cannabisnews.com: Southern U. Students Debate on MJ Legalization





Southern U. Students Debate on MJ Legalization
Posted by CN Staff on October 10, 2006 at 13:20:10 PT
By Christine Blake
Source: Southern Digest
Louisiana -- The subject of whether marijuana should be legalized in Louisiana has been a highly debated topic even among the students on the campus of Southern University.The laws involving marijuana use differ from state to state, however there are only twelve states in which marijuana is decriminalized.
These states include Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Nebraska, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Maine and Ohio. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is a non-profit organization that allows people to speak out about resisting the prohibition of marijuana.According to their website, NORML said decriminalization indicates that for a "first-time possession of marijuana in a small amount for personal consumption there is no prison time or criminal record but instead is treated like a minor traffic violation."Southern University students have various ways of looking at the effects it would have on the black community if marijuana's usage were to be legalized.Ryan Carter, a senior mass communications major from LaPlace, said marijuana affects the decisions that people make."I am an adult and I want to act that way at all times," Carter said. "I don't want marijuana to affect the choices I make."Carter said, "I know people who go to work and school high which is not okay. We need more positive leaders in the black community, and how can one be a positive leader smoking marijuana?"On the contrary there are students that are willing to speak up about allowing marijuana to become legalized.Lialika Bates, a sophomore mass communications major from Baton Rouge, said marijuana should be legalized because people are going to use it anyway."Some people need it in their system," Bates said. "Marijuana is known for being calming and the effects aren't nearly as bad as cocaine or other harsh drugs."NORML reported that in 2005 more than 850,000 people were arrested for possession of the drug.In the state of Louisiana, when someone is convicted for possession of marijuana it is an offense punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence. The mandatory minimum sentence suggests that the judge must sentence the defendant to at least six months in prison for the offense.According to NORML, Louisiana also has a marijuana tax stamp law enacted. This law mandates that those who possess marijuana are legally required to purchase and affix state-issued stamps onto his or her contraband. Failure to do so may result in a fine and/or criminal sanction, states the website.Complete Title: Southern U. Students Debate on Whether or Not Usage of Marijuana Should Be LegalizedSource: The Southern Digest (LA Edu)Author: Christine BlakePublished: October 10, 2006Copyright: 2006 The Southern DigestWebsite: http://southerndigest.comContact: editor southerndigest.comNORMLhttp://www.norml.org/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #17 posted by whig on October 12, 2006 at 01:54:11 PT
Hope
Isn't Ed still around somewhere? Just because people stop doing one thing doesn't mean they aren't doing something else.By the way, nice to see you.
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on October 11, 2006 at 13:11:30 PT
NJ Weedman 
gave it his best. He is amazing. He is admirable, and he is black.
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Comment #15 posted by whig on October 11, 2006 at 12:30:08 PT
Excerpt
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/08/1516213See what God is saying to us today through the transition of Coretta Scott King is that we, here in this world right now, are suffering from complications, of cancer from materialism and greed and selfishness and arrogance, and elitism, and poverty, and racism, and perversion, and obscenity, and misogyny, and idolatry, and militarism, and violence, and it is a cancer that's eating away at the very essence and nation of what God created of human kind to be-- for he created us! To have ruler ship and dominion in the Earth and not allow the Earth to dictate to us. But now what has happened is that the very Earth, the very creation that he put us in charge of is now controlling us. And instead of us reproducing other people who look like God, who talk like God, who act like God, who think like God, who do business like God, who govern like God, who entertain like God, we are not reproducing anything because the cancer is eating away at us.And cannabis is the cure for cancer.
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Comment #14 posted by whig on October 11, 2006 at 12:27:46 PT
rchot
What about reaching black religious leaders, like Bernice King? I was so impressed with her eulogy at her mother's funeral.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 11, 2006 at 08:11:20 PT
Just a Comment
Cannabis prohibition is about how to mantain blacks as slaves since the south was angry when they had to give them up. They got upset with President Johnson and became Republicans is how I see it. Now prisons take their place and in prison a person is back working for slave wages. Also the hippie culture of the 60s is the enemy and they have called the generation of peace, love and understanding commies. It's really insane the hate the Republicans have for different races and groups of people. What is a democracy?
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on October 11, 2006 at 07:31:24 PT
Cannabis prohibition
was and is, just another Jim Crowe, disguised as some sort of legitimate law.It's sickening.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on October 11, 2006 at 07:30:05 PT
rchot
I also want to say welcome to CNews. We all appreciate your input. I understand what you said.
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on October 11, 2006 at 07:28:12 PT
Rchot
Welcome to C-News. If more people realized the beginnings of cannabis prohibition, there would be some "splaining" to do on the part of our leaders who keep the miserable drug war alive and well.
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Comment #9 posted by Celaya on October 11, 2006 at 06:59:45 PT
rchot
Thanks for coming. I appreciate your contribution."Along with that culture comes the prohibitionist attitude." That's what is so frustrating. You'd think there would be enough intelligence in black leadership that they would see prohibition is one of the main forces holding them down."What they don't see is that usually the first thing that starts a young black person towards a life of crime is marijuana prohibition. First they get the initial marijuana charge whether it be posession, posession with intent or distribution. From then on they have that record following them. Even if they get out of probation this will bar them from jobs which they need to survive. In my part of the country you need to make at least $12/hr or around 18,000 a year to survive without government assistance. Most of the jobs that they will get would be around 7-9 dollars an hour. Without a means to survive they'll either try to live off of the government turn to crime or become mentally unstable (something that goes overlooked all to often.)"Right. The same thing happens to people of any color who get so branded. Believe me, I know. But it happens more to blacks than anyone, so you'd think the leadership would catch a clue and advocate for ending marijuana prohibition - probably the single biggest step that would help the whole black community. The other possibility that comes to mind, unfortunately, is that black leadership has become as corrupt as white leadership. I'm afraid this seems the most probable.
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Comment #8 posted by Celaya on October 11, 2006 at 06:57:52 PT
whig and wayne
Yes, of course I understand there are exceptions, especially in the entertainment field. And I speak from more knowledge than you probably imagined. My first wife was black and we had three children.In regards to standing against prohibition, I am primarily talking about black leadership. These people, at least, should not be afraid of the repurcussions of speaking out. That's supposed to be part of being a leader. It seems they have mistakenly focused totally on improving themselves economically, and mixed it with prejudice against pot smokers. This concoction has them put them in the traitorous position of acting arm in arm with those who repress them. 
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Comment #7 posted by rchot on October 11, 2006 at 06:13:06 PT
the black community
The problem with the black community (I am black)is that except for a small few, those that have been successful have done so by fully assimilating into "American" culture. I mean when was the last time that you've seen an upper middle or upper class black person that actually talked or dressed like the majority of black people. (of course I have no problem with them choosing to be this way because everyone should have a choice to be as they want). Along with that culture comes the prohibitionist attitude.What they don't see is that usually the first thing that starts a young black person towards a life of crime is marijuana prohibition. First they get the initial marijuana charge whether it be posession, posession with intent or distribution. From then on they have that record following them. Even if they get out of probation this will bar them from jobs which they need to survive. In my part of the country you need to make at least $12/hr or around 18,000 a year to survive without government assistance. Most of the jobs that they will get would be around 7-9 dollars an hour. Without a means to survive they'll either try to live off of the government turn to crime or become mentally unstable (something that goes overlooked all to often.)
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Comment #6 posted by Wayne on October 10, 2006 at 21:12:29 PT
whig & Celaya
If anyone needs a reference for a fine upstanding member of the black community in marijuana reform, here's one below...
Kurt L. Schmoke
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Comment #5 posted by whig on October 10, 2006 at 18:32:21 PT
Celaya
The absence of the black community in marijuana reform has always been puzzling. They are the ones who suffer the worst from prohibition, but apparently, they think they deserve it. In their attempts to lift themselves up, they have bought into the very propaganda of the evil system they are fighting against.Perhaps you aren't paying attention to people like Snoop Dogg?Apparently they still have a long way to go, and much of that difference is inside their own heads.They? Apparently you may need to consider your own head. I don't mean to be rude to you Celaya, but because you don't see a lot of strong black advocates is because they get lynched when they say what I do. So they say their peace differently.
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Comment #4 posted by whig on October 10, 2006 at 18:29:28 PT
I don't know
"I know people who go to work and school high which is not okay. We need more positive leaders in the black community, and how can one be a positive leader smoking marijuana?"Like Bob Marley or something?
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Comment #3 posted by Celaya on October 10, 2006 at 16:02:32 PT
Higher Education
I can see how some students might benefit initially from marijuana. For a few, education has become so rote and boring, they have been trained to think about anything but what's happening in class.But with pot, it makes you focus on the here-and-now. Whatever is happening right now, right here, is going to be ten times more interesting than whatever you might be imagining.In these rare cases, pot is actually serving a medical purpose. Kind of like Ritalin, I suppose.Most students don't have this obstacle, and once a student learns how to focus on class work, and starts receiving the payoff of good grades and high self-esteem, they shouldn't need to continue it indefinitely, and will find they can do even better in class without pot.To everything there is a season. 
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Comment #2 posted by Storm Crow on October 10, 2006 at 15:43:37 PT
About that "going to school high" bit...
In most cases, kids going to school high is not the best idea, but there are occationally exceptions. I work in education and several years ago I made an observation about one of my kids. The days that he came to school smelling of pot, were the days that he did better in school! His stoned school work made the difference between his (barely)passing or not passing. It didn't make him a genius by any means- it just calmed him enough so he could concentrate long enough to complete his work. How many others out there are like him, I don't know. But I bet there are more than you might think. In some cases, I feel that coming to school stoned is acceptable.
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Comment #1 posted by Celaya on October 10, 2006 at 15:03:16 PT
Mental Disconnect
Ryan Carter, a senior mass communications major from LaPlace, said marijuana affects the decisions that people make. -- "I am an adult and I want to act that way at all times," Carter said. "I don't want marijuana to affect the choices I make."Is there something about this question that makes people crazy? The question is not, "Do you like to smoke marijuana?" Do they think if it is legal that someone will force them to smoke it? More likely, they are just reaching for an excuse for their bigotry.Carter said, "I know people who go to work and school high which is not okay. Okay. So for the bad behavior of a few people, he wants to throw people in jail who smoke responsibly. Nice. Should we do the same with alcohol?We need more positive leaders in the black community, and how can one be a positive leader smoking marijuana?"What he really means is, "I am so prejudiced, I cannot think of having a leader that smokes pot."The absence of the black community in marijuana reform has always been puzzling. They are the ones who suffer the worst from prohibition, but apparently, they think they deserve it. In their attempts to lift themselves up, they have bought into the very propaganda of the evil system they are fighting against. Apparently they still have a long way to go, and much of that difference is inside their own heads.
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