cannabisnews.com: Judge: Conn Marijuana Law Having Modest Impact
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Judge: Conn Marijuana Law Having Modest Impact
Posted by CN Staff on July 29, 2012 at 04:24:35 PT
By Ed Jacovino, Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Hartford, Conn. -- Arrests for possessing marijuana dropped immediately after lawmakers decreased the penalty for getting caught with less than half an ounce to a ticketing offense. But it's less clear whether the change has spared the time and resources of police, prosecutors, and courtrooms — as proponents had predicted."This change, to be perfectly candid, it's a modest effect on our court dockets," Judge Robert Devlin said recently. Devlin is the chief administrative judge for criminal matters.
That change comes after the General Assembly made it an $150 infraction to possess up to a half-ounce of marijuana. The law went into effect July 2011.Before, it was a criminal misdemeanor to possess any amount. The lowest charge was possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana, which carried a fine of up to $1,000 or a year in prison for the first offense.These are the most recent figures from the Judicial Department:— There were 4,928 charges of possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana from July 1 to Nov. 30, 2010, according to figures provided by the courts.— There were 1,155 charges of possession of between 4 ounces and a half-ounce during the same five months in 2011. That's a decrease of 76.5 percent, or 3,773.— 1,965 tickets were issued for possession of less than a half ounce of marijuana during that period in 2011.The figures show a decrease in the total number of marijuana citations, whether ticket or arrest. But they don't indicate whether decriminalization led to a significant decrease in court activity. That's because many people charged with marijuana possession also face other charges.When legislators debated the bill in the spring of 2011, supporters contended too much time and money were spent by police and the courts pursuing criminal cases against people found with small amounts of marijuana.Opponents countered that any savings from the change would be minimal.Judge Devlin said that when it comes to the numbers, both sides have a point.Police often will make an arrest for one thing and then find drugs, Devlin said. "On the other hand, there are cases where it's strictly a marijuana charge. It happens both ways."Michael P. Lawlor, the undersecretary of the Office of Policy and Management for criminal justice policy, pushed for the legislation on behalf of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Lawlor's main argument was that it would free up time for police, courts, and the probation system.The change had the greatest effect on the probation system, he said Monday. That's because after defendants entered a diversionary program they were put on probation, Lawlor said.He also said the change was aimed at setting priorities for police and prosecutors."The message we're trying to send to the entire law enforcement community is we want you to focus on violent crime and serious crime," he said. "There's a lot of stuff that comes through the court system that by anyone's definition is not necessary."But opponents question whether the lowered penalty made a significant change.Chief State's Attorney Kevin T. Kane was among the bill's most outspoken opponents. He said he doubted the change would save time for prosecutors.And, after talking to several prosecutors recently, they agree it hasn't, Kane said."They have not noticed any significant decrease in their workload," he said. "A lot of the cases, the people who are charged have other charges too."Kane also questioned whether people who got a ticket for having marijuana would go to court to challenge it — some have, and asked that they be put into the diversionary program rather than have the infraction on their records, he said.And Kane questioned whether it's appropriate policy to simply issue a ticket. Lawmakers usually support the educational programs as a way to prevent people from reoffending, especially when it comes to issues of substance abuse.The Police Chiefs Association also was skeptical. South Windsor Police Chief Matthew Reed is co-chairman of the group's legislative committee and said police rarely charge someone only with marijuana possession."We don't just see somebody standing on the corner smoking some marijuana," he said. "It's always part of another case."And police officers issuing the new infraction tickets still are taking evidence and writing incident reports. The only time they're saving is in taking fingerprints, Reed said.He also wondered about the effect on teenagers. "When you say something is a criminal offense it sends a strong message," he said. "Once you start to eat away at that classification, it's somewhat a tacit approval of its use."Sen. John A. Kissel, R-Enfield, opposed the bill when it came before the Democrat-controlled legislature. But as the top Republican on the legislature's Judiciary Committee, he inserted one change: That those under 21 ticketed for possession have their driver's licenses suspended for 60 days.Kissel also said that whenever crime statistics are in play, it should be noted that crime overall is down in the state.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Ed Jacovino, Associated PressPublished:  July 29, 2012 Copyright: 2012 The Associated PressCannabisNews  -- Cannabis  Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by konagold on July 29, 2012 at 11:47:59 PT
police power
I defy anyone to show me how my due process rights and rights of equal protection [14th amendment] are accommodated by an amendment to the US constitution prohibiting pot or ANY DRUG an amendment is THE precedent set by prohibiting alcohol for the PROHIBITION of ANY recreational substancewith out such an amendment neither due process or equal protection is afforded to any of usthe United States with five percent of the worlds population holds twenty five percent of the worlds prisoners and consumes eighty percent of the worlds supply of pharmaceutical pain medicationsAmerica has been transformed into the land of the not so free the home of the barely brave and the pharmacy of the vastly over-medicatedthis follows the abandonment of individual rights over lust for power and wealth of the prison/judicial-industrial complexany judge has a vested interest in protecting the income stream of fellow lawyers and protecting the power of kops to shake down citizens every judge of any drug case should be asked to recuse themselves because of a bias for the system which feeds them if they persecute individual rights 
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on July 29, 2012 at 11:46:00 PT
Is Conrad Black Growing a Heart? 
Conrad Black: Privatizing Prisons 'A Catastrophic Idea' (VIDEO, PHOTOS). 
The Huffington Post Canada | By Daniel Tencer Posted: 07/27/2012 8:16 am Updated: 07/27/2012 11:30 am.
Follow:
Video, Conrad Black, Conrad Black Prison, Canada Prison Privatization, Conrad Black Prison Privatization, Conrad Black Prisons, Prison Privatization, Prison Privatization Canada, Private Prisons Conrad Black, Canada Business News 
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/07/26/conrad-black-prison-privatization_n_1707573.html?utm_hp_ref=canada&icid=maing-grid7%7Ccanada%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D184743
Excerpt: { 
Black, who served nearly four years in a federal U.S. prison, in total, after being convicted on charges fraud and obstruction of justice related to his time as head of Hollinger International, said the penal system is “fundamentally not a commercial matter.”
}Canadians are concerned that the Harper government, following the passage of the Omnibus Crime Bill, will adopt U.S.-style private prisons and target the cannabis population with tough new offenses and penalties.
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Comment #3 posted by afterburner on July 29, 2012 at 10:23:25 PT
Sam, I agree. It's Slavery. Cops Want to Control. 
"And police officers issuing the new infraction tickets still are taking evidence and writing incident reports. The only time they're saving is in taking fingerprints, Reed said.""taking evidence" - Is this copspeak for confiscating cannabis? Is this required by the infraction law?"writing incident reports" - Is this required by the infraction law? No wonder they are saving little time.The trouble with this infraction law is that it didn't go far enough. More time could be saved if the police really wanted to follow the spirit of the law.Meanwhile, the saving of jobs & families is not worth mentioning? Government of the people by the people and for the people is trumped by the needs of the corpo-rat state and its paid protectors. 
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on July 29, 2012 at 08:53:04 PT
modest impact 
The whole tone of this article is so classist, it's really astonishing if you think about it.  Pretty much standard fare from the mainstream media.If I'm extrapolating correctly, this says that there are about 10,000 people per year being spared criminal arrest since decrim was passed - about 30 per day.Yet all those throngs of thousands of people who work hard at their jobs every day don't even warrant a single mention in this article. It's likely that many people were able to keep their jobs, maybe even keep their children, as a result of this law.No, overall the law wasn't a big deal and barely did anything, we're told by the government. And thank GOD the Republican put that extra penalty on the college students at the end!  The law is SO much better now! That is what the AP tells you with a straight face and expects you to believe it.Reality is that 70% of the population has supported decrim for years. Most of the people in this area think cannabis should be sold legally and regulated.  The AP has to work OVERTIME for the ruling class to keep up this propaganda!
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on July 29, 2012 at 08:45:07 PT
question
>>>Sen. John A. Kissel, R-Enfield, opposed the bill when it came before the Democrat-controlled legislature. But as the top Republican on the legislature's Judiciary Committee, he inserted one change: That those under 21 ticketed for possession have their driver's licenses suspended for 60 days.Will the bankers that made millions in the LIBOR scandal lose their drivers' licenses for 60 days?These marijauna laws are just enslavement, that's really all it is. Don't forget your place, peasant! That's what they're saying.
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