MA: Mideast Anti Marijuana Bill (Failed)

[ZuWo]

I'd be curious to hear what the Honorable Assemblyman thinks would be an appropriate fine for the possession of marijuana.

As I wrote in my previous post, I might have to come up with an amendment that specifies the fines people who violate the bill must pay. I would say the fine depends on the amount of marijuana one possesses. Spontaneously, I would suggest a range between 100 up to thousands of dollars in really bad cases.

[ZuWo]

I'd like to introduce an amendment to the current bill as I want to add a third section which deals with the penalisation of those who violate section 1 or section 2 of the Anti Marijuana Bill.

Amendment

Insert Section 3

“3. An individual who violates any of the regulations stated in sections 1 and 2 shall be fined if the violation is considered minor and sentenced to prison if the violation is considered severe by a Mideast judge. The person in question shall be fined a minimum of $ 100 if the violation is minor or receive a prison sentence of no less than 1 year if the violation is severe.”

I want to leave it up to the judges to define what is minor or severe so I just stated what the minmal fines or prison sentences shall be. Any suggestions, corrections, complaints?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Someone could be sent to years of prison for a victimless crime? That's a sure way to clog up our prisons beyond capacity.
Mandatory minimums are awful. If you want to give judges discretion, and allow for extenuating circumstances, don't have them at all. Make those maximums instead of minimums.

[TJ in Oregon]

I do think the minimum fine is reasonable, though I agree with Senator Shua that setting a minimum jail sentence doesn't really make a lot of sense considering the other possibility is no jail time at all. It creates a discontinuity along the spectrum of possible punishments.

[ZuWo]

Thank you both for your insight. I promise this will be the last time I mention Switzerland (I hope I can keep it ) but I actually got the idea to define a minimal prison sentence from Swiss federal law. It says there that people who offer marijuana to minors within school premises, trade with marijuana and make a large profit or are part of a drug cartel shall receive a prison sentence of at least 1 year*. That's what I think can be understood as a "severe violation" as stated in section 3 of this Mideast bill. It was my intention to let the judges decide what they regard as a "severe violation", and in cases such as the above-mentioned ones I don't think 1 year in prison is a bad idea.

*http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/812_121/a19.html

[TJ in Oregon]

I don't disagree with the possibility of more than a year for a very severe violation but I guess I'm also not sure what constitutes a "severe" violation? Would it be possible to get jail time of less than a year for a less severe violation?

[ZuWo]

I would like to leave it up to the Mideast judges to constitute what a minor or severe violation is. What I want to do with the third section of this bill is to define what the minimal punishment is. The way I intended the third section to be understood is that if a judge considers a violation of the marijuana regulations minor, there will be a fine. If the violation is severe (and the decision to regard a violation as severe should be, as I said, up to the judges), the culprit can be put to jail for no less than 1 year. There is, according to section 3, no prison sentence of less than 1 year.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Voting is now open on the following amendment.  This will be a 24 hour vote:

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[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

NAY

[ZuWo]

AYE (of course )

[TJ in Oregon]

Aye

[Mopsus]

Aye.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Though it seems obvious the amendment will pass, I myself am somewhat unsure of where I stand on this issue. While my knee jerk Conservative reaction is that I don't want to see people recreationally smoking pot, at the same time, my teenager reaction just doesn't care all that much. Not sure how I'll be voting on this...

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Voting on the amendment is now closed.  The AYEs are 3, and the NAYs are 1, with 1 not voting.  The AYEs have it, and the amendment is agreed to.  The bill now reads:

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If there's no more debate, this will be brought to a vote tonight.

[ZuWo]

I for my part believe both arguments in favour and against banning marijuana have been heard so I agree with you and think we can bring the bill to a vote. Indeed, the outcome of the vote seems to be pretty much in the air.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Debate having ended for at least 24 hours, the following bill is brought to a vote.  Members will vote AYE, NAY, or ABSTAIN.  This will be a 48 hour vote:

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[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

NAY

[TJ in Oregon]

Aye

[Mopsus]

Nay.

[ZuWo]

Aye!

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Hmmmm.... I hope to soon make a decision.

[California8429]

This vote seemed to come fast...

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Hmmmm.... I hope to soon make a decision.

Is there anything your freedom-loving constituents can do to persuade you?

[tmthforu94]

Well, this passing would at least fire some people up and generate some activity via referendum.

[ZuWo]

Well, this passing would at least fire some people up and generate some activity via referendum.

... a referendum which would likely overthrow this bill if it gets passed, but such are the rules of democracy.