Last Wednesday night's mayoral debate was an absolute joke – worse than watching "Jersey Shore." Call me naïve, but I expected to hear some brilliant minds with new and innovative ideas. Instead, I saw several mayoral candidates who could barely articulate a sentence. I thought politicians couldn't get any worse than those in my home-state of California, with the "Governator" in charge. Unfortunately for the beautiful city of New Orleans, the next person who runs this city will be more of a joke than Arnold himself.
Maybe I'm just being too harsh – they did come straight from a previous debate that was an extra hour long. Perhaps they were simply too tired for another legitimate debate. Even if I give them the benefit of the doubt, it will still not account for the inadequate, generic answers that were repeated over and over again.
Luckily, however, there was one bright spot at the debate, and all I've got to say is this: Jerry Jacobs is my hero. Even though the 66-year-old, mafia gangster-looking candidate wasn't taken seriously, he was truly the only person that actually had a solution to the city's greatest problem. The decriminalization of marijuana can be the single-most important factor in reducing the crime rate in New Orleans. According to jerryjacobsformayor.com, the number of individuals arrested due to marijuana laws is greater than the amount of arrests due to murder, rape, violent assault, drunk driving and robbery combined. Even the FBI has reported that the amount of marijuana-related arrests is continuing to rise and far exceeds the number of arrests from violent crimes by the hundreds of thousands.
Two potential front-runners in the race, Rob Couhig and James Perry, claim that they've got the solutions to reduce crime, but their central platforms do not contain drug or educational reforms. As Couhig stated Wednesday night, his stance toward drugs is a zero-tolerance policy, which, in reality, is far more impractical in reducing crime than Jacobs' idea of decriminalizing marijuana. Zero-tolerance is basically prohibition on crack (mind the pun), and we all know the Prohibition did not work. Not only did the U.S. government lose money in sales taxes and law enforcement expenditures, they created something even worse: NASCAR (via: rumrunners – seriously, check out the History Channel special).
Aside from Couhig, James Perry is preaching that he will lower the crime rate by 40 percent. Mr. Perry must be high if he thinks he can lower the crime rate by 40 percent without legalizing all crimes or killing half the city and giving everyone else their stuff. Regardless, decriminalizing marijuana will do far more to reduce crime than promises or zero-tolerance policies.
The reality is this: Alcohol and cigarettes will kill you; marijuana cannot. If our society is to allow the legality of substances that kill millions of people, then surely we can decriminalize, not even legalize, a substance that is legitimately used for medicinal purposes. Ultimately, societal norms are so potent in the United States that individuals are unwilling to even consider the decriminalization of marijuana simply because they were taught that it's bad for your health. Voters need to realize that we cannot continue to neglect the issue of decriminalizing marijuana – the benefits of such a reform are paramount to a city like New Orleans.
Jerry Jacobs is my hero. Not because he wants to decriminalize marijuana, but because he recognizes the absurdity in adhering to societal norms that are false (and dangerous) and knows the real solution to the city's rampant crime rate.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: thehullabaloo.com
Author: Shawn Riley
Contact: thehullabaloo.com
Copyright: 2010 thehullabaloo.com
Website: The Real Way To Reduce Crime
Maybe I'm just being too harsh – they did come straight from a previous debate that was an extra hour long. Perhaps they were simply too tired for another legitimate debate. Even if I give them the benefit of the doubt, it will still not account for the inadequate, generic answers that were repeated over and over again.
Luckily, however, there was one bright spot at the debate, and all I've got to say is this: Jerry Jacobs is my hero. Even though the 66-year-old, mafia gangster-looking candidate wasn't taken seriously, he was truly the only person that actually had a solution to the city's greatest problem. The decriminalization of marijuana can be the single-most important factor in reducing the crime rate in New Orleans. According to jerryjacobsformayor.com, the number of individuals arrested due to marijuana laws is greater than the amount of arrests due to murder, rape, violent assault, drunk driving and robbery combined. Even the FBI has reported that the amount of marijuana-related arrests is continuing to rise and far exceeds the number of arrests from violent crimes by the hundreds of thousands.
Two potential front-runners in the race, Rob Couhig and James Perry, claim that they've got the solutions to reduce crime, but their central platforms do not contain drug or educational reforms. As Couhig stated Wednesday night, his stance toward drugs is a zero-tolerance policy, which, in reality, is far more impractical in reducing crime than Jacobs' idea of decriminalizing marijuana. Zero-tolerance is basically prohibition on crack (mind the pun), and we all know the Prohibition did not work. Not only did the U.S. government lose money in sales taxes and law enforcement expenditures, they created something even worse: NASCAR (via: rumrunners – seriously, check out the History Channel special).
Aside from Couhig, James Perry is preaching that he will lower the crime rate by 40 percent. Mr. Perry must be high if he thinks he can lower the crime rate by 40 percent without legalizing all crimes or killing half the city and giving everyone else their stuff. Regardless, decriminalizing marijuana will do far more to reduce crime than promises or zero-tolerance policies.
The reality is this: Alcohol and cigarettes will kill you; marijuana cannot. If our society is to allow the legality of substances that kill millions of people, then surely we can decriminalize, not even legalize, a substance that is legitimately used for medicinal purposes. Ultimately, societal norms are so potent in the United States that individuals are unwilling to even consider the decriminalization of marijuana simply because they were taught that it's bad for your health. Voters need to realize that we cannot continue to neglect the issue of decriminalizing marijuana – the benefits of such a reform are paramount to a city like New Orleans.
Jerry Jacobs is my hero. Not because he wants to decriminalize marijuana, but because he recognizes the absurdity in adhering to societal norms that are false (and dangerous) and knows the real solution to the city's rampant crime rate.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: thehullabaloo.com
Author: Shawn Riley
Contact: thehullabaloo.com
Copyright: 2010 thehullabaloo.com
Website: The Real Way To Reduce Crime
