cannabisnews.com: Seattle Approaches Sensible Drug Policy Seattle Approaches Sensible Drug Policy Posted by CN Staff on January 05, 2004 at 20:09:49 PT By Kathleen Taylor, ACLU Director Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer In September, Seattle voters passed Initiative 75 by a solid 58 percent majority. Now, even though marijuana use is still against the law, arresting and jailing adults for marijuana use is Seattle's lowest enforcement priority. Law enforcement resources will be focused on serious crime rather than penalizing people for conduct that does not harm others. Seattle's elected officials and law enforcement personnel -- whether supporters or opponents of I-75 -- have an obligation to see that the new law is implemented successfully. City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck took an important step last month when he appointed the Marijuana Policy Review Panel. Its 11 members include people who represent the interests of the police, prosecutors, drug-treatment providers, defense attorneys and the general community. The panel will analyze statistics and relevant information to determine if adult personal use and possession is indeed being treated as the city's lowest enforcement priority, as required by law. This approach is especially timely, as Washington cities and counties are being forced to cope with limited public resources. In Seattle, 418 people were arrested for marijuana in 2001. These arrests entailed taxpayers paying for police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, bailiffs, juries, clerks and jail space. In this era of underfunded and congested courts, cuts in police department personnel and overcrowded jails, it makes no sense to waste public resources penalizing marijuana users. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/sensible.htmSource: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)Author: Kathleen Taylor, ACLU DirectorPublished: Tuesday, January 6, 2004Copyright: 2004 Seattle Post-IntelligencerContact: editpage seattle-pi.comWebsite: http://www.seattle-pi.com/Related Articles & Web Site:ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/Seattle City Council Names Pot Panel http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18072.shtmlRuling Bolsters Medical Marijuana Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17988.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #18 posted by mayan on January 06, 2004 at 15:56:46 PT Burn Em'! The powers that be want to be sure we still have a military when the next "terror attack" occurs. Shorly after Bush took office there was a poll of college students regarding whether or not they would serve if drafted. A majority said they would burn their draft cards. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by kaptinemo on January 06, 2004 at 13:04:30 PT: Speaking of pretzels I am reposting this little bit of irreverency:DishonestDubya Action Figure: "He lies like a b*****d!" with Pretzel Retching Action! from FraudCo http://www.kaicurry.com/gwbush/dishonestdubya.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by billos on January 06, 2004 at 11:20:06 PT: Patrick and Company......... If you think that Bush's push to keep ya against your will is bad, wait 'till the draft comes back. If I was 18-24 years old, I'd be looking for a plot in Canada. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by kaptinemo on January 06, 2004 at 10:17:58 PT: Apologies for the mis-spellings But I get so angry when I see the very same mechanics of the cowardly wallet-lining warmongers using brave men and women as pawns in their corp-rat games.The process which has nourished the military/industrial complex - and those who suckle, fat and happy, at it's teats at the cost of innocent foreigners and our own military - is coming to a decisive point in this country's history. The camouflage has worn thin. The mask of legitimacy is cracking. The reality is becoming ever more obvious. The lies are have become increasingly more glaring.This nation has a decision to make. It will take an outsider to truly clean house, lest the US slide down the s**thole of history.If a dyed-in-the-wool Libber like me says he's voting for Kucinich with his actions (I joined the local campaign organization on New Year's Day; my 'resolution'), that should tell you how important I think it is. This latest insanity with our military only punctuates it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by goneposthole on January 06, 2004 at 09:38:09 PT ahem The guy who chokes on a pretzel and holds a book upside down is hardly the mastermind behind the already doomed imperialistic ambitions.If anything, he is merely a carrot for the dumb jackasses following it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on January 06, 2004 at 09:21:33 PT: Not to seem a 'stockade lawyer" But war was never lawfully DECLARED as it should have been Constitutionally...BY CONGRESS! The present military actions are ILLEGAL and are grounds for IMPEACHMEMT of the President and all his Cabinet.Every troop that has had this 'extension' happening to them has a legitimate claim against further demands for their service once the terms of the contractual obligation have been met. The "War Powers Act" (that was used to get us into Viet Nam) DID NOT contravene the Constitution.Anything less than full demobilization after all contractual requirements of enlistment have been faithfully rendered by the troops is also a violation of the 14th Amemndment against involuntary servitude.The Imperialists (they are NOT 'conservatives' of ANY stripe, Paleo or Neo) are finding out just what the cost this whole sordid adventure they embarked upon is...and true to their cowardly nature, they are making sure that someone else pays the price...as they have from the beginning. A price paid in blood, missing limbs, madness and death of our people, and innocent Iraqis. The troops...now, they *really* know they've been used.In World War 1, the Russian troops, sick of the lies they were told and their treatment by their political leaders and their generals in wasting their lives in vainglorious saber charges against German machineguns, picked up their rifles and went home. The result was catastrophic for the Western powers: the eventual toppling of the Czar, leading to the Bolshevik Revolution.Today, we have embittered young men and women returning from a fight that has made certain very wealthy individuals (who shed none of THEIR own blood) even more rich. These combat vets have no reason to trust a government that so foully used them...and every reason to be angry about it. And they know how to use weapons.Figure it out for yourself. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on January 06, 2004 at 08:22:36 PT BigDawg I appreciate your comment because I don't like saying something that isn't true and I never read anything but was told by my father years ago. I don't know if they used it in Vietnam though. I could be wrong there. My father went in for the duration of the war and my grandfather did too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by BigDawg on January 06, 2004 at 08:19:12 PT Extending military contracts When I joined the military, I read EVERY contract they put in front of me. Completely annoyed the AFEES guy doing the paperwork... but I KNEW what I signed.Buried in the fine print is a clause stating that in the event of war or national security issues... contracts can be extended until the war/issue is over.Sad, but true. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on January 06, 2004 at 07:45:21 PT Patrick I'm sure not defending the war or Bush but this happened in Vietnam and during at least one of the World Wars a man went in for the duration. I think they called it that. Basically you get out when the war is over. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Patrick on January 06, 2004 at 07:39:10 PT Draft I too am worried about a draft but even more worrisome to me is the violation of voluntary troops right to leave armed services at the end of their contract. I like Kapt also served as an enlisted man voluntarily. The idea of being ordered to walk into harms way past my exit date when I want out makes me cringe. In essence it is a slavery of the worst kind. Our beloved soldiers are now slaves to Bush's killing machine. If he can cancel a soldiers ability to return home after he has served his duty who or what's stopping him from just taking over the White House in the same manner. You know, we haven't caught O'sama so I am staying in charge till we do??? Good luck making this administration stop arresting sick people for growing a plant!Kapt. on EMF and ESD I think the only true way to measure an extreme moron field or extreme stupidity discharge is to set up a panel of judges and score it like ice skating or surfing on a scale of 1-10. 10 being as moronic and as stupid as you can get! Unfortunately, this method doesn't set off any alarms of warning when you get near one. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by The GCW on January 06, 2004 at 07:13:57 PT So now, While at the kind officers place of business (getting arrested) if You notice other more important things being put off at all (like violent crime, not getting its proper attention), because the kind officer is confronting You over using some God Given (used with Godly approval), plant material, perhaps that can be admissible in court.Your honor, I was being persecuted by the government while there was absolute mayhem on the streets.Your honor, I thought the police were hired to protect Us, not persecute Us. And that's the truth. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on January 06, 2004 at 06:08:15 PT: And yes, I too am worried about The Draft I'm an old f**t; they couldn't get me if they tried. And I wasn't an officer, so they can't reactivate a commission.But I am VERY worried for my present brothers- (and sisters!) in-arms. For all who wear the 'pickle suit' and tote a rifle, or man a surface ship or sub, or fly in the dangerously thin air in the 'deliriously burning blue' for Uncle.I've said it many times before how proud I was to serve. That pride came from within. From a long family history. None of us, I repeat, NONE of us were ever drafted. We volunteered. But it also came from serving with some excellent soldiers who were there for the same reasons I was. Sure, some joined from a purely mercenary viewpoint, but sooner or later they all, to varying degrees, became aware of one thing: A belief in the rightness of the cause of defending the US (and its' Allies, dammit!) against all challengers. One pass through Checkpoint Charlie in East Berlin in '83 convinced me of what we were up against, and it had to be stopped.But now? Now that belief has been corrupted, and that rationale tarnished to serve the imperialistic dreams of those who lacked the convictions to wear that suit themselves and risk getting perforated by high velocity lead particles pitched by somebody wearing someone else's 'fashion statement'. To be honest, I cannot blame anyone who is forced to fight for the present bunch getting rich off of their life's blood for wanting to leave. And I REFUSE to condemn those now who've gone AWOL. They signed up to protect America, not make Dick Cheney, Bush, Rice and the rest of the oil(y) cabal running the White House richer.Our troops know the score. They know now they've been used - like toilet paper. They know they've been lied to. Their rotations home have been cancelled, their extensions extended even further, and now this.Morale was already floating in the toilet; this will pull the chain. That morale, that fighting spirit, *esprit de corps* is at once both strong as adamantine steel and fragile as spun glass. Destroy it, and you destroy your military.And a military comprised of conscripts is a military comprised of people who hate their own country for doing this to them. With good reason.That simian imposter of a human being has GOT to be vacated from the White House with all deliberate speed. In my gut and in my heart and mind I know Kucinich is the one to do it. He could restore our military's (face it, my uniformed comrades!) soiled honor by returning them to the proper role of protectors of the Constitution and the Nation, not arbiters of Empire.Finally, to M-O-G and all our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines reading this: I pray for your safety every day, and your speedy return. You don't deserve this s**t. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on January 06, 2004 at 05:17:55 PT: Patrick: 'Extreme Moron Field'...supurb! Wish I'd thought of it.How about this, as well; instead of Electromagnetic Static Discharge, a.k.a. ESD (the bane of all 'puter techs, and why components come wrapped in that shiny bag) we have:Extreme Stupidity Damage, caused by unthinking prejudice compounded by habitual stupidity applied in the field of human endeavor.I wonder; is there a way to measure this? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on January 06, 2004 at 02:32:22 PT MPP's final ratings for the Democrats A+ - Dennis Kucinich: On May 29, Kucinich was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle as supporting medical marijuana "without reservation" and indicated that as president he would be willing to sign an executive order permitting its use. A - Carol Moseley Braun: When asked at a campaign stop in Durham on November 3 if she would sign legislation allowing seriously ill people to use medical marijuana with their doctors' approval, Moseley Braun responded, "Yes ... You don't have to record me, I'm already on record on this." A- - John Kerry: During a town hall meeting in Henniker on Sept. 20, an MPP staffer asked Kerry, "Would you stop the raids, as president?" Kerry responded by saying simply, "Yes." B+ - Wesley Clark: During a November 13 town hall meeting in Portsmouth, a volunteer for MPP's campaign asked Clark if, as president, he would stop the DEA's raids on seriously ill medical marijuana patients in the nine states that have removed the threat of jail for medical marijuana patients. Clark replied, "In a simple yes-or-no answer: Yes." B - Al Sharpton: When an MPP volunteer asked Sharpton on December 9 if, as president, he would stop the DEA's raids on medical marijuana patients, he replied, "I think that medical marijuana patients should not be arrested for using medical marijuana. I think that's something that I wouldn't do." D- - Howard Dean: At a town hall meeting in Hampton on November 13, an MPP volunteer asked Dean if he would promise to permanently stop raids on medical marijuana patients in the states that have reduced or eliminated criminal penalties for the medicinal use of marijuana. Dean responded, "I don't believe in what Ashcroft's doing about medical -- putting people in prison who are, who have AIDS. Let me tell you what we have to do on medical marijuana. I stopped a medical marijuana bill in my legislature, and I'll tell you why. Because I'm a doctor, I think substances taken into your body have to be treated the same if they're meant to be medicines, no matter what they are. And I don't like people -- for the same reason I'm pro-choice -- I don't like people who are not in a position to make decisions about people's lives, like politicians particularly ... In the meantime, you know, I'm not in favor of legalizing marijuana -- I mean, maybe for medicinal use ... And so I'm not in favor of the kinds of raids that John Ashcroft is doing in those states where people have decided that medical marijuana is okay. I don't agree with the way it came about from a political process, but I'm not in favor of locking people up for medical marijuana like John Ashcroft is doing." Dean has called for a one-year moratorium on the DEA's raids; the notion of restarting the raids after one year, in combination with his actions as governor, have earned him a D- grade. F - George Bush, John Edwards, Richard Gephardt, and Joe Lieberman: We tried our best, but Edwards, Gephardt, and Lieberman simply would not pledge to end the DEA's raids on patients. Edwards is particularly hypocritical, given that he admitted to having smoked marijuana recreationally. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 05, 2004 at 21:42:32 PT Patrick My worry is that they will bring back the Draft. It seems the armed forces are getting really stretched and many who volunteered won't want to re-up now that we are in a war. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Patrick on January 05, 2004 at 21:12:10 PT If you think… …caging people for using a plant is a violation of your freedom check out this Headline:Army to delay soldiers' exitshttp://www.cnn.com/2004/US/01/05/army.delay.reut/index.htmlA Soldiers tale: When my time for killin towel heads had passed Der Fuhrer Bush wouldn't let me go home to mamma's farm!Ouch ouch ouch"Clearly, if large numbers of personnel have their terms extended against their will, that violates the principle of volunteerism," Carpenter said. "Clearly, if large numbers of plant growers have their time taken against their will, that violates the principle of freedom," I said. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by DeVoHawk on January 05, 2004 at 21:08:56 PT McCrackin, Souders, McCollum Lie Lie Lie "It's a misnomer. Yeah, they may be comparatively smaller in terms of the quantity of drugs they're selling, but they're still major drug dealers and traffickers." -- Because it sounds better in the paper than saying they are small time dealers. How else can we generate hate towards the Marijuana users if we don't hyperinflate and lie. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Patrick on January 05, 2004 at 20:54:10 PT Way to go Seattle When people commit these crimes, they get back out on the streets. They'd do it over and over again," says McCollum. "And so you're going to have 'em back on the streets dealing, even more dealers. So the idea of lesser sentences makes no sense to me at all." But will this really serve as a deterrent? asked CBS 60 minutes"They're bound to be people out there who are deterred from doing this because of the jail time they're going to get. And there are some people who aren't. I think the idea of characterizing these people as small fry is a terrible characterization," adds McCollum. "It's a misnomer. Yeah, they may be comparatively smaller in terms of the quantity of drugs they're selling, but they're still major drug dealers and traffickers."Yep 418 people in Seattle are major drug dealers and trafficers. McCollum and his ilk are going the way of the dinosaur. With talk like that you'd think ole Congressman Bill McCollum was not only one of the toughest guys in favor of stricter drug laws but that he invented the whole prison/pharmco industrial complex himself in much the same way that Al Gore invented the Internet!EM readings are off the scale Kapt'n no sir not the electro-magnetic field the extreme moron. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment