Pot possession decriminalization bill approved by Legislative Panel

Norwell Mariner (MA) ^ | February 16, 2006

[JCEccles]

You can't prove any of your contentions with respect to drug use. None of them.

[mugs99]

You can't prove any of your contentions with respect to drug use. None of them

I don't need to. The numbers used by government itself prove every single one of them. Every increase in prohibition enforcement results in an increase in drug abuse, crime and violence. The drug war has never produced a decrease in drug abuse, crime or violence. You support the drug war, but you can't come up with any evidence at all that the drug war has resulted in less drug abuse, crime or violence.

Those are the facts.
.

[Know your rights]

some mythical adult's right to responsibly shoot up in the innocent pursuit of happiness.

Adults are mythical? I guess I can believe you've never encountered one.

You will have to defend drug dealers and pushers as worthy of state protection.

I defend all who violate no rights as "worthy" of state protection ... and in this Land of the Free my argument has significant traction, which is why public opinion is steadily moving toward marijuana legalization.

[Wolfie]

Translation: Too many white kids gettin' busted.

[mugs99]

Translation: Too many white kids gettin' busted

Translation: $39 billion per year wasted with no results to justify the expenditure.
.

[boulderite20]

These are all based of factual statistics. Sorry.

[gleeaikin]

Drug prohibition is not working.

We need to immediately decriminalize the use of marijuana, and possibly some other illegal substances (I have my reservations about cocaine and heroin). Release all those who have been jailed for personal use.

Thereby free up space for keeping potentially dangerous border crossers, who currently are parolled for lack of space and disappear. People will wake up when the next 9/11 turns out to be one of these people. Free up personnel and $$ from prisons to be used for border surveilance and customs checking. There will still be plenty of work for lawyers, etc. But the work will be more to the point.

[TKDietz]

"parents of those 18 years and younger would be notified of the infraction." How is leaving punishment to parents rather than the government "liberal"?

They aren't leaving the punishment up to parents, are they? The fine is a civil penalty for anyone, regardless of age. All this is is a parental notification provision in a law that will otherwise treat teens and adults the same. That makes sense to me, I'd want to know if my teenage child was caught with pot.

[mugs99]

I agree with you, but the drug war is based on marijuana prohibition. The states can handle the small number of cocaine and heroin addicts with no problem. The feds don't want to lose power to the states.

[Know your rights]

They aren't leaving the punishment up to parents, are they? The fine is a civil penalty for anyone, regardless of age.

True ... I overstated my position.

All this is is a parental notification provision in a law that will otherwise treat teens and adults the same. That makes sense to me, I'd want to know if my teenage child was caught with pot.

Agreed.

[Fester Chugabrew]

With licensing come legal obligations for both the seller and the end user. I don't think it will ever happen because the state stands to make more money in prosecuting marijuana posession.

[robertpaulsen]

"The numbers used by government itself prove every single one of them."

Link please.

[robertpaulsen]

Well said.