A transpartisan coalition of prosecutors, judges, cops, students, bloggers and political operatives on both sides of the aisle launched a campaign Tuesday to bring an end to marijuana prohibition, focusing on ballot initiatives in 2010 and 2012. The campaign, "Just Say Now," gets its name from Nancy Reagan's iconic anti-drug slogan from the 1980s that has become synonymous with the government's black-and-white approach to drug policy.
"The stars are aligning in a very interesting way with Tea Party activists, who are generally libertarian," said Aaron Houston, head of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, on a conference call Tuesday afternoon announcing the formation of the coalition. "On the right and left it's a very popular issue."
The campaign will be backing marijuana initiatives in 2010 in Arizona, Oregon, California, Colorado and South Dakota. The group will back initiatives in Nevada and elsewhere in 2012.
Support for marijuana legalization has steadily increased over the past decade. As Mexico has descended into chaos fueled by the drug trade - a business overwhelmingly dominated by marijuana trafficking, despite the common perception that cocaine and heroin drive the war - public opinion has turned further sour against the drug war. With deficit concerns in the headlines and a stagnant economy refusing to create jobs, one time opponents of legalization are eyeing marijuana's tax revenue and job-creation prospects - conditions that helped repeal alcohol prohibition during the Great Depression.
Marijuana has been part of the national consciousness since the mid-1960s, the first drug other than alcohol to be so thoroughly a part of American culture. Cocaine and heroin rose at the end of the 19th Century but largely went deep underground until the 1970s; use of those harder drugs, meanwhile, has always been confined to smaller portions of the population. Marijuana, meanwhile, has been smoked by scores of millions of Americans, including the last three presidents. Medical marijuana is legal in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
The organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, made up of cops and prosecutors who've seen the dark side of the war on drugs, will give cover to politicians who come out in support of legalization. Its current president is Neill Franklin, a 33-year police veteran and ran anti-narcotics units with the Maryland State Police.
Its former president was Norm Stamper, former chief of police in Seattle, Washington, the predecessor of current Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske. "Most police office candidates have used marijuana," said Stamper, noting the hypocrisy of the law. He said that law enforcement officials are becoming less frightened of speaking out publicly against the war on drugs.
Bruce Fein, a member of the coalition, was Ronald Reagan's associate deputy attorney general and is a prominent civil libertarian. "This is a fundamental issue of states' rights," said Fein.
A lead organizer of the campaign, Jane Hamsher, founder of Firedoglake.com, went on CNN Monday night to challenge existing notions about marijuana prohibition. - Ryan Grim from Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/03/just-say-now-left-right-c_n_669043.html
16 Comments
MrFiskOur judicial system needs a face-lift. Her splendor has been mangled by injustice as the U.S. leads the world in caging its citizens. Legislators need to reverse our imprisonment trends and stop building prisons. Repealing life-without-parole sentences for non-homicidal criminals would be a good start.
In Lincoln last month, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf sentenced Jaktine Moore to life in prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine* in the Lincoln area. It was his third felony drug conviction, and the court entered the statutorily mandated sentence: life with no chance of parole.
The three strikes law—coining its name from baseball—is one of a handful which force state and federal judges to hand down life sentences, regardless of the circumstances. The intention was to make punishment severe enough that no one would dare err. The result is that many Americans are now serving more time for drug offences than murder. It reflects poorly on society’s values.
Skeptic? Here’s a sad story: My cousin was murdered when I was 12 (she was 17). She was strangled. It was my first funeral, and I cried like a baby. Her killer rots in a Texas prison. But he did not get the death penalty. And he did not get a life-time bid. And the fact that a three time punk drug dealer in Lincoln, Nebraska did, is a travesty of justice. It’s like a punch to the gut.
The message is clear. Selling crack thrice is worse than murdering once. Fortunately, the majority of messages—owing to blatant hypocrisy—fall on deaf ears.
When punishments for drugs outweigh murder, it fails to make drugs the worst evil, it makes justice impossible. Crack cocaine is a wretched drug. But Americans shouldn’t get life for selling or smoking it, any other drug, and most non-violent crimes.
The Eighth Amendment states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
Last term the Supreme Court agreed, at least with respect to juveniles. NPR reports: “By a 6-3 vote, the court ruled it is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a juvenile convicted of a non-homicide crime to life in prison without the possibility of parole.”
This ruling should apply to adults as well.
Some politicians will argue that our current system is too lenient. They will say too many offenders get away with just a slap on the wrist. They may suggest we need more prisons in order to keep our kids safe. They will roar, “What kind of a message would decriminalization send to our children?” Fear is always potent come election time.
Cost alone should be deterrent enough. The average annual cost of incarceration in a federal prison is $25,895 per inmate, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Pew Center on the States pegs the average annual cost of housing an inmate in a state prison at $29,000. States would be foolish not to take action. Imprisonment alternatives are fiscally responsible.
America is in denial. It is high time she realized she has a problem. She is an incarceration addict. Once she learns to accept the things she cannot change (legislating morality), she’ll have the courage to change the things she can—and the wisdom to know the difference.
The race to lock up the most citizens is one we shouldn’t strive to win.
*Penalties for crack cocaine are exceptionally harsh when compared with powdered cocaine. It would be like paying a $50 MIP for beer, or a $5000 MIP for whiskey. In March, the Senate unanimously approved the Fair Sentencing Act, legislation that reduces the disparity in sentences for crack and powdered cocaine possession, from 100 to 1, to 18 to 1. The House has yet to approve the bill.
edit: http://www.dailynebraskan.com/hale-judicial-system-requires-revamp-on-drug-laws-1.2280845
volumptuous*promote for all of the obvious reasons.
siftbotPromoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 11:46am PDT - promote requested by volumptuous.
Duckman33*quality post.
siftbotBoosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by Duckman33.
kymbosI love the way it degenerates into an 'American Conversation' in which both people talk and neither listens.
VoodooV>> ^kymbos:
I love the way it degenerates into an 'American Conversation' in which both people talk and neither listens.
I find it amusing to note that yet again, it's the conservative side that is the first to interrupt the person speaking.
If alcohol is legal..then so should weed. It doesn't get any simpler than that. The guy's argument about how it gives a legal platform for the mexican cartels is standard fearmongering..they make all their money BECAUSE it's illegal. Legalize it..grow it in the US by US citizens and those mexican drug cartels lose a LOT of their income. Smaller prison population...more tax revenue. more freedom. win win win win.
Who do you think helps fund the opposition to legalization?
notarobotContentious issue. My thoughts here:
http://videosift.com/video/The-Flower-a-cartoon-about-prohibition
Winstonfield_Pennypackersays...As a fiscal conservative Constitutional constructionist with libertarian tendencies - I approve of increasing the freedom of the people from government.
NordlichReiterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_%28drug%29#Classification
entr0pyThat's an interesting strategy. Come to vote for pot, stay to vote for democrats. They certainly need something to counter the enthusiasm of the tea party, I can't think of anything better.
I think the whole democratic strategy of moving towards the center is flawed. What they forget is that they're already a strong majority, the problem is liberals don't actually go out and vote at anywhere near the rate of conservatives (who tend to be older, richer and whiter). If they can just offer us something exciting, like a chance to end the war or legalize pot, we'll show up.
ForgedRealitysays...Stupid, unmotivated, pot-smoking idiot punk kids.
tsquire1says...god that guy on the left is SUCH a tool! Is this really how discussions are had on TV? Let two people speak at the same time, letting the space break down into two babbling talking heads?
Woman was dead on though.
Heres the thing y'all. Challenging the drug laws challenges the prison-industrial complex, one of the most powerful industries in our country. They enable the state to control the population in ways that are incredibly difficult to break out of. This is why Marijuana hasn't been legalized yet. These drug laws allow for the corporate fuckers to control populations, something that is essential to maintain the realization of profit from the working class.
What we need are SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, not elected officials. Challenge this shit in your daily lives! All power to the people!
Entropy001If you were to break drugs down into simple categories, alcohol and cannabis are in the same place: the mildest right after caffeine and nicotine. All other drugs do not fit in this category.
If we live in a world where it's OK for alcohol to be legal, marijuana should be as well.
geo321*dead
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