PFlynn
New Member
Colorado - In 2006, 738,915 Americans were arrested for simple marijuana possession - no dealing, no associated crimes of property or violence -according to FBI statistics. In the decade prior to that year, some 6.5 million Americans were arrested for marijuana violations, 85 percent to 90 percent of them for simple possession.
That law-enforcement fixation on pot has led the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws to proclaim that the expensive, long-running and continually failing "war on drugs" is more a war on weed than more dangerous drugs.
"These numbers belie the myth that police do not target and arrest minor marijuana offenders," said NORML's Executive Director Keith Stroup in response to similar stats from 2002. "This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that should be dedicated toward combating serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."
Stroup is right. Marijuana enforcement is clogging prisons with people for using a drug that is demonstrably safer than alcohol. That's not to say pot addiction isn't a problem and doesn't sometimes carry with it consequences for the user, from lung disease to lassitude. Marijuana should be decriminalized.
But we still think the revelers at this Sunday's annual "4/20" smoke-in on the University of Colorado campus will be participating in what is mostly a juvenile stunt. At such counterculture gatherings, held across the nation each April 20, participants get stoned in numbers sufficiently large that sensible law-enforcement agencies, such as those in Boulder, mostly let them have their fun.
Contrary to a persistent myth, 4/20 does not refer to a police code for marijuana use. The moniker seems to have originated in the early '70s, from the time when a group of San Rafael, Calif., high school students met to spark up.
Sunday's gathering on Farrand Field will be the centerpiece, and "organizers" say they expect up to 10,000 puffing participants -- more than three times as many as last year, because it's taking place on a weekend day.
The campus chapter of NORML is also offering a program of educational and politically more meaningful events, from a film showing to speakers who will address the legalization issue.
Sadly, the risk-free rebellion of lighting up will get most of the media attention.
One CU police officer has pointed out that "breaking the law ... to change the law is not how our democratic society works."
He's right. But he misunderstands the intention of 4/20. Yes, the law needs changing. And NORML's program for the day is one small effort to change the law through legitimate means.
Uh, officer? Of the thousands who will gather on Farrand Field, few will be interested in democracy or changing laws. They'll just be there to thumb their noses at "the man" while getting baked, dude.
Source: Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
Copyright: 2008 The Daily Camera
Contact: openforum@dailycamera.com
Website: Daily Camera.com : Boulder, Colorado, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information
That law-enforcement fixation on pot has led the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws to proclaim that the expensive, long-running and continually failing "war on drugs" is more a war on weed than more dangerous drugs.
"These numbers belie the myth that police do not target and arrest minor marijuana offenders," said NORML's Executive Director Keith Stroup in response to similar stats from 2002. "This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that should be dedicated toward combating serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."
Stroup is right. Marijuana enforcement is clogging prisons with people for using a drug that is demonstrably safer than alcohol. That's not to say pot addiction isn't a problem and doesn't sometimes carry with it consequences for the user, from lung disease to lassitude. Marijuana should be decriminalized.
But we still think the revelers at this Sunday's annual "4/20" smoke-in on the University of Colorado campus will be participating in what is mostly a juvenile stunt. At such counterculture gatherings, held across the nation each April 20, participants get stoned in numbers sufficiently large that sensible law-enforcement agencies, such as those in Boulder, mostly let them have their fun.
Contrary to a persistent myth, 4/20 does not refer to a police code for marijuana use. The moniker seems to have originated in the early '70s, from the time when a group of San Rafael, Calif., high school students met to spark up.
Sunday's gathering on Farrand Field will be the centerpiece, and "organizers" say they expect up to 10,000 puffing participants -- more than three times as many as last year, because it's taking place on a weekend day.
The campus chapter of NORML is also offering a program of educational and politically more meaningful events, from a film showing to speakers who will address the legalization issue.
Sadly, the risk-free rebellion of lighting up will get most of the media attention.
One CU police officer has pointed out that "breaking the law ... to change the law is not how our democratic society works."
He's right. But he misunderstands the intention of 4/20. Yes, the law needs changing. And NORML's program for the day is one small effort to change the law through legitimate means.
Uh, officer? Of the thousands who will gather on Farrand Field, few will be interested in democracy or changing laws. They'll just be there to thumb their noses at "the man" while getting baked, dude.
Source: Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
Copyright: 2008 The Daily Camera
Contact: openforum@dailycamera.com
Website: Daily Camera.com : Boulder, Colorado, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information
