Some US Congressmen Tired of Pointless Marijuana Arrests
Thu, Aug 28, 2008 1:44 pm
Source: Macedonia Online
Members of Congress called on lawmakers to enact legislation that would limit the government's authority to arrest and prosecute adults who possess marijuana for their own personal use.
The federal government should “not lock people up or use scarce federal resources to arrest people for using or possessing … marijuana,” Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) announced at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday. “The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government's business. I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time.”
Rep. Frank, along with Reps. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), called on lawmakers to support legislation, HR 5843, which would eliminate federal penalties for the possession and non-profit transfer of marijuana by adults. Representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), William Lacy Clay, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ron Paul (R-TX), and Jim McDermott (D-WA) are co-sponsoring the bill, entitled “the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008.”
The legislation is the first proposal to be introduced in Congress in 30 years that seeks to eliminate federal pot penalties.
According to a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates serving time for drug violations are incarcerated for marijuana offenses.
Speaking at the press conference, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said: “With alcohol, we acknowledge the distinction between use and abuse and we focus our law enforcement involvement on efforts to stop irresponsible use. We do not arrest and jail responsible alcohol drinkers. This should be our policy with marijuana as well.”
According to a nationwide Time Magazine/CNN poll, three out of four Americans believe that adults who possess marijuana should no longer face criminal penalties.
Since 1990, more than 11 million Americans have been arrested for violating marijuana laws, according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Of those arrested, nearly 90 percent are charged with minor possession - not trafficking, cultivation, or sale. Nearly 75 percent of those arrested are under 30 years of age.
“The federal government's misguided prohibition of marijuana is a war on young people,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “Because of this failed public policy we have alienated an entire generation to believe that the police and the federal government are instruments of their oppression rather than their protection.”
House Bill 5843 is currently before the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, which is a part of the House Judiciary Committee. In addition, the Bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's.







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Randy T
Sep 28 2008, 10:26 pm
Crazy Dave from Boston
Sep 14 2008, 6:39 pm
reefer420
Sep 8 2008, 8:26 pm
Smokin Sam
Sep 4 2008, 1:01 pm
Indicat
Sep 4 2008, 9:12 am
thomas
Sep 3 2008, 4:12 pm
umm
Sep 3 2008, 12:02 am
Hopefully real soon, all the meany's will stop having so many hangups on people, and we will all live in peace, love, and harmony with one another, along with our vegetable of choice.
We should all have that vision and try and make it happen. If the haters aren't receptive to a better world, at least we have our own better world. If only they knew the folly of their silly hate on people for just doing what comes naturally. I also wanted to say that I am VERY glad to be here in this in this forum in an elevated mood:).
♥
HU210
Sep 2 2008, 6:34 pm
Take that Police Officer. If you are still brave enough to post your uninformed rants here at HT.
A Synoptic History of Drug Prohibition
The failure of the Reagan administration's war on drugs is simply the latest in a series of prohibition failures going back several centuries:
16th c. Coffee banned in Egypt and supplies of coffee burned--use spreads rapidly.[95]
17th c. The czar of Russia executes tobacco users.[96]
1650 Tobacco prohibited in Bavaria, Saxony, Zurich; the Ottoman sultan zealously executes smokers to no avail.[97]
1736 The Gin Act fails to halt consumption in England.[98]
1792 The penalty for opium selling in China is strangulation.[99]
1845 New York bans the public sale of liquor--repeals law two years later. [100]
1875-1914 27 states and cities ban opium smoking--opium smoking increases sevenfold.[101]
1914 Passage of Harrison Narcotics Act controlling opium and coca derivatives.
1914 The czar bans alcohol--the Bolshevikslift ban in 1924.[102]
1914-1970 Congress passes 55 laws to strengthen Harrison Act.[103]
1918 Special Committee studies Harrison Act effects--widespread smuggling and increased use of narcotics--and calls for stricter enforcement.[104]
1919 Eighteenth Amendment banning alcoholis passed--repealed in 1933.
1919-1933 Use of marijuana, ether, and coffee increases.[105]
1921 Cigarettes are illegal in 14 states.
1924 Congress bans heroin completely--after law passed, heroin replaces morphine in black market.[106]
1937 First federal law against marijuana.
1949 Law enforcement crackdown on non-prescription barbiturates--use increases 800 percent 1942-69.[107]
1955 Shah of Iran bans opium--ban partially repealed in 1969.[108]
1956 U.S. Narcotic Drug Control Act provides for death penalty for selling heroin to minors
1958 Soviet premier Khrushchev raises alcohol prices 21 percent to reduce consumption--he later deems the program a failure.[109]
1959 Campaign against glue-sniffing begins--causes increase in glue-sniffing by1969.[110]
1962 FDA halts legal production of LSD--LSD use skyrockets by 1970.[111]
1965 Amphetamine enforcement intensifies--causes "a boom in cocaine smuggling" by 1969.[112]
1968 Campaign against marijuana use among U.S. troops in Vietnam--soldiers switch to heroin.[113]
1969 New York City increases drug arrests by 9,000--no impact on drug availability noted.[114]
1971 All-out campaign against heroin use inVietnam fails.[115]
1971 900 pounds of heroin seized in NewYork City--no increase in price occurs.[116]
1971 President Nixon declares drugs "America's public enemy No. 1."[117]
1972 The House passes a $1 billion anti-drug bill.[118]
1972 President Nixon declares drugs "America's public enemy No. 1"--again.[119]
1973 Rockefeller's tough drug bill is passed in New York.
1973 President Nixon announces, "We have turned the corner on drug addiction in America."
1975 Malaysia enacts death penalty for drug trafficking.[120]
1975 Singapore enacts death penalty for drug trafficking--a few years later, top drug official says, "Heroin seems to be more widely used than ever."[121]
1977 Bar Association committee concludes that Rockefeller drug law had no effecton heroin use.[122]
1980 300,000 youths in Malaysia are using illegal drugs.[123]
1983 Malaysia toughens death penalty for drug trafficking.
1985 Soviets crack down on alcohol consumption.
1986 Moscow officials lower taxes on alcohol.[124]
1987 Malaysia's 12-foot-high, double-barbed-wire security fence protecting 32 miles of border with Thailand fails to halt drug traffic.[125]
1987 Soviets increase penalties against moonshining.[126]
1987 Legal alcohol production down 50 percent in Soviet Union; hard liquor moonshining up 40 percent; homemade wine production up 300 percent; 200,000 prosecuted for illegal home brewing.[127]
1987 Soviets launch "Operation Black Poppy" to stop opium use--2,000 poppy fields destroyed.[128]
1987 The Russian city of Murmansk bans sale of men's cologne (containing alcohol) until 2:00 p.m., when liquor stores open.[129]
1987 Glue-sniffing doubles among high school students in Soviet Union.[130]
1988 The Senate adds $2.6 billion to federal anti-drug efforts.
1988 Title of Tampa Tribune feature article: "The Joke among Federal Agents: 'We've Turned the Corner on Drugs."'
1989 Secretary of State James A. Baker III reports that the global war on narcotics production "is clearly not being won."[131]
HighLife
Sep 1 2008, 6:49 pm
Josh
Sep 1 2008, 10:43 am
Finally getting somewhere with this
I agree 100% that weed should have the same laws as alcohol
It's much less harmful, its much less, if at all, addictive
there are virtually no harmful side effects unless being hungry is harmful
It's about time someone took the plate and brought some sense to congress about the entire weed issue
It's been a failed prohibition exactly as the alcohol prohibition was in the 20's and early 30's
I really hope this bill gets somewhere and actually gets passed
Mad Props to everyone pushing to make it happen!
umm
Sep 1 2008, 12:55 am
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♥
umm
Aug 31 2008, 4:38 pm
Wonder if i could do a cloxspeek thing and merge it with that...hmm:)
♥
Iam Yur God
Aug 31 2008, 7:31 am
Save the planet grow it everywhere!!!
We need the oxygen!!!
UMM translation lol
Aug 31 2008, 7:26 am
HighLife
Aug 31 2008, 4:26 am
umm
Aug 30 2008, 6:35 pm
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♥
Bluesmoke
Aug 30 2008, 6:15 pm
Yes...Police are viewed by almost every young person I know as icons of oppression rather than protection...if it keeps up, we WILL have a REAL war in this nation. Haven't these idiotic laws caused enough damage? It's time for them to end. (Like PoliceOfficer's tendency towards illiteracy).
HighLife
Aug 30 2008, 5:28 am
daily pot head :)
Aug 30 2008, 1:21 am
i am 18 years old, i have smoked for 5 years, i was raised around my parents smoking the ganja, they tought me that it is a god given plant and it is ok to enjoy responsibly, and i have done so for years. they also taught me that alcohol is a deadly addiction whereas weed is not. i am proud to say that i dont drink, yet i smoke on a daily basis. i would be perfectly fine with trading cigarettes for weed anyday. yet thats legal when you turn 18 and its WAY worse than pot. hell make alcohol illegal for all i care, just let us friendly god-loving life-loving pot-smoking americans enjoy our joints and blunts and pipes and bongs... i cant wait for the day that a cop tries to arrest a pothead and the pottie breaks a bong over the cops head and gets away... haha
simple as this...
MARIJUANA IS A PLANT, IT IS NOT A DRUG... SO WHENEVER COPS SAY YOU GOT DRUGS ON YOU WHEN YOU GET CAUGHT WITH WEED JUST SIMPLY SAY, "NOPE JUST GOT ME SOME WEED!" HAHAHAHA
DAMN IGNORANT ASS PIGS
gstlab3
Aug 29 2008, 10:19 pm
PIG Fucker
Aug 29 2008, 4:27 pm
SparkyGump
Aug 29 2008, 4:11 pm
Reagarding the issue of legalization, I think we should all try to thank these congressman for their efforts. It can only help for them to know they have support. I called the day I learned of Barny Frank's initiative. Now I'm going to write him a letter. You can Google any of their contact info.
Let's get positive and get behind them!
Whiskey Alpha Romeo
Aug 29 2008, 3:41 pm
Secondly, this HR 5843 thing is just another stepping stone in our battle for legalization. So we should accept the fact that it's not happening anytime soon, but we must remain vigilant in our pursuit of happiness, and remember that times are a changing.
We'll have ours...
the truth works
Aug 29 2008, 1:28 pm
mballs89
Aug 29 2008, 9:21 am
marleys ghost
Aug 29 2008, 8:02 am
Hey you people
Aug 29 2008, 5:41 am
ok
Aug 29 2008, 1:47 am
Dex
Aug 29 2008, 1:02 am
Or what about the officers that tazered a teenage boy as he lay dying AFTER he fell off of a bridge and broke his back. Google this one too.
What about the cops that leave work and go to the bar? I don't think they're drinking soda. They leave and drive under the influence. I love to see those stories on the news. Its even better when that drunk cop kills someone (it sad and it sucks for the innocent person). But thats poetic justice. Yet alcohol is legal. Go to www.DrugDealerCindy.com
You should be more concerned about your fellow officer that is sworn to serve and protect the public, instead they abuse their gun and their badge. You should worry less about responsible adults that smoke marijuana in the privacy of their own home and don't hurt anyone. Hypocrite.
Most cops suck. Eat me.
anonymous
Aug 29 2008, 12:42 am
Or what about the 9 officers that tazered a teen age boy AFTER
anon.
Aug 29 2008, 12:22 am
HU210
Aug 28 2008, 9:36 pm
Recomended Reading:
Drug War Addiction, by Sheriff Bill Masters
Redwolf in Colorado
Aug 28 2008, 8:36 pm
Enough said.
HU210
Aug 28 2008, 7:21 pm
The Anti-drug Crusader actually belives in locking men and women in cages for consuming certian substances. What he refuses to admit is the time in jail will be countless times more detrimental to the user and "society" than the drug experiences. How far will he and his supporters go to stop drug use? Death penalties have been discussed. The drug laws should strike fear into the heart of every freedom loving American. What disasterous actions will the Anti-Drug Crusader take next, when it becomes apparent the new drug laws are failing miserbly? Challenge him to answer these questions; How much property will be stolen? How many neighborhoods will be destroyed by violent crimes? How many innocent people will be killed? How many lives will be ravaged by drug laws? How many violent criminals will be prematurely released from prison in order to jail freedom loving individuals? How much capital that could be used to create jobs, find cures for diseases, treat drug addiction and eliminate hunger, is going to be thrown away on quack anti-drug remidies? We demand answers-Police officer-but this Anti-drug Crusader babbles on about the good of "society".
Happy Labor Day all. Get REAL high while the boss is paying you to take the day off (:
The Punisher
Aug 28 2008, 7:04 pm
yes!
Aug 28 2008, 6:50 pm
KINDER
Aug 28 2008, 5:21 pm
danko
Aug 28 2008, 5:15 pm
Wishing violence upon them only hardens them against us and it definitely can't help with police/pot smoker relations. Most of them just want to do their job and go home at the end of the day. Some of them even blaze and won't bust people for minor pot infractions.
Norml Cause
Aug 28 2008, 5:00 pm
420Viper
Aug 28 2008, 4:52 pm
I wonder how much alcohol this pig guzzles down to get up the courage and a hard on to hassle and destroy the lives of peaceful weed smokers.
stoops
Aug 28 2008, 4:17 pm
Oh yeah, whoops - most idiot cops never went to college. They were the dumb jocks that picked on everybody and paraded around in their junior varsity football jackets in high school. Now they're fat and bloated with disgusting habits when it comes to hygiene. Seriously copper, your breath smells and your pits are atrocious.
Still trying to re-live their past glories by hassling peaceful potheads. Pitiful...
police officer=fascist pig
Aug 28 2008, 3:49 pm
fuck police officer
Aug 28 2008, 3:39 pm
bob oliver
Aug 28 2008, 2:56 pm
I mean Bob Oliver Deez Nuts you fat pig. We will legalize and you will fail in the end as usual...
bob oliver
Aug 28 2008, 2:54 pm
PoliceOfficer
Aug 28 2008, 2:37 pm
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