cannabisnews.com: Clinton, Bernie Sanders Support Marijuana Reform
function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent('Clinton, Bernie Sanders Support Marijuana Reform');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/28/thread28749.shtml');
 site = new Array(5);
 site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
 return false;
}






Clinton, Bernie Sanders Support Marijuana Reform
Posted by CN Staff on November 30, 2015 at 06:00:25 PT
By Kelly Riddell, The Washington Times
Source: Washington Times
Washington, D.C. -- The “war on drugs” has become a chief target for Democratic presidential hopefuls who use outsized rhetoric to say drug laws, particularly those regarding marijuana, are filling the nation’s prisons and jails with nonviolent offenders who shouldn’t be behind bars.Front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton blamed “low-level offenses that are primarily due to marijuana,” while Sen. Bernard Sanders said states should consider legalizing marijuana out of fairness.
Wall Street CEOs aren’t held accountable, “and yet we are imprisoning or giving jail sentences to young people who are smoking marijuana,” Mr. Sanders said.There is only one problem with the rhetoric: It is factually wrong.“The statement that the prison population is mostly low-level marijuana offenders is utterly totally bogus; there is not a shred of validity in it,” said Jonathan Caulkins, a public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University.Mr. Caulkins said that while 20 percent of the U.S. prison population is incarcerated for drug convictions, less than 10 percent of those are for marijuana. The other 90 percent deal with cocaine, methamphetamine or heroin violations.“And of the marijuana violators, the people in prison for that reason in particular, they basically are never there for simple possession,” Mr. Caulkins said. “You can go to prison if you possess 5 tons of marijuana, but that’s not personal possession. Most of these offenders are there because they broke parole or were also charged with drug trafficking and production.”Indeed, only 3.6 percent of state inmates in 2013 had drug possession as their most serious offense, according to official data from the Justice Department, and only about three-tenths of 1 percent of state prison inmates were there because of marijuana possession alone, according to the federal agency’s most recent data.Although the population in state prisons has skyrocketed 363 percent from 1980 to 2009, making mass incarceration an issue for politicians, less than a quarter of that growth was a result of the imprisonment of drug offenders, said Fordham law professor John Pfaff, who studied the data.More than half of the increase in prison populations are there because of violent crimes, he said.“Violent crimes offenders serve long sentences and make up 55 percent of the prison population and about 60 percent of prison growth,” Mr. Pfaff said. “The percent of prisoners because of drug charges has actually dropped.”Drug legalization advocates say that while marijuana may not affect the overall prison population, the number of arrests connected to the drug is staggering and does mean more Americans fall under the criminal justice system.Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said the most recent FBI data show that of the roughly 700,000 arrests on marijuana-related charges in 2014, about 90 percent were for possession only, and these arrests can cause negative ripple effects in a person’s life.“A lot of the candidates on both sides are being fairly genuine when they engage on these issues,” said John Hudak, a Brookings Institution fellow who studies marijuana policy. “Yes, linking mass incarceration to marijuana use is a bit beyond the evidence, but marijuana as a criminal justice issue is absolutely on point. We know that marijuana arrests are the entry point for young men of color into the criminal justice system — that’s how they get their record started.“An arrest may not result in a long prison sentence or even any jail time at all, but it does create deferred economic opportunities, jobs not gotten for some small amounts of marijuana found on an individual,” Mr. Hudak said.The issue is also popular with the electorate.According to a Gallup poll released last month, 58 percent of Americans back legal marijuana use, the highest percentage support ever reported in a nationwide poll. Eight in 10 voters support the use of medical marijuana.Since 1996, when California approved the use of medical marijuana, 23 states and the District of Columbia have approved some form of legalized marijuana, and at least five more states are expected to have recreational marijuana use on the ballot next year.Presidential candidates in both major parties have adopted marijuana as an issue. Many use mass incarceration, criminal justice, health care or states’ rights as ways to back up their positions.“There’s been more dialogue in this presidential race about marijuana than any in history, and it reflects the changes that are taking place throughout our country,” said Mason Tvert of the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group.Mr. Tvert said candidates not too long ago would try to evade the issue, but some now are taking definitive stances.His group has been ranking the 2016 presidential field in terms of their support of the issue.“Bernie Sanders moved into the highest spot in our rankings after he said he would vote in favor to make the initiative legal. It’s the first time a major presidential candidate has ever expressed full-out support for ending marijuana prohibition,” Mr. Tvert said.Mr. Sanders’ aggressive stance may have moved Mrs. Clinton on the issue.Although Mrs. Clinton has long declined to endorse recreational or medical marijuana legalization at the federal level, this month she did join Mr. Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, the other major candidate in the nomination race, in saying she backs the use of medical marijuana and supports removing it from the list of Class 1 scheduled drugs.Marijuana’s federal classification prevents federally funded studies of the drug and groups it in with the likes of cocaine and meth as one of the most dangerous substances regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.“I do support the use of medical marijuana,” Mrs. Clinton said in November in response to a question at a town hall meeting at Claflin University, a historically black school. “I think even there we need to do a lot more research so that we know exactly how we’re going to help people for whom medical marijuana provides relief.”That’s a far cry from her husband’s famous acknowledgment on the 1992 campaign trail that he had tried marijuana but “didn’t like it and didn’t inhale,” and his opposition to California’s medical marijuana initiative in 1996, going as far as filing and winning a lawsuit to shut an Oakland cannabis dispensary in a case that reached the Supreme Court.“If Bill Clinton would’ve admitted supporting any type of marijuana use back in the ‘90s, he would’ve lost the vote of people over the age of 55, so he couldn’t do it,” said Mr. St. Pierre of NORML.“But we’ve seen a change of the guard. Baby boomers are changing the dynamic of how marijuana is viewed. The WWII generation never supported marijuana use — but it’s a night-and-day difference between generations, with most Americans now sick and tired of its prohibition,” he said.Source: Washington Times (DC)Author: Kelly Riddell, The Washington TimesPublished: November 29, 2015Copyright: 2015 News World Communications, Inc. Website: http://www.washtimes.com/Contact: letters washingtontimes.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/luJizZlJCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help 
     
     
     
     




Comment #15 posted by The GCW on December 06, 2015 at 19:36:14 PT
afterburner,
Thank You. I was unaware and squeaked in My vote, it looks like just in time.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by afterburner on December 06, 2015 at 16:15:32 PT
Still a few hours to vote for Bernie
Bernie Sanders Keeps Strong Lead in TIME Person of the Year Poll
12/3/2015
http://time.com/4134801/bernie-sanders-time-person-of-the-year-poll-lead/
Deadline: 11:59pm today 11/6/2015. Must have Facebook or Twitter account to verify your vote. Bernie's still in the lead!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by FoM on December 05, 2015 at 18:00:26 PT
Sam
I bet it will be for minors like alcohol.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by Sam Adams on December 05, 2015 at 07:56:28 PT
uh-oh canada
>>>>However, for the first time, the government said it will restrict access to marijuana but did not elaborate.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by The GCW on December 04, 2015 at 15:43:49 PT
Add Trudeau
Canada's new Liberal government repeats promise to legalize marijuanahttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/04/canada-new-liberal-government-legalize-marijuana
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by Hope on December 04, 2015 at 10:13:41 PT
This terrorism threat that we have lived with
for some time now seems to signal a new era in law enforcement. And they are looking pretty good at it. I wish that they would give up on their drug war and prohibition of substances that a substantial number of citizens seem to like, and focus on watching the streets for killers, rapists, thieves and bomb makers, not someone feeling a little too good for their taste. They need, I think, to transfer that great energy expended on the drug business, toward actually sort of protecting the population and catching killers, rapists, thieves and bomb makers, in general, and not suspecting and pursuing everyone and anyone because they might be choosing to be "Using" something to feel better than they are allowed to by a foolish prohibition. Restoring trust in the police will help them do a better job. The drug war has damaged and eroded that trust big time.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by afterburner on December 03, 2015 at 05:50:55 PT
Disingenuous prosecution in Michigan
MICHIGAN PROSECUTORS PRESSURED LAB ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESULTS
https://theintercept.com/2015/11/14/michigan-prosecutors-lab-falsify-medical-marijuana-results/
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 01, 2015 at 06:10:46 PT
Paint with light
That is so cool! I love that song and John Prine!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Paint with light on November 30, 2015 at 21:06:55 PT
comment #4
Thanks for the John Prine link.I was asked to photograph John a few times by an Atlantic records exec I used to do some work for.He is known as a songwriter's songwriter.I notice in this version instead of saying, "Hoffman", after...... "and the judge's name was", he says "whatever happened to him?".ThanksLegal like it should be
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on November 30, 2015 at 17:47:53 PT
History lesson
http://www.wpi.edu/News/TechNews/010327/prisonlabor.shtml>>>Two years after the law went into effect, there were twice as many people imprisoned under the three-strikes law for possession of marijuana as for murder, rape and kidnapping combined
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on November 30, 2015 at 17:43:24 PT
propaganda meister
Observer, thank you for quickly busting this guy's total BS lying!!I'm pretty sure I read a statistic that the number one offense for people getting "3 strikes you're out" 25-year sentences in CA was marijuana possession. The very first person to get the 25 year term was charged with stealing a 40-ounce can of beer from a convenience store.http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/05/us/25-years-for-a-slice-of-pizza.htmlAlso, MJ possession, or even a positive blood test, is often used to send people back to prison who are out on paroleÉthis happens to THOUSANDS of people
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by FoM on November 30, 2015 at 15:33:09 PT
It is a Shame This Song is Still Relevant
John Prine : Illegal Smile (1978) - YouTube: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eccz7D0QK0
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by observer on November 30, 2015 at 14:23:18 PT
Caulkins: Payrolled, Gov't Police-State Apologist
Ah, the Bought Priesthood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bought_priesthood pipes up, ever to shore-up a decaying prohibition (police state) pot-policy.Jonathan Caulkins: “The statement that the prison population is mostly low-level marijuana offenders is utterly totally bogus; there is not a shred of validity in it,” said Jonathan Caulkins, a public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University.Classic straw-man. Who makes that statement, "the prison population is mostly low-level marijuana offenders"? I think Caulkins crafted that straw-man because he can't refute the facts, what drug reformers actually say.But let's look at what those who profit handsomely from enslaving people using pot-prohibition as the excuse have to say. Pot prohibition impacts their corporate bottom-line. Here's what the Annual Report for the Correction Corporation of America says.
  "The demand for our facilities and services could (only) be adversely affected 
  by the relaxation of enforcement efforts, leniency in conviction or parole 
  standards and sentencing practices or through the decriminalization of certain 
  activities that are currently proscribed by our criminal laws."
  (2010 Annual Report, Correction Corporation of America)
 Continues Caulkins, "You can go to prison if you possess 5 tons of marijuana, but that’s not personal possession. Most of these offenders are there because they broke parole or were also charged with drug trafficking and production."Sophistry. Note how Caulkins, weasels in that teensy qualifier, "because they broke parole" -- i.e., a pot-positive positive pee-pee test. That tells me Caulkins is aware of his essential prevarication, and so wanted to slide in a weaselly little qualifier "because they broke parole". Caulkins did that knowing full well that marijuana "arrests are the entry point for young men of color into the criminal justice system — that’s how they get their record started," as a more honest think tank employee put it. Prohibition apologists, the Bought Priesthood, as Caulkins amply exemplifies, want it both ways. No one ever goes to prison for pot, is emitted from one face; the other face (for other target audiences) emits contradictory arguments: laws enabling government to jail people for pot definitely need to be retained, they say. Prohibition apologists like Caulkins (and his fellow-travellers at BOTEC / lamefacts.com) can't have it both ways.The bottom-line: the corporate report by for-profit prison conglomerate CCA money talks; Caulkins Government Police B.S. walks. Cannabis prohibition is a major lynchpin of the police state in the U.S.A. It provides a ready excuse for police to violate everyone's rights, especially minorities. And that is why prohibitionists fight tooth and nail to retain it. 
http://drugnewsbot.org
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by Hope on November 30, 2015 at 13:08:42 PT
"Outsized rhetoric"?
Silly old Kelly Riddell.She thinks people are talking about just getting to have some fun smoking pot legally.No!They're talking about saving lives foolishly destroyed by wicked and unjust laws and people like her that support those ridiculously unjust laws!'Scariest sex offender' sentenced to county jail for growing marijuana
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-clyde-ruppel-pedophile-marijuana-plea-20151130-story.html"A convicted pedophile who one prosecutor described as the "scariest sex offender this community has ever seen" when he was sentenced to one to years in county jail for stalking a 13-year-old boy who lived on his Allentown street pleaded guilty Monday to growing marijuana.Clyde Ruppel, 74, was granted immediate parole in the stalking case by Judge William E. Ford as part of the plea agreement and was sentenced to nine to 18 months in Lehigh County Jail on possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia charges."
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by runruff on November 30, 2015 at 07:25:29 PT
Ok...
Where is the like bullon here?
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment