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Posted on 06/23/2009 1:35:51 PM PDT by mikelets456
B
A controversial law in Massachusetts could go national if Congressman Barney Frank gets his way.
Frank has filed a bill that would eliminate federal penalties for personal possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana.
It would also make the penalty for using marijuana in public just $100.
"I think John Stuart Mill had it right in the 1850s," said Congressman Frank, "when he argued that individuals should have the right to do what they want in private, so long as they don't hurt anyone else. It's a matter of personal liberty. Moreover, our courts are already stressed and our prisons are over-crowded. We don't need to spend our scarce resources prosecuting people who are doing no harm to others."
Frank filed a similar bill last year, but it failed.
The law passed in Massachusetts last November.
(Excerpt) Read more at wbztv.com ...
like that’s gonna happen anymore than it does with drunk driving....pshaw
It’s not just college kids
In Alaska
Possession of one ounce or less of marijuana in the privacy of the home is legal. The status of possessing an amount between one ounce and four ounces is unclear, pending clarification by the courts. Possession of 4 ounces or more of marijuana is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
Possession of less than 25 plants is protected under the Alaska Constitution’s right to privacy (See Ravin v. Alaska). Possession of 25 or more marijuana plants is “Misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree” and is punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 or five years in prison.
Any possession within 500 feet of school grounds or a recreation center or possession on any school bus is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
Sale, delivery or manufactureof marijuana of less than one ounce is a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. For amounts of one ounce or greater, the crime is a felony which can be punished with a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
It is an affirmative defense to possession, manufacture or delivery that the offender is a patient or caregiver who is registered with the state for medical use of marijuana.
Maintaining any structure or dwelling, including vehicles, to use for keeping and distributing marijuana, is a felony offense and punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
There is a standing local joke that if you raided 100 homes in the Mat-su Valley (Palmer/Wasillia/Houston) you would find grow operations in 70%.
The rest? Why, meth labs of course.
While this joke is not even close to accurate, there is a massive drugsub-culture in parts of Alaska.
There seems to be monthly grow / lab busts. The problem is past funny jokes or the claim of ‘victimless’ crime.
Same thing with alcohol or even prescription drugs. There's a concept known as personal responsibility... if someone can't confine their recreational activities to their own space/time then perhaps they have issues the government can't fix anyway.
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Would they please pass a bill criminalizing Barney Frank!
“...Same thing with alcohol or even prescription drugs. There’s a concept known as personal responsibility....”
Same with food, money and fame...
The list of being ILLEGAL has to start somewhere. What you’re proposing is “everything’s legal” as long as you’re responsible?
The point is, this government is more concerned about making cigarettes, gardening and soda pop illegal, then they’ll be legalizing POT! Make sense? You see where this is headed I hope...
it's the drug dealers who shoot at eachother and hit little kids with stray bullets while trying to protect their territory so they can sell to you that is the real problem.
just throwin it out there.
One would be hard-pressed to find a vice that Barney Frank doesn't favor.
I was an Army officer in a nuclear launch platoon.
I took about ten drug tests a year, and saw the progression from a loosely controlled system to one that’s tougher than the controls on some nuclear “secrets”.
As you stated, we already test for these drugs.
There presence in society may increase for some with the latitude to use them (not professionally regulated or tested).
“Moderation, in all things.”
Nothing prevents any employer from banning any legal substance. Pilots already cannot use certain prescription medications.
The airline (or any other company) could simply say that any indication of legal drug use within a specific period is grounds for dismissal.
Of courese, people still sue because somebody used Xanax, Plavix or even Viagra, and claim that the drug caused the accident. Unfortunately, the government has spend decades and billions inventing bullshit “science” about the harmful effectes of marijuana. Not a week goes by where they don’t “discover” another harmful side-effect of weed.
Curious, isn’t it?
It only establishes a chain of evidence for such lawsuits.
The rest of us (system analysts, telephone operators, linguists, et al) could simply go about our lives without government intervention.
Why does the list have to start ANYWHERE?
What’s the basis?
Government control of an individual’s desires?
Government monopoly on taxed revenue?
When you start making lists, it’s kind of hard to stop.
I think most cops would probably support legalization of pot. They consider minor possession a complete waste of their time. They see everyday the lives completely destroyed by drugs like meth and the crime and violence associated with them and think pot? Who cares?
As far as proceeds go pot enforcement costs a heck of a lot more than any proceeds recovered from property seizures or fines.
Legalize it, TAX it and defund the cartels. All other drugs should remain unlawful. And one last thing, drug test all welfare recipients, no cash for pot heads.
I think this is a good move.
They have just about taxed cigarettes out of existence and they need something new to tax. mary jane is that something.
Of course the ten would beg to differ. Ha.
Good for barney Frank on this one. Washington has too much on its mind right now to waste money busting stoners.
Barney Frank has also introduced a bill to back out of that ban on online gambling that everyone hates us for.
Agreed. Anyone who thinks that illegal weed means people can’t get it are foolishly naive. It’s everywhere.
The law enforcement/court system will fight this tooth and nail as it will cause huge loss of funding and justification for jobs when 1/2 the court cases are canceled and there’s no more seizing property for weed offenses.
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