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I know that this will be buried since this story is already a day and a half old, but I figure this, too needs to be said.

Out of that 2.2 million people, somewhere near 700,000 are in jail from possession, use or distribution of marijuana.

That's just wrong, even according to the site which the above poster quotes. Here's the relevant lines:

There were more than 700,000 marijuana arrests in the United States in 1997...Calculations based on recent BJS reports suggest that, at any one time, 59,300 prisoners charged with or convicted of violating marijuana laws (3.3% of the total incarcerated population) are behind bars, at a total cost to taxpayers of some $1.2 billion per year.

Okay, so to review:

1. The 700,000 number is the number of arrests, not those incarcerated.
2. The actual number, based on the estimates, is much smaller.
3. Also keep in mind that this number is from a 1997study. I don't know what the current numbers are, but they may or may not be different.

That's all for now...

Out of that 2.2 million people, somewhere near 700,000 are in jail from possession, use or distribution of marijuana. A law that was originally used to control migrant mexican workers has bogged down the american legal system to the breaking point. Imagine, 700,000 new cells open for child molesters, rapists, spammers, and SCO executives.

Wouldn't it be grand?

PS: Sorry about the OT, but things like this need to be said whenever the opportunity presents itself.

the eXtensible Marijuana Policy Project

After you donate money to get Blender open sourced, consider donating to this. A little help from everyone can really make a big difference!

The MPP is at a very exciting juncture, possession of less than 3 ounces of mj may be legalized in Nevada. The MPP has gotten the question on the ballot, but they need your help now to raise money for ads to inform people on the issues. Donate $10 today!

heh, the ninth court of appeals is reversed constantly. don't be too optimistic about this ruling standing up in higher courts, since the ninth court has a particularly bad record with reversals.

some references:
"Let's say this is a court on the cutting edge of jurisprudence," Richards said of the 9th Circuit court. "It may be the most reversed court."


"Of course, this is the Ninth Circuit, the most reversed court in the country, so the road is likely to be bumpy."


"Our final area of concern is that we are talking about the Ninth Circuit. That Circuit is much too large, which has made it difficult to develop any collegiality. As a result, judges have not developed common legal approaches to their decisions, and they are often even unaware of each other's decisions. The case law that has developed from this situation is often conflicting within the Circuit. Further, as judges have learned to act as laws unto themselves, they have frequently made unconstitutional decisions. It is by far the most reversed court in the country."

jon

Sorry to respond to my own message, but I want to provide a reference.

Asset forfeiture has grown into a multi-million dollar revenue source for local, state, and federal police agencies. Approximately $550 million in forfeiture proceeds are deposited into the U.S. Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund every year; millions more are taken by local and state police.

This document is actually from 1995 but the problem hasn't gotten any better. Check out some of the other search results on google to get an idea just how bad the problem is here in the US--it may also shed some light on why law enforcement is so gung-ho about keeping the war on drugs going.

numb

You don't have to be actually dealing any drugs to be robbed at gunpoint by the cops. Just drive down I-10 through Louisiana with some cash in your car. Oh, yeah, and it helps - a lot - if you're black.

You think I'm kidding, don't you? God, I wish I were. Here, read this. Or, from the President of the ACLU, this. Or lest you fall for the anti-ACLU business that is so popular with demagogues in this country, and dismiss the above as just the ranting of some left-wing weirdos, here is a statement published by the office of conservative Republican congressman Henry Hyde. In fact, the appaling damage which the logic-twisting pro-police-state judicial activists of the Rehnquist Supreme Court have inflicted upon the Constitutional rights of American citizens has outraged many Congressmen of both the Democratic party and the Republican party, who have responded this year with legislation to undo their excesses and restore those Constitutional rights to the public. This bill has not yet been signed by President Clinton, who has a terrible record of siding with the law enforcement gang against the interests of mere citizens. Let us hope that FBI Director Freeh and Drug Tsar McCafferty (that war criminal) don't talk him into vetoing this bill.

Yours WDK - WKiernan@concentric.net

You don't have to be actually dealing any drugs to be robbed at gunpoint by the cops. Just drive down I-10 through Louisiana with some cash in your car. Oh, yeah, and it helps - a lot - if you're black.

You think I'm kidding, don't you? God, I wish I were. Here, read this. Or, from the President of the ACLU, this. Or lest you fall for the anti-ACLU business that is so popular with demagogues in this country, and dismiss the above as just the ranting of some left-wing weirdos, here is a statement published by the office of conservative Republican congressman Henry Hyde. In fact, the appaling damage which the logic-twisting pro-police-state judicial activists of the Rehnquist Supreme Court have inflicted upon the Constitutional rights of American citizens has outraged many Congressmen of both the Democratic party and the Republican party, who have responded this year with legislation to undo their excesses and restore those Constitutional rights to the public. This bill has not yet been signed by President Clinton, who has a terrible record of siding with the law enforcement gang against the interests of mere citizens. Let us hope that FBI Director Freeh and Drug Tsar McCafferty (that war criminal) don't talk him into vetoing this bill.

Yours WDK - WKiernan@concentric.net

So, back from the top on every current topic but this one (unless I manage to sqeeze in another grass link.

Whilst indirectly blathering about the iminent threat to liberty imposed by second amendment infringements thrust upon us with the unwitting support of the lemming proletariat in the delirious aftermath of two assholes with guns in a high school giving The Man exactly what he needs to stop using KY when raping america,

I came across the idea of using the second amendment to protect rights related to cryptography. After a little thought and a few pints of the one true beer, I realise that it would be completely useless for the primary crypto issue we deal with these days: export control. Since the export of weapons is necessarily and legitimately controlled, and the arguement rests on the current interpretations upholding ITAR, it's self defeating, so America will never be as cool as Canada.

However, when the government begins to crack down on encryption domestically, the interpretation of crypto as a munition vaguely hints that encryption may be subject to second amendment protections. We have a right to bear arms (have access to weapons) for individual and national defence in the event of invasion (framer's intent). Cryptography can be used for those purposes, and it's _obviously_ a munition, right?

It would be sickeningly funny to see government idiocy used in the defense of the right to free speech and privacy.

Of course, to return to my blathering, the second amendment is only given lip service these days. And now that we can't have anything more potent than a single shot hunting rifle or handgun with 20 safety dongles on it (a consipracy by the christian right - finally putting Darwin to rest!), we don't have any way to defend our liberty, so the DC Fools are free to deny any right they please.

Interesting... When typing in an IE 4 text window, my instinctive pressing of ESC caused everything I wrote to be erased. Yet another mickeysoft attempt to screw unix users? Ah, well, at least someone is screwing me :^)

I'm adding the links to my page too. There are a number of good information sites to link to The Marijuana Policy Project, and NORML are good places to start.

You can also checkout Yahooka for a search engine type site.

Don't be afraid to test laws you think are wrong (I know this isn't law yet), and if you do go to court the Internet is absolutely amazing at drumming up grass-roots support (at least until the governmet makes that illegal too ;-)

To quote MLK somewhat out of context "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws".

The Beastie Boys also had something to say on the subject: "You gotta fight! For your right! To paaaarrty."