cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Initiative No Way To Change Law Marijuana Initiative No Way To Change Law Posted by CN Staff on January 14, 2004 at 21:50:11 PT By Tom Carr, Seattle City Attorney Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Initiative 75 is a half measure that undermines our democratic system. In a democracy, all power comes from the people. If, as a society, we believe that marijuana use should be legalized, we should work to make that the law. That's the way democracy works.Being unable to do this, Kathleen Taylor of the American Civil Liberties Union (Seattle approaches sensible drug policy, Jan. 6) advocates and applauds telling the police and prosecutor to look away in certain cases. This undermines the rule of law and our democratic system. Change is possible. We can work to make change happen but I-75 is not the way. Taylor wrote that law enforcement resources will be focused on serious crime, that it makes no sense to waste public resources penalizing marijuana users. But I-75 will not save any money for public-safety agencies. Marijuana investigation and prosecution already was a low priority. Basically the city arrests or prosecutes marijuana possession cases when they fall into our lap and we have no other choice. Recent cases include a person arrested for bringing marijuana into the King County jail and another arrested for hawking marijuana brownies in front of police officers. While Taylor's arrest statistic is accurate, other numbers provide for more accurate context. Seattle has a population of more than 500,000 people. Last year, the Seattle Police Department arrested fewer than 500 people for marijuana crimes and we prosecuted fewer than 100. There are no resources to save and divert elsewhere. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/change.htmSource: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)Author: Tom Carr, Seattle City AttorneyPublished: Thursday, January 15, 2004Copyright: 2004 Seattle Post-IntelligencerContact: editpage seattle-pi.comWebsite: http://www.seattle-pi.com/Related Articles & Web Site:ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/Seattle Approaches Sensible Drug Policy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18094.shtmlSeattle 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 #17 posted by FoM on February 23, 2004 at 17:08:48 PT Marijuana Enforcement Panel To Meet Monday, February 23, 2004The panel created to monitor the enforcement of Initiative 75, which liberalized Seattle's enforcement of laws regulating the use of marijuana, holds its first meeting this week.In September, Seattle voters passed I-75, which directs Seattle police and the City Attorney's Office to make marijuana possession their lowest law enforcement priority.In Washington, possession of 40 grams or less of pot is a misdemeanor. In December, the City Council created an 11-member panel to assess and report on the effects of the ordinance, from public safety to finances.Officials with the police and City Attorney's Office must report marijuana arrests and prosecutions to the panel semi-annually.The panel is to meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.Snipped:Complete Article: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/161655_pot23.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Dankhank on January 15, 2004 at 13:47:53 PT: Tokin' I saw the video of Kerry early this morning and was happily astounded.Fox tried to drum up some ire, but failed.On a related note, I saw Clark's son in OKC the other day and he assured me his father will not jail sick people.Peace to all who fight the good fight ... confusion to the rest. Hemp N Stuff [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on January 15, 2004 at 11:04:27 PT goneposthole No problem at all. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by goneposthole on January 15, 2004 at 11:02:39 PT FoM sometimes I slip, other times I stumble, and once in awhile I fall. Forgive my forgetfulness. I am only human, warts and all. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on January 15, 2004 at 10:24:36 PT goneposthole I had to fix something. Thought I'd let you know. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by goneposthole on January 15, 2004 at 10:16:45 PT eloquent is of French origin If the neocons had their way, every word in the english language of French origin would be purged. Please be careful how you choose your words, Dark Star. The French are now rivals of the US government. It's not nice to fool the neocon US government. Fool me once, shame on...er. Fool me twice, shame o... well, you won't get fooled again. As George Bush, our fearless fooler, so aptly stated.el·o·quent (l-kwnt) adj. 1. Characterized by persuasive, powerful discourse: an eloquent speaker; an eloquent sermon. 2. Vividly or movingly expressive: a look eloquent with compassion. See Synonyms at expressive.[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin loquns, loquent- present participle of loqu, to speak out. See elocution.]elo·quent·ly adv. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on January 15, 2004 at 09:21:26 PT Nuevo Mexican I'll tell you what's going on. La! La! La! La! they can't HEAR us! Is that a good answer? LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Nuevo Mexican on January 15, 2004 at 09:18:57 PT Thats great FOM! Whats going on? 2004 promises to be a great year!People who go around saying Democracy is great, mean 'democracy is great for my wallet, period.' This guy gets printed? All of the posters here are more articulate than this bonehead.Why don't we all start writing columns in our local papers?The latest on bushes fall from power:Spains Premier calls bush an Emperor, and thats why European can't stand him!Spain's PM Says Bush Acts Like an Emperor By HARRY DUNPHY, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar was warmly welcomed at the White House Wednesday after saying in an interview that Europeans' perceptions of the United States as an empire explain President Bush (news - web sites)'s unpopularity there. "The combination of being a Republican, of being an emperor, a Texan and outspoken is really a bad mix," Aznar, one of Bush's staunchest allies on Iraq and other issues, said in an interview Wednesday in The Washington Post. "To be politically correct in Europe, people cannot digest the mix that is George Bush as I have described him. They are allergic to that," Aznar said. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=693&e=3&u=/ap/20040115/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_europe_2Make my day! I know I am allergic to bush, it's time to defolitate! For the health of the world! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on January 15, 2004 at 08:36:00 PT John Kerry Pretending To Smoke a Joint We just saw on Fox News John Kerry pretending to smoke a joint and he did it like he knows how to hold one. No news about it though. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Dark Star on January 15, 2004 at 07:48:56 PT Forgive My Lack of Eloquence Forgive my lack of eloquence, but this is crap.The reason that this initiative is on the ballot is precisely because democracy has failed where cannabis is concerned. The people understand the wisdom of cannabis as medicine, but the politicians have not taken heed. Thus, potshots like this are necessary to send a message until the legislators wise up. At least the judiciary seems to be recognizing the inherent abuses of the system and its persecution of patients. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on January 15, 2004 at 07:35:47 PT the wise, the gentlemen and the vulgar Leo Strauss forgot one class, the foolish. The one where he belongs.You can't win 'em all. Too bad he lacked the mettle to find fault in his own wisdom. The fool. Wise move, weedhopper. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by mayan on January 15, 2004 at 06:29:59 PT "Carr-toon" "If, as a society, we believe that marijuana use should be legalized, we should work to make that the law. That's the way democracy works."Yeah kap'n, isn't it sad how these dolts whine when the people's voice is directly heard through initiatives,propositions & referendums? When the representatives fail to represent, we have no other choice. If this was a true democracy, medical cannabis would have been legal a long time ago. Hell, it probably never would have been made illegal! It's almost comical how the U.S. government says it's going to give the Iraqi people a democracy. Maybe they should let the American people have one! some unrelated tidbits...Mohawk chief 'fixated on drugs': http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/01/13/312040-cp.htmlBid to unseal warrants used in B.C. legislature raids put off another week: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Law/2003/12/29/299631-cp.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on January 15, 2004 at 06:00:00 PT Seattle I lived in Seattle for a period of time during the mid-eighties. A visit to the Pike Street Market meant more than buying green onions and a fillet of salmon for supper. Cannabis 'salesmen' were there, too. It was not difficult to buy cannabis in Seattle.If you want to visit a city that is 'user friendly', visit Seattle. You won't be dissappointed. Plenty of cannabis and killer views of the Olympics. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on January 15, 2004 at 05:21:50 PT: In the interests of free speech In my last post I included a link to a pro-Strauss commentary.Here's one not so laudatory: http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-3-77-1542.jspMake up your own minds...but I believe that there's a pattern, a *modus operandi* here that deserves some scrutiny. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on January 15, 2004 at 05:11:21 PT: Tom Carr: closet Straussian? Those who claim to be 'neoconservatives' (and are loudly insisting, after happily weraing that mantle for decades, that suddenly there are no such things) are said to be disciples of Leo Strauss, the Austriam professor who thought democracy is a sham for the masses, and that power uses all the means available to get what it wants, and screw the little guy. if that includes suborning the democratic process, then so be it.Leo Strauss, the Straussians and American foreign policy http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-3-77-1577.jspThey're all for 'democracy'...so long as it's easily manipulable and malleable to their goals. In other words, convenient for them. But as soon as the real thing shows up on the scene, they start poor-mouthing it.We've seen this happen time and again: the claim by DrugWarriors that the referenda process - which is usually intiated when the normal means of democratic change have been stonewalled by corrupt incumbents and special interests - is somehow short-circuiting democracy and the rule of law. When it's the short-circuiters themselves who are guilty of making the process necessary to begin with. Short-circuiters like Mr. Carr and his ilk.It seems of all the so-called 'conservatives', the DrugWarriors had, possibly without knowing, been subscribing to the Straussian philosophy without ever reading the man's works. Just home-grown, 'nat-churl fashists', I suppose... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on January 15, 2004 at 00:11:59 PT Possible Lte? Initiative 75?This is in response to Tom Carr's recent "misunderstanding" of half-measured ballot that was (please note this) passed by majority of the people.Sorry, it is the law!, now, Mr. Carr, will you follow this law? If the guy was hawking the brownies, you better pay attention to the guy who is spitting on the sidewalk.(Ought to be a law on spitting the sidewalk or jaywalking or trying to stalk a nice lady or maybe a "cold case of a murder that was not solved because the "Initiative 75" was not in place in the "Law" of book before you even bother to prosecute the guy hawking the brownies.100 is 1 too many. Initiative 75's goal is to let the 99 go. And if Mr. Carr thinks that we should just legalize marijuana, he can always join http://www.norml.compazff [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Virgil on January 14, 2004 at 22:50:08 PT LTE "Initiative 75 is a half measure that undermines our democratic system. In a democracy, all power comes from the people. If, as a society, we believe that marijuana use should be legalized, we should work to make that the law. That's the way democracy works." I read Tom Carr’s article titled "Marijuana initiative no way to change law" at www.cannabisnews.com/ posted on January 14th. I read the first paragraph and carried the thought all the way through that the man was goofy in his writing. I think he is correct in saying it is half way measure because it is halfway to regulation like alcohol and tobacco. That is not good enough but with 66 years of lies and demonization of cannabis, that is as far to proper laws that the people could come. In no way did Imitative 75 undermine democracy. It starts out with a false premise. Then in the second sentence he recites a platitude. In the third line, he says if we want legalization we should work for it. We are and Initiative 75 is going in that direction. Then he ends with something about democracy when we now have a government of plutocracy.If he were concerned about democracy he would want to end the drug wars that treat health issues with a criminal justice approach that is universally acclaimed as extended failure. He would know that the drug wars are a smoke screen for the erosion of democracy, just like the war on terror.People do not need protection from laughing grass. They need protection from the government that has exceeded the power that the Constitution intended to limit.. That is what I-75 was about. That is why it passed. What we see in the media on the Internet is mass media carrying the message of officialdom. That is what we have here. People could learn a lot and gain great perspective if they studied the history of cannabis prohibition. I do not expect this to appear in your advertising paper because it defies the principle plan of defending cannabis prohibition with lies and silence. Since that is failing because of the Internet, it looks like we are now seeing goofiness. And I am not saying it for purposes of demonization. I am just being honest, which really hurts a prohibitionists.Now I know this will not get published. Newspapers hate the word "prohibition."Sincerely, [ Post Comment ] Post Comment