possession be set at $1. If Denver's presiding judge accepts the recommendation from the Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel, the fine would be the lowest in the entire nation for marijuana possession.
"By setting the fine at just $1, we are sending a message to Denver officials that the era of citing adults for using a less harmful drug than alcohol is over. It's simply not worth the city's time or resources," said panel member and SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert, who coordinated the successful Denver marijuana initiatives.
Originally posted at Carpe Diem.
8 Comments:
I don't support drug use, but I think turning marijuana users into hardened criminals is more of a crime. Good for Denver!
Well those Denver pot users now will have technology on their side also...
iPhone application which lets users find their nearest CANNABIS dealer has been approved by Apple
...the era of citing adults for using a less harmful drug than alcohol is over.
While I really don't care what the folks in the "mile high" city do, this claim is just nonsense. The fact is that marijuana hasn't received the kind of investigative scrutiny that both alcohol and tobacco have. That's starting to change.
Cannabis alters human DNA
A new study published by University of Leicester researchers has found "convincing evidence" that cannabis smoke damages DNA in ways that could potentially increase the risk of cancer development in humans.
[...]
“There have been many studies on the toxicity of tobacco smoke. It is known that tobacco smoke contains 4000 chemicals of which 60 are classed as carcinogens. Cannabis in contrast has not been so well studied. It is less combustible than tobacco and is often mixed with tobacco in use. Cannabis smoke contains 400 compounds including 60 cannabinoids. However, because of its lower combustibility it contains 50% more carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons including naphthalene, benzanthracene, and benzopyrene, than tobacco smoke.”
Physorg.com
ScienceDaily (Aug. 5, 2009) — In a finding that challenges the increasingly popular belief that smoking marijuana is less harmful to health than smoking tobacco, researchers in Canada are reporting that smoking marijuana, like smoking tobacco, has toxic effects on cells.
Science Daily
Regular marijuana usage robs men of sexual highs
Stoners may be trading sexual highs for the chemical kind ... Pitts' team found an even stronger trend for increased sexual activity among female smokers, who were also seven times more likely to have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the last year than non-smokers.
New Scientist
Light 'em if you've got 'em. I just believe that all legal recourse for "adults" who want to use (alcohol, tobacco, pot, whatever) should be cut off. You make the decisions, you live with the consequences.
You have not, apparently, spent much time in places where people smoke pot with impunity. They are thieves, thugs, and reckless malcontents.
Victimless crime my ass!
Anon.
Isn't the the downside of U.S. policy on drugs the creation of a multi-billion dollar industry in illicit substances?
If one manages to choke off supply, doesn't that raise the price creating an incentive for property crime by users and the proliferation of grow-ops to supply the product?
Is an activity which offers high monetary returns, no taxes, no unions, and no product liability appealing to someone with limited job skills?
Would consumers benefit from having quality control and access to consumer protection? Would consumers benefit from legal recourse for adverse health effects?
Could resources spent on enforcement and prisons be used more productively? Does the U.S. benefit from being the largest jailer in the world?
Are a person's employment opportunities helped or hurt by a criminal record for possession?
Is incarceration and exposure to hardened criminals likely to have a positive effect on a youth charged with possession or do you get like the company you keep?
Is drug prohibition fighting against the law of supply and demand?
Living in ever-tolerant Canada, there was point in time during the last Liberal federal government where decriminalization of possession was a bill under discussion. It died on the order paper with the call of an election, but in the period leading up to the writ being dropped, police stopped enforcing the law in this regard. I was living in Ottawa, and the stink of marijuana smoke was everywhere. It was like downtown Amsterdam. The situation was frankly disgusting. Public drunkenness was still illegal, as was consuming alcohol in a public place, but you could get stoned with impunity for a period of roughly two months. Mostly teens and college students were the culprits, and they didn't give a damn about the cues they were sending out to school children, or the disgraceful behaviour that must have scandalized some of their parents. I know if they try to decriminalize again, the park that my house backs on to will quickly descend into being a weekend pot-party hangout, but now we won't have any recourse to take back control of the space for families and the elderly.
Scot,
Thank you for providing additional perspective on this. It is difficult to appreciate the realities faced in major urban centres.
There aren't any easy answers.
Anon at 11:59, Yes the reason mj smokers seen to be thieves and thugs, is PRECISELY because it is against the law.
Legalize it like we did last week here in Mexico (small quantities only), and take away the motivation to BE a criminal.
Post a Comment
<< Home