cannabisnews.com: Mr. Clinton on Dope





Mr. Clinton on Dope
Posted by FoM on December 11, 2000 at 05:24:56 PT
Editorial
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal 
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Bill Clinton, the man whose administration has for eight years aggressively prosecuted the drug war, leaving tens of thousands of nonviolent offenders behind bars, says the following: "I think that most small amounts of marijuana have been decriminalized in some places, and should be. ... We really need a re-examination of our entire policy on imprisonment. ... " 
Huh? Where, then, was Mr. Clinton when his Justice Department was going after California doctors who recommended their sick patients use marijuana after voters there overwhelmingly approved the medicinal use of the plant? Where, then, was Mr. Clinton when his drug czar, Barry McCaffery, was wailing hysterically about how voters in states that approved medical marijuana measures -- including Nevada -- were dupes, slackjaws and fools? To call Mr. Clinton a hypocrite is to insult hypocrites everywhere. Yes, we need to find alternative methods of dealing with nonviolent drug offenders. But Mr. Clinton has done nothing during his two terms to push us in that direction -- quite the opposite. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the U.S. prison population has increased from 600,000 in 1990 to 1.89 million last year, in large part because of longer sentences for nonviolent offenses. Last month, The Associated Press reports, more than 600 religious leaders delivered a letter to the White House urging Mr. Clinton to commute the sentences of low-level, nonviolent federal drug offenders. "Scores of Americans are serving unconscionably long sentences for drug offenses ... which are grossly out of proportion to the nature and severity of their crimes," the letter said. "These unduly severe sentences violate human rights and waste scarce criminal justice resources." The group admits that Mr. Clinton is unlikely to release thousands of prisoners. But spokesman Chad Thevenot says the president should "start the process by granting clemency in the most egregious cases." If Mr. Clinton's comments to Rolling Stone are to be viewed as anything more than his usual unprincipled opportunism, he should heed that advice.Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)Published: Monday, December 11, 2000Copyright: Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2000Address: P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125Fax: (702)383-4676Contact: letters lvrj.comWebsite: http://www.lvrj.com/Forum: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/feedback/Related Articles:Clinton Says He Felt Pushed Into Gay Policyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7922.shtmlClinton: Pot Smoking Should Not Be Prison Offense http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7920.shtml 
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