tagged w/ Unjust Laws
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Marijuana legalization advocates openly smoked pot at the annual Boston Freedom Rally on Boston Common yesterday, spurring arrests by Boston police.
“It’s one thing to protest the illegality of marijuana, that itself isn’t illegal,” said James Kenneally, BPD spokesman. “People have the right to free expression, but it’s another thing to smoke marijuana, which is an illegal narcotic, during the protest.”
The annual Boston Freedom Rally - described by organizers as “the largest marijuana reform gathering on the East Coast” - drew hundreds of stoners, activists and vendors to the park. They spent the bright, sunny afternoon touting their support for Question 2, which will appear on the ballot in November and would replace criminal penalties for possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana with a fine of no more than $100.
“It’s a thing where we can unite for a cause to legalize weed, man,” said Howlin’ Jack Boone, 27, of Waltham, lead singer of the rally’s headline band, Graveyard BBQ. “This year we’re hoping for decriminalization, next year it’ll be a celebration.”
The Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition co-sponsored the event, along with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
“We’re close to winning the first major battle with Question 2, and MassCann won’t stop until it’s legal, regulated and taxed,” said Steven Epstein, co-founder of the coalition.
Yesterday’s rally was “a combination of education and activism,” said Allen St. Pierre, NORML executive director.
Or, as guitarist “Brown Bag” Johnson of Graveyard BBQ put it, “We’re fighting against the man, burning the rope and having a good time.”
The arrests ruined the mellow mood for some participants.
“It’s a real fear. When they arrest you, it’s quick and swift,” said pot enthusiast Rachel Elorrisa, 29, of New Hampshire who admitted to “lighting up” before the rally. “Police are out here in street clothes, and when they arrest, you have to sit in that holding area all day.”Marijuana legalization advocates openly smoked pot at the annual Boston Freedom Rally... more
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Why is marijuana illegal? Once upon a time, there were several "facts" that made it seem obvious why it should be, but many of those "facts" are simply myths, and ridiculous ones at that.
Myth 1: Marijuana can cause dangerous, psychotic behavior.
Perhaps the most ridiculous of the myths; it is possibly the main reason for its prohibition. Marijuana was demonized and portrayed as a dangerous substance that would make you lose your mind. In fact, marijuana has some medicinal benefits and is less harmful than most of the side effects caused by prescription drugs.
Myth 2: "The War on Drugs" has been incredibly successful in putting away those terrible marijuana users.
Really? If you see successful as spending billions in tax dollars to incarcerate 37 million non-violent drug offenders, then sure. But, Jeffrey Miron, professor of economics at Harvard, says the legalization of marijuana would generate a tax revenue of $6.2 billion annually if taxed similar to alcohol and tobacco. We would also save $7.7 billion in government expenditure.
Some drug offenders serve more time than child molesters, and it costs between $20,000 and $30,000 per person per year to keep them in prison. I believe our tax dollars and our law enforcement would serve better purposes elsewhere and considering the state of our economy, that tax revenue might be a much-needed boost.
Myth 3: If legalized, there would be an increase in marijuana use, especially among youth. Use of most substances, including alcohol, is more prevalent among teenagers and 20-somethings. These are the people that are prone to experimentation, legal or not. Getting in trouble for underage use of legalized marijuana would be much less detrimental to teenagers' futures than sticking them with a misdemeanor or felony offense for the rest of their life.
Also, advertising would undoubtedly be restricted just as it is for cigarettes and alcohol, so no marketing for kids.
No Joe Camel, no Mary Jane.
In the Netherlands, the sale of marijuana is tolerated. The number of users did increase after more shops started selling it, but according to a recent World Health Organization survey, after that increase, Americans continue to use more marijuana than the Dutch.
Myth 4: Increase in use would mean more health problems. Marijuana smoke does contain carcinogens like cigarettes, but it tends to be used much less to achieve the desired result. The National Institute of Health's statistics show that 400,000 people die a year in cigarette-smoking related deaths. Yet, it also shows that there is no record of any marijuana related death in known history. These are some of the facts, and they are why I support the legalization of marijuana.
I'm not even a user, but I think people should educate themselves on the facts of this, or any issue, before drawing conclusions based on hearsay. In my opinion, the pros outweigh the cons in this case.Why is marijuana illegal? Once upon a time, there were several "facts" that... more
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In its latest series of restrictive moves the UK Government has placed forward a proposition (Bill 316) on the prohibition of Cannabis seeds. The present legality of cannabis seeds in the UK operates against a loop-hole in the law which states that the possession of cannabis seeds in the UK is allowed, while the cultivation of the same seed is a criminal act.
This ambiguous approach to cannabis seed law has always been in place - thus allowing seed retailers to sell seeds in the UK to whom ever they wish.
Homegrown cannabis isn't going away no matter how hard the British government tries to bury it under layer upon layer of red tape and beaurocracy.
Any prohibition of cannabis seeds in the UK will of course have a negative effect.In its latest series of restrictive moves the UK Government has placed forward a... more
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Get a rise out of the neighbors with these fake pot plants, made out of realistic-looking silk by pro-pot activist Joseph White. They even have buds on them. White's New Image Plants offers a variety of sizes from 2 feet to 6 feet, and you can order them as hemp plants without buds, or as marijuana plants with luxuriant and realistic-looking buds that have been dusted with polyurethane to simulate that gooey, sticky, flower top look.
This six-foot marijuana plant, marked down to $190.57 from $224.20, includes five buds and sits in a basket container. The three-foot marijuana plant is $114.07. Or you can just grow your own for free. – Charlie WhiteGet a rise out of the neighbors with these fake pot plants, made out of... more
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It seems only the White House and law enforcement want drug prohibition to continue
Canadian soldiers near marijuana in Afghanistan. Photo by Finbarr OReilly
WASHINGTON - America's alcohol prohibition lasted 13 years, filled the country's prisons, inspired contempt for the law among millions, bred corruption and produced Al Capone. What it did not do was keep Americans from drinking. America's marijuana prohibition drew into its 72nd year this month. It has created a huge underground industry catering to users, helped the U.S. prison population balloon into the world's largest, and diverted the resources of American law enforcement. What it has not done is keep Americans from using marijuana.
On the contrary. Since 1937, the year marijuana was outlawed, its use in the United States has gone up by 4,000 percent, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based lobby group which advocates regulating the drug similar to alcohol. A recent World Health Organization study of marijuana use in 17 countries placed Americans at the top of the list.
The 1920-1933 prohibition on the sale, production and transportation of alcohol is now seen as a dismal failure of social engineering. Will the prohibition on marijuana ever be seen in a similar light?
Read More...
It seems only the White House and law enforcement want drug prohibition to continue... more
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You have the power to save pot people from prison!
The jury can save you!
I've got a secret to tell you. It's about jurors. Jurors called for duty on criminal cases have a secret power. It's a secret because in a trial neither the judge nor the lawyers are allowed to tell the jurors this power exists. But it does. It's called "jury nullification." It doesn't mean the jury gets nullified. It means the jury can nullify a law or nullify the application of a law to a specific case.
Jurors can use this power if they believe a law is unjust or that the application of the law to the case would be unjust. Juries exercised this power to acquit Henry Morgentaler on abortion charges in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time legal abortions had to be performed in a hospital and only after approval by the hospital's therapeutic abortion committee.
Morgentaler, however, performed abortions outside hospitals and without any committee approvals. He was charged and faced four criminal trials. As a matter of law he had no defence, but the juries refused to convict.
This power to nullify the law is dangerous. Using it, a white jury could refuse to convict a white person in any case involving a non-white victim. I'm sure that's happened. Also, if juries exercise this right then they are saying they know better. They, in effect, become law makers usurping the role of the government and prosecutors.
Now you know why lawyers and judges won't tell jurors they have this right -- we're afraid they might use it.
TRIAL JUDGE
Not only do we not tell jurors that they have this right, we tell jurors they are to take the law as explained to them by the trial judge, the strong implication being there is no right of jury nullification.
This issue came up recently when Grant Wayne Krieger of Alberta was charged with unlawfully producing marijuana. Krieger has multiple sclerosis and uses pot for medicinal purposes. He also admitted to supplying the drug to other sick people.
The trial judge believed a conviction was the only possible result and directed the jury "to retire to the jury room to consider what I have said, appoint one of yourselves to be your foreperson, and then to return to the court with a verdict of guilty." When some jurors balked the judge said "(i)t is apparent that some of the members either didn't understand my direction this morning, that is that they were to return a verdict of guilty ... or they refused to do so."
After the jury came back with a guilty verdict, Krieger appealed. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled the judge erred in trying to force the jury to convict. The judge had wrongly taken away the right of jury nullification.
At one time judges abhorred this power so much they imprisoned, starved or fined jurors who refused to follow their instructions to convict. Yet, this jury nullification power has served an important function throughout modern history. Jurors have refused to enforce fugitive slave laws, seditious laws prohibiting criticism of the government, laws prohibiting labour strikes, even prohibition laws.
USEFUL TOOL
Is there a need for this power today? With perfect laws and a perfect system of justice juries wouldn't need this power. But we don't have a perfect system and jury nullification can still be a useful tool in addressing abusive prosecutions and laws.
The real question for me is whether defence lawyers should have a right to tell juries they have this power. If there is no such right then we have to depend on jurors getting their knowledge from television -- a Law & Order episode discussed the issue -- or newspapers. That doesn't seem right. It makes for an uneven system of justiceYou have the power to save pot people from prison!
The jury can save you!... more
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