EZEKIEL EDWARDS, DMI - One of America's central targets in its failed
drug war has been marijuana. . . Under our "imprison-first, think later"
policies, more than 734,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges
in 2002 , and more than 5 million Americans have been arrested for
marijuana offenses in the past decade; nearly 90% of which were for
simple possession for personal use, not sale.
We lock up more people for marijuana than the individual prison
populations of 8 of the 10 European Union nations. In North Carolina and
South Dakota, marijuana arrests constituted 74% of all drug arrests. In
7 out of 10 states marijuana arrests make up over half of all drug
arrests and in almost 3 out of 10 states marijuana arrests make up
almost 60 percent of all drug arrests.
In New York City, arrests for marijuana possession and use have risen
from less than 2,000 in 1992 to more than 52,000 in 2000. Minor
marijuana offenses now comprise 15% of all arrests in the city of New
York. . .
If the DEA raided liberal arts campuses in the Northeast and made
hundreds of easy arrests for marijuana possession, dragging students
from their dorms at Amherst and Williams, handcuffing Vassar and
Wesleyan students at a party, taking Yale and Harvard students from the
steps of the library and putting them into a police van, and threw them
all into jail overnight, forcing them to call their parents and hire
lawyers, would those schools, and those students' parents, and our
society, turn the other cheek? Would we applaud such an incident? Would
we consider the police action reasonable in light of the offense, a
worthwhile use of our tax money?
Beyond its biased enforcement, our government's marijuana policies are
deeply hypocritical. Why do we imprison people for possession of
marijuana but happily sell people alcohol and cigarettes? It seems
cigarettes are far more addictive than marijuana, and responsible for
many more deaths every year. Alcohol is likewise dangerously addictive,
can dramatically alter people's mood and perceptions, and seems more apt
to make people behave violently or lead them into poor, often
life-threatening decisions (driving drunk, having unprotected sex,
etc.). And yet lawmakers and police officers and teachers get drunk and
chain smoke on weekends while poor people go to jail for possessing
marijuana.
http://www.dmiblog.com/
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drug war has been marijuana. . . Under our "imprison-first, think later"
policies, more than 734,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges
in 2002 , and more than 5 million Americans have been arrested for
marijuana offenses in the past decade; nearly 90% of which were for
simple possession for personal use, not sale.
We lock up more people for marijuana than the individual prison
populations of 8 of the 10 European Union nations. In North Carolina and
South Dakota, marijuana arrests constituted 74% of all drug arrests. In
7 out of 10 states marijuana arrests make up over half of all drug
arrests and in almost 3 out of 10 states marijuana arrests make up
almost 60 percent of all drug arrests.
In New York City, arrests for marijuana possession and use have risen
from less than 2,000 in 1992 to more than 52,000 in 2000. Minor
marijuana offenses now comprise 15% of all arrests in the city of New
York. . .
If the DEA raided liberal arts campuses in the Northeast and made
hundreds of easy arrests for marijuana possession, dragging students
from their dorms at Amherst and Williams, handcuffing Vassar and
Wesleyan students at a party, taking Yale and Harvard students from the
steps of the library and putting them into a police van, and threw them
all into jail overnight, forcing them to call their parents and hire
lawyers, would those schools, and those students' parents, and our
society, turn the other cheek? Would we applaud such an incident? Would
we consider the police action reasonable in light of the offense, a
worthwhile use of our tax money?
Beyond its biased enforcement, our government's marijuana policies are
deeply hypocritical. Why do we imprison people for possession of
marijuana but happily sell people alcohol and cigarettes? It seems
cigarettes are far more addictive than marijuana, and responsible for
many more deaths every year. Alcohol is likewise dangerously addictive,
can dramatically alter people's mood and perceptions, and seems more apt
to make people behave violently or lead them into poor, often
life-threatening decisions (driving drunk, having unprotected sex,
etc.). And yet lawmakers and police officers and teachers get drunk and
chain smoke on weekends while poor people go to jail for possessing
marijuana.
http://www.dmiblog.com/
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