Obama snuffs stoner dreams of legalization

[Badger]

At least he supports decriminalization. That's a much higher priority than legalization.

Not really. That's like saying "civil unions are a much higher priority than same-sex marriage."

Bad analogy. Although I do support it, marijuana legalization is not a civil rights issue. Priority number one should be stopping hundreds of thousands of kids/nonviolent offenders from being thrown into jail for smoking pot.

Cite? Please limit your answer for incarceration based on "smoking" pot as opposed to traffickers.

[Sbane]

At least he supports decriminalization. That's a much higher priority than legalization.

Not really. That's like saying "civil unions are a much higher priority than same-sex marriage."

Bad analogy. Although I do support it, marijuana legalization is not a civil rights issue. Priority number one should be stopping hundreds of thousands of kids/nonviolent offenders from being thrown into jail for smoking pot.

Cite? Please limit your answer for incarceration based on "smoking" pot as opposed to traffickers.

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/crime#sthash.QBM8Tyac.dpbs

Of the 1,501,043 arrests for drug law violations, 82.3% were for possession of a controlled substance. 40.3% of those arrests were for possession of Marijuana. That comes out to about 604,908 arrests for Marijuana possession in 2013. So yeah, hundreds of thousands of people are being thrown into jail every year for smoking pot, especially Blacks, Latinos and poors.

[Badger]

At least he supports decriminalization. That's a much higher priority than legalization.

Not really. That's like saying "civil unions are a much higher priority than same-sex marriage."

Bad analogy. Although I do support it, marijuana legalization is not a civil rights issue. Priority number one should be stopping hundreds of thousands of kids/nonviolent offenders from being thrown into jail for smoking pot.

Cite? Please limit your answer for incarceration based on "smoking" pot as opposed to traffickers.

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/crime#sthash.QBM8Tyac.dpbs

Of the 1,501,043 arrests for drug law violations, 82.3% were for possession of a controlled substance. 40.3% of those arrests were for possession of Marijuana. That comes out to about 604,908 arrests for Marijuana possession in 2013. So yeah, hundreds of thousands of people are being thrown into jail every year for smoking pot, especially Blacks, Latinos and poors.

I question the definition of "arrest" used here, and whether many such "arrests" simply involve police contact and release after service of a citation. Ibin Rushid's comment is more telling and specific, though.

Perhaps I'm seeing this through the lens of Ohio law which decriminalized up to 100 gm of mj ages ago. Oddly, drug paraphernalia was punishable by up to 30 days, so while a joint might only get you a fine (and mandatory license suspension even if not driving/riding in a car at the time), the paper could get you jail time (or the baggie the weed was in, or the pipe, etc.). That long overdue change was finally made only a couple years ago to where MJ related paraphernalia is now only punishable by a fine as well.

[Sbane]

At least he supports decriminalization. That's a much higher priority than legalization.

Not really. That's like saying "civil unions are a much higher priority than same-sex marriage."

Bad analogy. Although I do support it, marijuana legalization is not a civil rights issue. Priority number one should be stopping hundreds of thousands of kids/nonviolent offenders from being thrown into jail for smoking pot.

Cite? Please limit your answer for incarceration based on "smoking" pot as opposed to traffickers.

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/crime#sthash.QBM8Tyac.dpbs

Of the 1,501,043 arrests for drug law violations, 82.3% were for possession of a controlled substance. 40.3% of those arrests were for possession of Marijuana. That comes out to about 604,908 arrests for Marijuana possession in 2013. So yeah, hundreds of thousands of people are being thrown into jail every year for smoking pot, especially Blacks, Latinos and poors.

I question the definition of "arrest" used here, and whether many such "arrests" simply involve police contact and release after service of a citation. Ibin Rushid's comment is more telling and specific, though.

Perhaps I'm seeing this through the lens of Ohio law which decriminalized up to 100 gm of mj ages ago. Oddly, drug paraphernalia was punishable by up to 30 days, so while a joint might only get you a fine (and mandatory license suspension even if not driving/riding in a car at the time), the paper could get you jail time (or the baggie the weed was in, or the pipe, etc.). That long overdue change was finally made only a couple years ago to where MJ related paraphernalia is now only punishable by a fine as well.

Yes, you may look at this differently because Ohio is one state that has decriminalized weed. The fact is that most Midwestern, Mid Atlantic and Southern states have not decriminalized. Or they have ass backwards loopholes like in New York. Plenty of people get arrested for simple possession. The arrests are easy to make, the cases easy to resolve and it is fairly safe for the officer as stoners are usually not violent. And by having more arrests, they can justify their budget.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Obama's statements when it comes to marijuana are more childish than just outright believing it's horrifically damaging to society; at least the latter belief is more sincere. It's insulting to my intelligence because I know that he knows better than this.