Name: Anonymous 2007-11-03 0:16
"Marijuana decriminalization – which prior to Tuesday's debate had not been discussed by the candidates in a public forum – was one of several drug policy related issues submitted to MSNBC moderator Tim Russert by members of the Philadelphia chapter of NORML.
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) both indicated that they backed decriminalizing pot. "We're locking up too many people in our system here today," Dodd said. "We've got mandatory minimum sentences that are filling our jails with people who don't belong there. My idea is to decriminalize [marijuana], reduce that problem here. We've gone from 800,000 to 2 million people in our penal institutions in this country."
Senator Dodd had previously stated that if elected President, "[He] would decriminalize … the statutes … that would incarcerate or severely penalize people for using marijuana." Representative Kucinich has said that he favors a national drug policy that treats adult marijuana use in a manner similar to alcohol ."
-An excerpt from a NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) newsletter. Here's a link to the article on their website:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7411
If you'd like to subscribe to NORML's newsletter (it's free!), just go to the following link, and you will find a sign up area toward the lower right:
http://www.norml.org/
Anyways, with regard to the article: my first impression is that maybe the United States is moving toward the possible legalization or at least decriminalization of marijuana. Indeed, one republican presidential candidate supports legalization of marijauan for both personal as well as medical use, and another republican presidential candidate supports legalization for medical use - leaving the decision up to the states. Another republican is undecided.
In addition, on the democrat side, all democrat presidential candidates support allowing states to decide whether or not to allow medical marijuana, and as you can see from the article I give reference to above, a handful of them support decriminalization of possession/use of the drug. Unfortunately, the big problem is that, unlike the gun owners: members of the NRA, members of GOA, the stoned slackers of America aren't willing to write letters to their elected officials or march to the polls to support candidates who support legalization.
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) both indicated that they backed decriminalizing pot. "We're locking up too many people in our system here today," Dodd said. "We've got mandatory minimum sentences that are filling our jails with people who don't belong there. My idea is to decriminalize [marijuana], reduce that problem here. We've gone from 800,000 to 2 million people in our penal institutions in this country."
Senator Dodd had previously stated that if elected President, "[He] would decriminalize … the statutes … that would incarcerate or severely penalize people for using marijuana." Representative Kucinich has said that he favors a national drug policy that treats adult marijuana use in a manner similar to alcohol ."
-An excerpt from a NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) newsletter. Here's a link to the article on their website:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7411
If you'd like to subscribe to NORML's newsletter (it's free!), just go to the following link, and you will find a sign up area toward the lower right:
http://www.norml.org/
Anyways, with regard to the article: my first impression is that maybe the United States is moving toward the possible legalization or at least decriminalization of marijuana. Indeed, one republican presidential candidate supports legalization of marijauan for both personal as well as medical use, and another republican presidential candidate supports legalization for medical use - leaving the decision up to the states. Another republican is undecided.
In addition, on the democrat side, all democrat presidential candidates support allowing states to decide whether or not to allow medical marijuana, and as you can see from the article I give reference to above, a handful of them support decriminalization of possession/use of the drug. Unfortunately, the big problem is that, unlike the gun owners: members of the NRA, members of GOA, the stoned slackers of America aren't willing to write letters to their elected officials or march to the polls to support candidates who support legalization.