Interesting Facts, Weed News, Growing Tips, Information About Weed Legislation, and Many Other Tidbits about The Cannibus Plant
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
New Poll 56% of Americans Want Legal Marijuana
On May 12, 2012, Rasmussen Reports conducted a survey of 1,000 likely
voters nationwide. They asked, “Would you favor or oppose legalizing
marijuana and regulating it in the similar manner to the way alcohol and
tobacco cigarettes are regulated today?”
The poll affirms, once again, that the tide of public opinion continues to turn in our favor. Fifty-six percent of respondents stated they would support legalizing and regulating marijuana in a similar manner alcohol and tobacco. Only 36% were opposed to the concept and 8% were undecided.
You can view more information about the poll on Rasmussen Reports’ website here.
A previous poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports in April reported that 47% of adults “believe the country should legalize and tax marijuana in order to help solve the nation’s fiscal problems.” Forty-two percent of respondents disagreed, while ten percent were undecided.
In 2011, a nationwide Gallup poll reported that 50 percent of Americans support legalizing the use of cannabis for adults. Forty-six percent of respondents said they opposed the idea.
The 2011 Gallup survey results marked the first time that the polling firm, which has tracked Americans’ attitudes toward marijuana since the late 1960s, reported that more Americans support legalizing cannabis than oppose it.
The poll affirms, once again, that the tide of public opinion continues to turn in our favor. Fifty-six percent of respondents stated they would support legalizing and regulating marijuana in a similar manner alcohol and tobacco. Only 36% were opposed to the concept and 8% were undecided.
You can view more information about the poll on Rasmussen Reports’ website here.
A previous poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports in April reported that 47% of adults “believe the country should legalize and tax marijuana in order to help solve the nation’s fiscal problems.” Forty-two percent of respondents disagreed, while ten percent were undecided.
In 2011, a nationwide Gallup poll reported that 50 percent of Americans support legalizing the use of cannabis for adults. Forty-six percent of respondents said they opposed the idea.
The 2011 Gallup survey results marked the first time that the polling firm, which has tracked Americans’ attitudes toward marijuana since the late 1960s, reported that more Americans support legalizing cannabis than oppose it.
Form a Study Committee on Marijuana Policy
Indiana
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State Sen. Karen Tallian wants to make most marijuana possession cases misdemeanors. What a change that would be from a toke-free Indiana.
Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, did not request a committee vote on Senate Bill 347 but took nearly an hour to explain how reducing criminal penalties for marijuana possession could benefit Indiana.
It would have the effect of freeing up at least 250 beds a year in the state prison system and thousands of beds in county jails, according to the nonprofit Legislative Services Agency.
In Indiana, possession of an amount of marijuana is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. That's among the toughest penalties in the nation.
"Marijuana possession is a victimless crime, and there's no reason to do this to our citizens, especially our our young people," Tallian said.
But is it truly a victimless crime?
We have been told for years that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to more serious illegal drugs. That argument must not be ignored in the discussion of whether to ease penalties for marijuana possession.
And does medicinal use of marijuana actually fight disease and ease symptoms, or would it simply create a state full of hypochondriacs who see various maladies as a way to legally possess an otherwise illegal substance?
The Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee discussed this issue July 28, but four hours of conversation on this issue aren't enough to reach a consensus on the ramifications of easing penalties.
This is a subject that should be discussed by a separate legislative study commission this summer to weigh both the financial costs of enforcement and the social cost on people who use marijuana as an entry drug, leading to more dangerous drugs.
Tallian said she "wanted to continue laying the groundwork" instead of asking for a vote in an election year. Part of that groundwork should be pressing for the study commission to come up with definitive answers on the costs and benefits of easing penalties for marijuana possession.
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State Sen. Karen Tallian wants to make most marijuana possession cases misdemeanors. What a change that would be from a toke-free Indiana.
Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, did not request a committee vote on Senate Bill 347 but took nearly an hour to explain how reducing criminal penalties for marijuana possession could benefit Indiana.
It would have the effect of freeing up at least 250 beds a year in the state prison system and thousands of beds in county jails, according to the nonprofit Legislative Services Agency.
In Indiana, possession of an amount of marijuana is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. That's among the toughest penalties in the nation.
"Marijuana possession is a victimless crime, and there's no reason to do this to our citizens, especially our our young people," Tallian said.
But is it truly a victimless crime?
We have been told for years that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to more serious illegal drugs. That argument must not be ignored in the discussion of whether to ease penalties for marijuana possession.
And does medicinal use of marijuana actually fight disease and ease symptoms, or would it simply create a state full of hypochondriacs who see various maladies as a way to legally possess an otherwise illegal substance?
The Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee discussed this issue July 28, but four hours of conversation on this issue aren't enough to reach a consensus on the ramifications of easing penalties.
This is a subject that should be discussed by a separate legislative study commission this summer to weigh both the financial costs of enforcement and the social cost on people who use marijuana as an entry drug, leading to more dangerous drugs.
Tallian said she "wanted to continue laying the groundwork" instead of asking for a vote in an election year. Part of that groundwork should be pressing for the study commission to come up with definitive answers on the costs and benefits of easing penalties for marijuana possession.
Legalizing Pot Will Profit the Nation
LEGALIZING MARIJUANA WILL PROFIT THE NATION
by David C. Kolbe, (Source:Journal Gazette)
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Indiana
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For many years there has been a "war on drugs" in this country.
The phrase was itself a piece of propaganda authored by John Ehrlichman, President Richard Nixon's assistant on domestic affairs. Integral to this "war" has been an extensive and expensive assault on a substantial portion of American society people who use marijuana. Not only has it been wrong; it is a terrible failure.
My opinion, shared by a growing number of conservative, liberal and libertarian thinkers did not arise out of thin air.
I have dedicated more than 30 years of my life to the criminal justice system. I have served as county prosecutor and defended thousands of people within that time. I have worked with every part of the criminal justice system from beginning to end. I have seen the enforcement, prosecution and sentencing of those who smoke pot.
And my opinion is that criminalizing those who use pot is wrong and is a waste of time and money. Rather than branding our citizens, this state should legalize, regulate and tax pot.
There are two types of crimes in the criminal justice system. The first we call malum in se. This means the crime is rooted in evil. Nearly every society throughout history has considered these acts as crimes: rape, robbery, murder, to name of few.
The other types of crimes are called malum prohibitum. These are defined as crimes based upon social expectations or regulations and are often victimless. The person is not necessarily acting with evil intent. He or she is violating a regulation. This is just where pot fits in.
There are other reasons why pot should be legalized. One is purely economic. Under the current scheme, illegality means drug cartels make tons of money. It issimple macro-economics.
Another reason harkens back to our Bill of Rights. I contend the government has no business telling me what I can or cannot ingest on my own property or the private property of another. As long as my activity harms no one else, the government should keep its nose out of my business.
The truth is that quite a number of people within the system agree with what I have said here. They are simply reluctant to speak out because of their jobs.This is also true of a number of politicians too. We can all understand their reluctance.
However, I prefer to no longer keep silent. It is time to de-criminalize pot.
MAP posted-by: Jay BergstromShare This Article
Pubdate: Sun, 18 Mar 2012Source: Journal Gazette, The (Fort Wayne, IN)
Copyright: 2012 The Journal Gazette
Contact: letters@jg.net
Website: http://www.journalgazette.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/908
Author: David C. Kolbe
Note: David C. Kolbe is a Warsaw attorney and was the Kosciusko
County prosecutor from 1995 to 1998. He wrote this for Indiana newspapers.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Sunday, May 20, 2012
What Is President Obama’s Problem With Medical Marijuana?
via Time.com
[T]he Obama Administration is cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries and growers just as harshly as the Administration of George W. Bush did. In 2011, the Department of Justice revised its guidance to U.S. Attorneys, allowing them to target any medical marijuana activity except for ill patients and their immediate caregivers. The Drug Enforcement Administration has made it clear that “medical marijuana is not medicine,” and even called it a “mortal danger.” … In many states, U.S. Attorneys have advised state and local officials to back away from plans to create rules and regulations that would codify the medical pot industry, in some cases raising the possibility that lawmakers could be prosecuted for promoting drug use that is legal under state law.
… Over the last few weeks, I have talked with nearly a dozen people in the medical marijuana business, three U.S. Attorneys, White House officials and local officials who oppose the federal crackdown for a story that will appear in this week’s newsstand issue of TIME. The answer on the ground is, predictably, far more complicated than either medical marijuana advocates or the Obama Administration is willing to describe. And it all comes down to this: Despite Obama’s promises during the 2008 campaign, federal prosecutors have lost faith in the ability of state and local officials to control a booming commercial industry for a drug that is still illegal to grow, possess or sell under federal law. As a result, a once broad exemption from prosecution for medical marijuana providers in state where it’s legal has been narrowed to a tiny one. … [T]he nation is left with an uneasy status quo: The federal government is not trying to eliminate medical marijuana altogether, but it has decided that it cannot stand for the commercialization or large scale production of marijuana for the stated purpose of helping the sick, even when that production is technically within the bounds of state law.
…[I]n a different world, the federal government might work with state and local officials to more tightly regulate the growing of marijuana for medical purposes. But since pot is illegal under all circumstances under federal law, the opposite has been happening. Attempts, particularly in California, to more tightly regulate and thereby provide greater legal protection for the drug, have been shut down by the federal government.
And so, medical marijuana is left in a no man’s land. Individual sick users are safe from prosecution, but they are likely to find it harder in the coming months to get the drug. Growers and dispensers are not protected by state law from federal prosecution, especially if they become large enough to get noticed by federal investigators. And the likely result is that more of the medical marijuana industry will be pushed underground in the coming years, making it more difficult for local officials to track the business. This arguably will only increase some criminal activity, as large amounts of money and a very profitable commodity move through the system by way of small-time dealers working without sophisticated security systems.
…“What this really screams for a cohesive national policy.”
But there is no such policy on the horizon. Obama has shown little interest in elevating the issue. Some in federal law enforcement–and at the Office of National Drug Control Policy–hope that the advent of new pharmaceutical replacements for grown medical marijuana, like the Canadian drug Sativex, [Editor's note: Sativex is a British drug, not a Canadian manufactured product -- though it is legal by prescription in Canada.] will make the entire issue moot in the coming decade. But that looks unlikely in the short term, given the lack of concern among the general public with medical marijuana. A 2010 poll by the Pew Center for the People and the Press found that 73% say they favor “their state allowing the sale and use of marijuana for medical purposes if it is prescribed by a doctor.”
In other words, don’t hold your breath for clarity anytime soon. The haze is here to stay.
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