cannabisnews.com: One Puff At A Time One Puff At A Time Posted by CN Staff on September 26, 2002 at 21:25:10 PT By Emily Bobrow Source: Economist UK The States Are Loosening Drug Laws; Will Washington Follow?Prohibition supposedly divided America, like Gaul, into three parts: wets, drys and hypocrites. Cannabis is now doing the same. One in three adult Americans admits to having tried the herb; most have survived, and some have even gone on to become president. Yet the government still spends billions of dollars trying to save them from it. In 2000, the last year for which figures are available, 734,497 people were arrested on marijuana charges, more than twice the number in 1991. Nine in ten of these "criminals" were guilty of possession alone.Several European countries have tired of this crusade. Will America follow? The first puff of smoke comes from Nevada, where a chance to legalise marijuana is on November's ballot. Even if Nevadans vote in favour of Question Nine, they will need to do so again in 2004 for the initiative to become law. Yet the aim is clear: to make pot as legal as beer.Nevada has already moved a step or two in that direction. Two years ago, voters widely approved a measure to legalise marijuana for medicinal purposes. In 2001, the state legislature decriminalised possession of small amounts of the drug. Under Question Nine, anybody older than 20 would be allowed to possess up to three ounces of the stuff- enough for a nice evening in (or at least that's what some guy we met somewhere told us once).The details of the distribution system are still unclear: would there be special shops and farms, or would anybody be allowed to grow and sell it? But the state legislature would regulate dealers, tax sales of the weed and even subsidise low-cost medical marijuana for some patients, such as AIDS sufferers. The initiative sets out harsh penalties for smoking the drug in public, selling it to children and driving under the influence. Anybody caught selling the drug without a proper licence would be sent to prison.Advocates argue that a regulated marijuana market would free policemen for other work and give the government more control over the trade. Even the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs, weary of the thankless task of pursuing pot-smokers, endorsed Question Nine at first- though it backed down when its endorsement made headlines, and its president had to resign.A recent opinion poll shows Nevada's voters rejecting Question Nine by 55% to 40% (5% being unsure). It will probably be much closer than that. A record 110,000 people signed a petition to put the idea on the ballot, with 18-25-year-olds (surprise!) showing particular enthusiasm. Billy Rogers, campaign manager for the artfully named Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, which is pushing the initiative, is confident that Question Nine will pass. This is despite the news that America's drugs tsar, John Walters, will descend on Las Vegas on October 10th to speak out against it. Although he will come armed with plenty of alarming statistics, the pro-cannabites feel his visit will only help their cause. Nevadans do not like federal bureaucrats telling them how to vote.The state, which already allows legalised prostitution and gambling, may seem an atypically libertarian sort of place. But 11 states have decriminalised possession of small amounts of marijuana, and eight allow use of the drug for medicinal reasons (California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada and Oregon permit both). Recent national polls show 70% of Americans supporting medicinal marijuana and 60% favouring decriminalising possession of small amounts. A number of other ballot initiatives in November reflect this shift. Voters in Arizona will decide whether to decriminalise small amounts of marijuana; and in wide-open San Francisco, red-eyed voters may decide whether the city itself should start growing cannabis.The problem is how to reconcile these states' lenient laws with the stringent federal ones. Last October, the Bush administration began a wide-ranging crackdown on medicinal-marijuana distribution, tearing up patient-run gardens and confiscating doctors' files in California. A group of these doctors has successfully sued the government, though the case has gone to appeal and could eventually reach the Supreme Court. In Santa Cruz on September 17th, medical marijuana was handed out at City Hall in a protest against a federal raid on a cannabis collective. A States' Right to Medical Marijuana Act has attracted 36 co-sponsors in Congress, but seems unlikely to get anywhere this year.Money may eventually help politicians to change their minds. It costs $1.2 billion a year to keep 60,000 people in prison for marijuana offences. The cost in police time is stunning, too: California is said to have saved $100m a year in enforcement costs by relaxing its laws. By letting Nevada tax the drug, Question Nine would turn the wicked weed into a nice little earner. Source: Economist, The (UK)Author: Emily BobrowPublished: September 29, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Economist Newspaper LimitedContact: letters economist.comWebsite: http://www.economist.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NRLEhttp://www.nrle.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Discussion About Pot Initiative Becomes Heated http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14259.shtmlSmoking Up The Debate on Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14237.shtmlNew Breed of Voters May Stir Pot of Politicshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14214.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by DdC on September 26, 2002 at 23:22:42 PT Sister Somayah RAIDED/SNATCHED Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 20:50:47 -0700 From: "D. Paul Stanford" Subject: CA: Sister Somayah RAIDED/SNATCHEDDear Friends,I just received a call from Sister Somayah Kambui's neighbor. At sundown, a number of unmarked vehicles descended on Somayayh's home, cut down her plants, and arrested her and her brother. She only had time to shout my phone number to her neighbor. The neighbor did not recognize the officers as LAPD. She did say that several looked like local bicycle cops, but Somaya was taken away in an unamrked car by unmarked persons. We are trying to find out now, who has her and where she has been taken.Given her recent Proposition 215 acquittal, it is likely that the feds have her.Scott ImlerMay be outdated...Sister Somayah, LA: 323-232-0935A Big Victory for Medical Marijuana: Sister Somaya's Trial in Los Angeles http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionantiwodwarriors.showMessage?topicID=39.topic A Report by Mikki Norris [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Toad on September 26, 2002 at 23:22:13 PT Son of Snake, only a second stringer Marijuana seemingly will become a major issue in political campaigns in 2004, and if this passes in Nevada the major media will really have to discuss legalization seriously for a change. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 26, 2002 at 22:59:44 PT Thanks afterburner Thai is a nice picture. It says a lot. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by afterburner on September 26, 2002 at 22:35:09 PT: FOM - Interesting poster http://cannabisculture.com/gallery/babes/BadLawsBlonde.jpg Bad Laws - Bad Politics [ Post Comment ] Post Comment