Holder Gets It Right - Marijuana Sentencing Changes

[HairOfTheDog]

US Attorney General, Eric Holder, gets a lot of things wrong, IMO.



Not this time.

I agree with him that those caught with personal-use quantities of marijuana (and no criminal records) should not be prosecuted and jailed, sometimes with harsher sentences than violent criminals. Fine 'em if you must, but that should be the extent of it. IMO.

A good portion of those charged and prosecuted for marijuana possession are younger and have a difficult time getting work with the conviction on their records, even those with degrees.

It's also good to see that elderly prisoners arrested for marijuana and other non-violent offenses will be eligible for early release under the new national guidelines that Holder will announce today in San Francisco.

Of course, it's still gonna be up to the individual states as to who they prosecute or not, but the national guidelines should help to curb the senseless (IMO) incarcerations and prompt states to focus more on violent offenders and those who commit crimes against others.

I think that the national guidelines could really help state lawmakers who have been pushing for decriminalization of some lower level crimes (and getting voted down by narrow margins) to influence middle of the road legislators to get on board.

Here's the story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12...41524.html

Now, if Holder would pull his head out and smack down the Feds interfering with state-legalized medicinal marijuana distribution, we'd really be getting somewhere.

[Maggot]

I have to agree. The jails are full of undeserving pot smokers. And all because of the 18^th ammendment and the fallout therafter.

[HairOfTheDog]

I have to agree. The jails are full of undeserving pot smokers. And all because of the 18^th ammendment and the fallout therafter.

I'm really liking the new documentary series "Inside Man' with Morgan Spurlock (on CNN).

Watched the premiere in June about medicinal marijuana dispensaries and how the Fed is really fucking with legit facilities legalized in their states.

The Harborside Health Center in Berkeley is so state of the art and such a well run business. Shame how much time they've had to spend in court trying to keep their doors open.

Fascinating watch if you haven't seen it yet; mouth-watering too. The opening minute of the segment (video below) highlights the prohibition catalyst you mentioned.



Holder really needs to pull his head out of his ass when it comes to medicinal marijuana.

The Fed and the DOJ are way overstepping their reach and using inapplicable old civil laws to mess with the states' authority to allow these businesses to operate (and grow, and generate much needed tax revenues and employment opportunities).

[Duchess]

I like Morgan Spurlock documentaries. I recently watched one about the elderly in the United States.

[username]

I didn't see his report but apparently Sanjay Gupta did a 180 degree turn on "Weed".

[HairOfTheDog]

I didn't see his report but apparently Sanjay Gupta did a 180 degree turn on "Weed".

It's cool to see someone so high profile with a lot of credibility who will admit his views were wrong after researching/considering the facts.

After traveling the world, meeting with medical experts and medical marijuana patients, Gupta concludes "we have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that."

Here are Gupta's reasons for his change of stance:

1. Marijuana laws are not based on science. Gupta wrote: "Not because of sound science, but because of its absence, marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 substance" at the urging of Assistant Secretary of Health, Roger Egeberg in 1970.

2. Gupta notes that marijuana doesn't have a "high potential for abuse" and it doesn't lead people to use other drugs. "We now know that while estimates vary, marijuana leads to dependence in around 9 to 10% of its adult users." Cocaine, classified as a (less addictive) schedule 2 substance, hooks 20% of those who use it. Around 25% of heroin users and 30% of tobacco users become addicted.

3. In some medical cases, marijuana is "the only thing that works." Gupta met with one woman in Colorado who used marijuana to cut the number of seizures she had from 300-per-week to two or three per month.

4. It's safer than a lot of prescription drugs: Someone dies from a prescription drug overdose every 19 minutes in the United States, but Gupta could not find a single person who died from a marijuana overdose.

5. Other doctors believe in it: Seventy-six percent of physicians surveyed would prescribe marijuana to ease the pain of women suffering from breast cancer.

6. While quitting marijuana can produce some withdrawal symptoms, like insomnia, anxiety and nausea, it is still nowhere near as bad at drugs like heroin or cocaine, or even booze. "I have seen the withdrawal from alcohol, and it can be life threatening," Gupta said. Not so with marijuana.

7. Medicinal plants (including marijuana specifically) aren't a new idea: The medical and scientific communities have been studying medical marijuana since the 19^th Century, and marijuana was actually used to treat neuropathic pain until 1943.

8. Only 6% of research on marijuana published in the last year analyzed benefits. The other 93% are designed primarily to investigate harm. "That imbalance paints a highly distorted picture," Gupta said.

9. The system is biased against research into medical marijuana's benefits. First, you have to get the marijuana for your study from one government-approved farm, and you have to get approval from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is tasked with studying and preventing drug abuse, not the medical benefits of drugs.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/sanjay-gu...z2brvUbIKh

[Maggot]

The Feds have never been keen on States rights. They overstep and use extortion tactics to get what they want. Taking away highway funding for not enacting certain laws.

[Cynical Ninja]

A thinktank (yeah I know that can be a fucking oxymoron sometimes) in the Uk said today that only criminals involved in offences involving violence, sexual crimes and offences involving weapons should be jailed.

All other criminals including thieves and fraudsters should be fined heavily and given community service.

I think the UK governments response was something along the lines of “fuck you boffins”.

[Duchess]

Baltimore's top prosecutor will stop prosecuting marijuana possession cases. Hallelujah. I'd love to see that mindset in every state.

[Maggot]

I think states are jumping on the bandwagon to fast just to get the tax revenue. There needs to be a way to check THC levels in drivers for spacing out on the highway and slamming into things. If that was available it would be OK. At least for a bit but adding legal drugs into the populous cannot have good results.

After prohibition ended there were tons of FBI or G-men without jobs so the powers that be created the DEA that's when weed and narcotics was really cracked down on. Even in the 60's it wasn't enforced much. then the 80's came along......

I always think of "Puff the magic dragon" when weed comes up.

[Rootilda]

Canada's making a killing on sales since they made it legal and I imagine lots of US states would like to see some profit as well.

[pyropappy]

I always think of "Puff the magic dragon" when weed comes up.

that dragon was the victim of a vicious media attack; it was never true...


Pete Yarrow the dragon's father. RIP Mary.

[Clang McFly]

Canada's making a killing on sales since they made it legal and I imagine lots of US states would like to see some profit as well.

So has Colorado,eh. Don't forget aboot them.