Bill would lessen punishment for marijuana possession

News 8 Austin ^ | 2/18/2003

[new cruelty]

A state lawmaker from Houston wants to change the punishment for possession of marijuana.

Right now it's a Class B misdemeanor in Texas, punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000 and/or confinement for a maximum of 180 days.

Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston has written a bill that makes possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor.

It would also be the equivalent of a traffic ticket.

"You wouldn't lose your drivers license, you don't lose any of these other things that you do in a Class B setting," Dutton said.

Dutton doesn't condone marijuana use, but he says his bill would provide many people a second chance.

[new cruelty]

Dutton doesn't condone marijuana use, but he says his bill would provide many people a second chance... to get hiiiiigggghhh.

[BrooklynGOP]

Good.

[HELLRAISER II]

I think it's a good idea, it shouldn't have the legal punishments that it currently has.

[new cruelty]

I left out the link addressed in the article, here it is: Representative Harold Dutton, Texas House of Representatives

[Servant of the Nine]

Good. We need the jail space for more important criminals.

So9

[A CA Guy]

If it is a small amount and they are not #1 Dealing, #2 Growing & #3 Haven't killed/hurt anyone driving badly or at work.... a ticket for a first or minor offense should suffice.
Never legal though, would not suggest we give an impression of approval to chemical vices. We've had hard enough time with drinkers. Don't need to compound it any further IMO!

But a ticket for minor stuff does make total sense.

[new cruelty]

A fine not to exceed $2,000 and/or confinement for a maximum of 180 days. That is a lot of money, money that could be used to buy some quality s#!t. ;)

[Britton J Wingfield]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[FreeTally]

Right now it's a Class B misdemeanor in Texas, punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000 and/or confinement for a maximum of 180 days.

$2,000??? That's alot of money! Guess what happens if you can't pay it?

There have been so many incidences of where these "fines" end up leading to jail. Many people do live paycheck to paycheck. They get fined for this or that, many have no real way of paying the fine. When it goes unpaid for so long, a capius(sp) is issued. A cop decides to pull you over for not signaling, he finds out. The person gets arrested. Many times, the person is trying their best to make ends meet already. They get arrested, they get fired from work. Then they can't pay fines or anything.

Too many people have this erronious mentality that a fine is really less than being jailed. Its not, really. You don't pay the fine, then you are jailed. Its not a lesser punishment, its just extortion. Its no different than the school bully saying "give me your lunch money or get a black eye".

[new cruelty]

You're right, if you are living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford the penalty, as the law stands now, it is best not to do the crime at all.

[eno_]

End the Drug War and cops will then have to find something to do with their time, like actually finding violent and dangerous people. As evil as some drug runners are, they are basically smuggling contraband. Take away the illegality, and most of the turf war and debt collecting violence goes away. True evil is in murderers and rapists, and the solution rate for these crimes is declining. And if you want to shut up a cop ranting about drugs, ask him what the solution rate for burgalries is in his town.

[eno_]

Drug use is at most a vice. How does it fit the commonsense definition of a crime? Just because something is illegal does not make it a crime. And if you think so, I guess you wouldn't mind having the EPA or state enviro cops take a look at what you store in your garage, whether any oil has been spilled around your oil tank, etc.?

[axxmann]

How arrogant are we to declare one of God's creations "illegal"?

[new cruelty]

ROTFLOL,... you're a riot.

[FreeTally]

You're right, if you are living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford the penalty, as the law stands now, it is best not to do the crime at all.

You miss the entire underlying point.

In what rational, logical way, do I "owe" anyone a certain amount of money for possessing an object? I have caused no monetary harm to anyone. If possessing the object is a direct threat to someone(and it isn't), then why is the person not jailed so that they can not harm the person they were attempting to?

You speak of a system of justice that essentially ends up punishing people based upon their economic status. No level of government has the legitimate power to say "Give me money for doing something we said you couldn't, or go to jail".

In a correct system where people are punished for violation of indivual rights, economic status matters not. People who are for, and pass such laws that fine people for actions which do not violate rights know damn well that the law will result in the jailing of anyone who can't pay it. Hell, drug laws were originally targeted at minorities, so I know this is the mentality of those in power and those who seek power.

[bigfootbob]

"You're right, if you are living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford the penalty, as the law stands now, it is best not to do the crime at all."

"And that's the name of that tune"..."Keep your eye on the Sparrow."

[FreeTally]

Drug use is at most a vice. How does it fit the commonsense definition of a crime?

It doesn't, and anyone with an IQ of 50 knows it. People only support such laws for two reasons: A)They directly profit from the laws or B)They wish to force everyone to live how they want people to live.

[FreeTally]

How arrogant are we to declare one of God's creations "illegal"?

Exactly. God declared one and only one of his creations "illegal", and that was the "Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil". When men make God's creation's "illegal", they set themselves up as gods. And I remember something in the Bible about "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me".

[eno_]

How impractical are we to declare a weed that is a mild intoxicant and less harmful than beer to be illegal? The scriptures contain much wisdom, and none of them suggest we ought to be teatotal.

[eno_]

The dictionary is so big for a reason. "Vice" and "crime" are different words, with different meanings. Police that can't tell the difference are, if it can be believed, perhaps too stupid to be police.