cannabisnews.com: Duo Pushes Rhode Island To Decriminalize Pot
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Duo Pushes Rhode Island To Decriminalize Pot
Posted by CN Staff on February 02, 2010 at 17:41:35 PT
By Joel Millman
Source: Wall Street Journal
Providence, R.I. -- A retired police officer and the proprietor of an organic eatery make an odd couple when it comes to trying to overturn marijuana laws in this tiny state, but Jack Cole and Josh Miller are giving it their best shot.Mr. Cole, 71 years old, is a veteran of decades with the New Jersey State Police, almost all with the drug squad. Mr. Miller, 55, runs Local 121, a restaurant favored among "buy local" diners, and also serves in the state Senate, where he leads a special commission to study marijuana prohibitions. The panel began hearings in January to discuss an overhaul of the state's pot laws, starting with decriminalization of small amounts.
As legislators across the U.S. struggle to rescue state budgets hammered by the recession, decriminalization is one idea gaining traction. Advocates say states could cut costs of policing, prosecuting and incarcerating offenders, and even raise money by taxing users."Any respect for this issue lies right now in its impact on the budget," said Mr. Miller.His committee will hear testimony Wednesday from Mr. Cole, the founder of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, a national lobby seeking an end to the drug war. LEAP's 10,000 members include many former police officers, corrections workers and federal agents of the Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration.Decriminalization faces resistance from district attorneys and police departments that have grown used to making arrests and building criminal cases in a longstanding war-on-drugs tradition, and often equate decriminalization with being "soft" on crime.The first steps state legislatures take tend to be narrow: legalizing marijuana use for cancer or glaucoma patients, or allowing municipalities to impose fines on casual smokers.In California, one of 14 states that allow marijuana use for medical purposes, legislators are weighing a bill to legalize most marijuana sales and create tax and licensing fees for the industry. The measure was approved by the state Assembly's Public Safety Committee last month, but probably won't advance further this session.New Hampshire is considering a pair of House bills, one to legalize and tax pot sales, and another to decriminalize possession. A medical-marijuana bill passed last year but was vetoed by the governor.Decriminalization measures have also been introduced in Vermont, Virginia and Washington, while medical-marijuana bills are being considered in Maryland, Delaware and Wisconsin, among other states.Mr. Miller said that in Rhode Island, which allows medical-marijuana use, decriminalization was the next step. He noted that last month a bill was introduced in the House to make possession of an ounce or less a civil offense punishable by a fine of $100, rather than a criminal offense.Rhode Island has run budget deficits of just over $200 million in each of the past two years, and is looking at a $400 million deficit in the next fiscal year on a budget of $7 billion. Savings from decriminalization wouldn't be great, Mr. Miller conceded—say, $2 million to $3 million a year by freeing prison beds occupied by pot offenders. Rhode Island spends about $33,000 a year per inmate.Not everyone agrees with that math. Matthew Dawson, deputy chief of the criminal division of the state attorney general's office, testified before Mr. Miller's panel last month that the state would achieve "zero savings" from decriminalization. He said police and prosecutors employed criminal charges for possession to plea bargain with suspects, and that suspects might otherwise have to be prosecuted for more serious crimes, at greater cost to the state. Others say possession charges help police cajole witnesses into cooperating in criminal inquiries.Mr. Miller said such arguments may persuade some of his colleagues, but others would look to the decision two years ago in neighboring Massachusetts to decriminalize pot, which raised hopes among some legislators that a similar measure could pass in Rhode Island. "It's not far-off California, but the big state next door," Mr. Miller said.Mr. Cole traveled to Providence recently to help Mr. Miller craft a strategy. He often wears a badge that reads: "Cops Say Legalize Drugs. Ask Me Why."In his standard speech, he describes the epiphany he experienced early in his career as an undercover narcotics investigator. "I learned firsthand of the family-destroying consequences of sending drug users [often mothers and fathers] to jail. I can't think of a better policy for creating the next generation of drug addicts than to remove parents from children," he said. "I also realized that when police arrested a robber or rapist they made the community safer for everyone but when I arrested a drug pusher, I simply created a job opening for someone in a long line of people willing to take his place."Messrs. Cole and Miller agreed the former cop's presentation must appeal to law-and-order politicians. Mr. Cole said the way to win them over was to show that chasing pot smokers keeps police from fighting other crimes."Look at the clearance rates for these crimes," he said. In the 1960s, before federal antidrug funds flowed heavily to states, "91% of all murders in this country were solved. Today, it's 61%." He cited similar drops for arson (60% unsolved) robbery (75% unsolved) and rape (60% unsolved).Mr. Cole said the national addiction rate has remained unchanged for a century at about 1.3% of the population. He concludes that if drugs are legalized, the addiction rate would stay the same, "but we'll be spending a lot less to manage it."Source: Wall Street Journal (US)Author: Joel MillmanPublished: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 Copyright: 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.Contact: wsj.ltrs wsj.comWebsite: http://www.wsj.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/srDBpN31CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by runruff on February 03, 2010 at 05:29:33 PT
To decrim pot?
Just have a look at the pre-drug war propaganda that was being played at every high school assembly in America.http://www.veoh.com/collection/ephemeralfilms/watch/v65189482Ww527WT#
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Comment #8 posted by EAH on February 02, 2010 at 21:33:29 PT:
Common sense is apparently not that common
I'm trying real hard to understand the hesitancy of legislators. Is it fear of cannabis itself? Or is it fear of the LEOS and DAs that are "fellow" public officials? Is it fear that their vote to legalize will be the thing that causes them to lose their next election? Or all of those. Because not voting to end prohibition
is certainly not common sense or good budget policy.Decriminalization falls short. It doesn't end the black market or lower prices or generate tax revenue or regulate access to minors. Why would that seem worth doing?
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on February 02, 2010 at 20:57:12 PT
Ganga Winners - NEIL
Ganga Winners at the Grammy AwardsBy Ellen Komp, Cannabis Culture - Tuesday, February 2 2010
 Tags: CC Magazine Feature Articles,Headline News,Arts & Entertainment,awards,Grammy Awards,media,television.CANNABIS CULTURE - Marijuana smokers were in high numbers at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards.http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/02/02/Ganga-Winners-Grammy-AwardsAt the age of 64, Canadian rocker Neil Young finally won his first Grammy award on Sunday night, one he shared for art direction on the box set Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972). Young was also recognized for his long-standing charity Bridge concerts, and for the Neil Young benefit on Friday night that raised more than $4 million. Young and Bob Dylan, neither of whom can really sing, were beat out by Bruce Springsteen for Best Solo Rock Vocal.Shakey, Jim McDonough's 785-page biography of Young (Random House), explores Young's epilepsy, one of the diseases for which some find relief from medical marijuana. Young says homegrown is still all right with him, but "I try not to smoke too much. I don't wanna set a bad example for the kids."Cont.
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Comment #6 posted by The GCW on February 02, 2010 at 20:45:50 PT
Religious Views Growing Around Marijuana
US CO: Religious Views Growing Around Marijuana
 Webpage: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14303364Pubdate: 31 Jan 2010Source: Denver Post (CO)Author: Electa Draper
 
Religious Views Growing Around Marijuana
Trevor Douglas tried to explain to the Colorado state trooper that it was OK for him to have a little marijuana and a pipe in the car with him because he is a card-carrying member of a church devoted to cannabis-centered spirituality."It's Christianity with cannabis as the main sacrament," the 25-year-old Avon man says. "I use it to be completely in touch with the spiritual world and to discover my higher self. Cannabis has been used in religions before written history."Similar religious views are gaining ground in Colorado. Like-minded faithful opened THC Ministry in Boulder five months ago. (THC is the short name for tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant.)Can a plant or any substance be the focus of faith? Douglas says Catholics use wine in their worship.However, Douglas' plea for religious freedom from the trooper ended with a misdemeanor citation. He faces trial March 9 for possession.Douglas says he is part of the same religious movement as Roger Christie, a Steamboat Springs native who founded the first THC Ministry, in Hilo, Hawaii.Christie founded the ministry with the stated purpose of liberating "the sacred cannabis," or hemp plant, from those who do not revere it, and to nurture spiritual practice with this plant at the center.THC Ministries also are in Los Angeles and Bozeman, Mont.The Rev. James Marks heads the THC Ministry in Boulder, where, he says, "we have ceremonies and sessions and offer fellowship." Cont.Coming soon to MAP-0-I know of cannabis as the tree of life. Of all the relationships humans have with cannabis; hemp for cloting etc, medicine, recreational etc. none come before the spiritual realities. Cannabis / kaneh bosm has the ability to help humans live among each other and love one another as The Ecologician intended.The Green Collar Worker
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on February 02, 2010 at 19:39:53 PT
Hope,
That's interesting info.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 02, 2010 at 19:21:42 PT
Former Mexican Official Urges Legalizing Marijuana
February 3, 2010URL: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/02/us.mexico.marijuana/
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on February 02, 2010 at 18:31:50 PT
Important information everyone should know.
""Look at the clearance rates for these crimes," he said. In the 1960s, before federal antidrug funds flowed heavily to states, "91% of all murders in this country were solved. Today, it's 61%." He cited similar drops for arson (60% unsolved) robbery (75% unsolved) and rape (60% unsolved).Mr. Cole said the national addiction rate has remained unchanged for a century at about 1.3% of the population. He concludes that if drugs are legalized, the addiction rate would stay the same, "but we'll be spending a lot less to manage it.""
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on February 02, 2010 at 18:28:51 PT
Mr. Cole. Mr. Miller. Mr. Millmann
Very good. Very good.
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on February 02, 2010 at 17:44:40 PT
Go Jack!
Thank You!
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