Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Mississippi already decriminalized marijuana last year. They are the first state in the deep south to do so. The Louisiana state legislature only created a simple possession charge last week, and the penalty is still pretty serious. In Alabama, there is no simple possession law and one gram of cannabis has a maximum penalty of $6,000 and 30 days in jail.
Louisiana also just passed a limited medical cannabis law. Alabama and South Carolina are expected to pass full medical cannabis laws in the 2016 session.
Ohioans will almost certainly get to vote on whether to legalize cannabis for recreational use in November of 2015. A total of 24 states have a process where citizens can get an issue on a state-wide ballot. In most of these states, it is extremely difficult for the legislature to change or overturn a ballot issue once it is passed.
In the November 2016 election numerous state will be voting on either medical cannabis or recreational cannabis. States like Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada will almost certainly be voting on recreational cannabis.
Mississippi, however, could be a dark horse that completely changes the game. Activists in Mississippi have already been approve to collect signatures for a ballot initiative simply called “Legalization of Cannabis.” If supporters can collect 107,000 valid signatures it will appear on the November 2016 ballot as Initiative 48.
Mississippi’s Initiative 48 would make Washington’s Initiative 502 look like a police state on cannabis. The authors of Washington’s Initiative 502, which legalized recreational cannabis in that state, where so strict that many cannabis users actually opposed it.
Mississippi’s Initiative 48
With cannabis, I feel there is a very specific and valid reason why people should have past convictions for personal use expunged. The severity of the crime varies wildly from state to state, county to county, city to city, and year to year. Let me use Columbus, Ohio as an example. In the 1990s, if the Columbus, Ohio police caught you with a small amount of cannabis, they simply threw it on the ground and stepped on it. There was not a penalty. There was no legal framework to issue a citation for it and if they arrested everyone they caught, the police department would have gone bankrupt. In the suburbs, the police departments commonly let it go as well. I even had a co-worker who was caught smoking cannabis at a public park in a suburb of Columbus and the officer simply ordered him to throw all he had in his campfire. Go one county over in any direction and your in a rural area with very little crime. Suddenly the police and courts have nothing to do. People caught with small amounts of cannabis were arrested, often did a few days in jail, paid a big fine, and were left with a misdemeanor on their record. The severity of the punishment was vastly different based on geographical location in the same state.
Ironically, now that Ohio passed a decrim bill, the penalty for cannabis in Columbus, Ohio is actually more severe now than it was in the 90s. Today you get a $150 civil citation instead of simply having your cannabis confiscated.
If Initiative 48 passes, I predict Mississippi will see an explosion in tourism, an explosion of new jobs, a real estate boom, and an explosion of new tax revenue. Mississippi currently has horrific gang problems, even in rural areas. Initiative 48 would strip a major source of revenue from criminal gangs. Cannabis users will no longer have to turn to criminal gangs, meaning they will not expose themselves to these violent elements. They will also not be exposing themselves to criminal gangs pushing hardcore narcotic. Ending cannabis prohibition will shut down this gateway.
On day soon, cannabis farms could be spreading like craft breweries in Mississippi. Hipsters will sit in trendy new restaurants with their signature smug looks talking about the new Purpleberry Super-Kush Supreme. All while eating food cooked in certified organic hemp seed oil.*edit*
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Initiative 48 could make Mississippi the first state to fully end Marijuana Prohibition | Conservative Renegade
Author: Renegade
Contact: Renegade | Conservative Renegade
Photo Credit: Nhat V. Meyer / McClatchy-Tribune
Website: Conservative Renegade
Louisiana also just passed a limited medical cannabis law. Alabama and South Carolina are expected to pass full medical cannabis laws in the 2016 session.
Ohioans will almost certainly get to vote on whether to legalize cannabis for recreational use in November of 2015. A total of 24 states have a process where citizens can get an issue on a state-wide ballot. In most of these states, it is extremely difficult for the legislature to change or overturn a ballot issue once it is passed.
In the November 2016 election numerous state will be voting on either medical cannabis or recreational cannabis. States like Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada will almost certainly be voting on recreational cannabis.
Mississippi, however, could be a dark horse that completely changes the game. Activists in Mississippi have already been approve to collect signatures for a ballot initiative simply called “Legalization of Cannabis.” If supporters can collect 107,000 valid signatures it will appear on the November 2016 ballot as Initiative 48.
Mississippi’s Initiative 48 would make Washington’s Initiative 502 look like a police state on cannabis. The authors of Washington’s Initiative 502, which legalized recreational cannabis in that state, where so strict that many cannabis users actually opposed it.
Mississippi’s Initiative 48
- Completely end cannabis prohibition for adults 21 and over
- This includes cannabis for industrial, medical, and recreational use
- Allow any adult over 21, regardless of past convictions, to legally sell cannabis for a $1,000 licensing fee
- Allow any adult to grow up to 9 plants
- Those with a license to sell can grow up to 500 plants
- Farmers can grow over 500 plants for a $1,000 licensing fee
- Cannabis sales will be taxed at a rate of 7%
- 100% of cannabis tax revenue must be used for education until at least 2020
- Cannabis related crimes can not be treated more harshly than alcohol related crimes
- Anyone convicted of a non-violent cannabis related crime in Mississippi will receive a pardon from the Governor
With cannabis, I feel there is a very specific and valid reason why people should have past convictions for personal use expunged. The severity of the crime varies wildly from state to state, county to county, city to city, and year to year. Let me use Columbus, Ohio as an example. In the 1990s, if the Columbus, Ohio police caught you with a small amount of cannabis, they simply threw it on the ground and stepped on it. There was not a penalty. There was no legal framework to issue a citation for it and if they arrested everyone they caught, the police department would have gone bankrupt. In the suburbs, the police departments commonly let it go as well. I even had a co-worker who was caught smoking cannabis at a public park in a suburb of Columbus and the officer simply ordered him to throw all he had in his campfire. Go one county over in any direction and your in a rural area with very little crime. Suddenly the police and courts have nothing to do. People caught with small amounts of cannabis were arrested, often did a few days in jail, paid a big fine, and were left with a misdemeanor on their record. The severity of the punishment was vastly different based on geographical location in the same state.
Ironically, now that Ohio passed a decrim bill, the penalty for cannabis in Columbus, Ohio is actually more severe now than it was in the 90s. Today you get a $150 civil citation instead of simply having your cannabis confiscated.
If Initiative 48 passes, I predict Mississippi will see an explosion in tourism, an explosion of new jobs, a real estate boom, and an explosion of new tax revenue. Mississippi currently has horrific gang problems, even in rural areas. Initiative 48 would strip a major source of revenue from criminal gangs. Cannabis users will no longer have to turn to criminal gangs, meaning they will not expose themselves to these violent elements. They will also not be exposing themselves to criminal gangs pushing hardcore narcotic. Ending cannabis prohibition will shut down this gateway.
On day soon, cannabis farms could be spreading like craft breweries in Mississippi. Hipsters will sit in trendy new restaurants with their signature smug looks talking about the new Purpleberry Super-Kush Supreme. All while eating food cooked in certified organic hemp seed oil.*edit*
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Initiative 48 could make Mississippi the first state to fully end Marijuana Prohibition | Conservative Renegade
Author: Renegade
Contact: Renegade | Conservative Renegade
Photo Credit: Nhat V. Meyer / McClatchy-Tribune
Website: Conservative Renegade
