Whites Smoke Pot, But Only Blacks Get Arrested

[jollygreen]

Yea, all we dont need is to try and make the MJ movement a "black and white" thing although I suppose that would be impossible considering our society has been and will continue to deal with the "race" card.

The white man, when cuffed up, quickly refers to his rights being violated while the black man, who will undoubtedly also claim his rights, gets the option of playing the race card, which may not be true but when ya get yer butt in a bind I suppose we all play any cards we can.

Black or white, if you get caught breaking the law and are a repeat offender, bad things are most likely sure to come. 4 ounces here, 4 ounces there and pretty soon ya got yer self a pound. Apparently, young Joshua needs to get a little smarter if he wants to stay in the weed game. On the other hand Dad needs to realize, black or white, "What ya got comin is directly related to what ya got goin" and pie charts cant be eaten while behind bars... MF
.

...wow...
...friend

 

[ecoins]

Lack of compassion....hum, one commits a crime over and over again and does not learn and commits again another crime on top of being on probation, this tells me black or white that THE PERSON needs a lesson in doing things correctly, so not to ruin it for everyone else that is doing it correctly until we fix the laws that need to be fix. But one cannot make their own laws and live in any country and only you have the right to do it your way and then busted it's now a black and white issue because the sentence was harsh?

Some forget he has not done this the one time only. Some forget he was also on probation. If one committed a perceived crime and is white, one might get 7 years and then be on probation and do the crime or another crime while on probation, that could get you 15 to 25 years then is it a black and white issue? One, I don't even know why the whole black and white has to be on this site anyhow. The sentence had to do with several crimes committed.

I would only say, if he got busted for one crime only of first offense, carrying 4.0 oz and got that sentence, then hell yes, it's not right. I think any MJ or MMJ crimes are not right, but we all have to fix that big problem and until then we have what we have in our dumb laws and have to do it that way till we pass new freedoms for MJ and MMJ. I say to all, don't ruin a good thing for the rest of us.

I can only say fellow posters that I am surprised at your lack of compassion.
As a Canadian I see the same treatment meted out to our minorities. Mainly the indigenous population in my province, but as you move around the country, different minorities are more or less represented.
Their supposed rights and freedoms are handled a lot differently than mine.
This problem is so much larger than just a bad law and retarded authority and by not seeing this you miss the forest for the trees.
As far as I'm concerned it could have been six tons this kid got busted for.It doesn't matter. It is still a massive waste of our tax dollars to prosecute and incarcerate the law abiding citizens of our nations just because they get high on cannabis.
And just a footnote, if that is the right term. I happen to know a white guy who got busted with many pounds and his sentence was probation.

 

[Jim Finnel]

If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.
- Thomas Jefferson

 

[ecoins]

Wow, guess one can also listen to our leaders and when they say jump off the cliff we do so? I guess that's left up to the religious sect. anyway, Thomas was no Saint in his dark moments in his life. He reminds me of another President or two...hum...the ones that got us to here...Nixon YA THINK.....and hum.....BUSH for wars for the elite.

Sentence was perfect on the very first offense. The kid then went out and did it again, thus got a harsher sentence. Then again while also on probation and here we are today saying it's black and white.

Well, black or white, there should be freedom for MJ and MMJ. Until then, abide by rules set in each state. If not, Move to Cali were we can grow it too. Don't get breaking a rule just because you think you are the only one that has that right. Until we make it legal on a National level.

If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.
- Thomas Jefferson

 

[Medifreddie]

If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.
- Thomas Jefferson

Whether a law is unjust or not, until We The People change it, the reality is, it's still the law and unfortunately, when you stand before the judge to answer charges, changing the law during your trial is most likely not going to happen. In the same moment, quoting Thomas J. may make you feel better, but I imagine even folks like Marc Emery and Ed Rosenthal will tell you, "That was then, this is now..."

As I see it, We The People are much to blame. We continue to fall for campaign slogans and political promises based on whatever will get the candidate elected, only to be disappointed when the newly elected quickly turns his or her back when faced with the reality of keeping a job. The MJ movement is no different in terms of the political hot potato than is wanting to drill for oil in the pristine Alaskan Wilderness. Until We The People hold accountable those in which we politically place our faiths to make our voices heard, the legalization of Marijuana is just another stick on the political agenda wood pile... MF

 

[Warbux]

Due to all the reply's, I'd say this thread made its point..

 

[falcore]

In the same moment, quoting Thomas J. may make you feel better, but I imagine even folks like Marc Emery and Ed Rosenthal will tell you, "That was then, this is now..."

i think these guys would agree with jefferson's quote not because jefferson said it but because of the truth within it. Also i believe mark and ed both took a course of action that led them to disobeying the law in order to change it. that its the action of a true democracy instead of pleading with the half head representatives, they are part of the vanguard of the MJ movement and so is that kid who was busted we all are as long as we feel the laws barring our access to mj are unjust and when we break them we can all be put into jeopardy because mj laws have criminalized our way of life so this kid mark, ed,and everybody on this site growing smoking and helping others to grow are brothers and sister in a war against oppression.

 

[Warbux]

Excellent points Falcore..I agree fully with you.

 

[kodiak60]

i admit you have to be smart to stay outta trouble when dealing with MJ especially in a non-medi state but there is and has been massive attacks on blacks in particular by the criminal justice system and im sure the south is more overtly aggressive.

In reality, the south is NOT more overtly aggressive. It just means that there is more predominantly larger minority (aka African-Americans) located in the region, with a much lower socio-economic base than in the rest of the country. I know, I live in the south!

I'm white, but even I had an encounter with LEO, in Sacramento, CA, no less, for possession for personal use, a misdemeanor. I was lucky, for a female, and ended up with 1 year probation, shocked to 6 months, due to complying with the drug education classes that were assigned as a condition of my probation. My boyfriend (also white) at the time ended up with four months incarceration in the county jail (minimum security camp) because he was convicted of cultivation with intent to distribute/sell, a felony, because he took the rap for the 70-80 plants we were growing on my property. We were lucky, because we had the resources to hire an excellent attorney who negotiated our pleas, and got us off with basically a slap on the hand. This was back in 1987.

So, for you to draw a conclusion that the south is more overtly aggressive towards drugs, you are showing your racist attitude, and that hurts even more, the divide between the north and south, blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, etc.

This Joshua Barnes had problems with other addictive substances. So, combined with the pot, being a Schedule I item, it was the habitual offender that got him into trouble, not the color of his skin. However, it is going to take education for the lawmakers, LEO, judges, et al, to get things to change... after all, why did God hardwire our brains to use cannabadiol receptors in our brains? MJ enhances our brains to use dopamine (a natural substance our brains produce for our emotions), whereas addictive substances (like booze, etc) interferes with that dopamine production.

We need more educational campaigning!

 

[falcore]

what i meant by my comment "more overtly aggressive" is not that they are more aggressive towards drug penalties but they don't hide racist tendencies they way they are hidden in a lot of white california households in my experience. so i was trying to say that those tendencies would also express themselves in the criminal justice system as well and would not be as much an issue to be unfairly harsh on someone who is black.

 

[Medifreddie]

i think these guys would agree with jefferson's quote not because jefferson said it but because of the truth within it. Also i believe mark and ed both took a course of action that led them to disobeying the law in order to change it. that its the action of a true democracy instead of pleading with the half head representatives, they are part of the vanguard of the MJ movement and so is that kid who was busted we all are as long as we feel the laws barring our access to mj are unjust and when we break them we can all be put into jeopardy because mj laws have criminalized our way of life so this kid mark, ed,and everybody on this site growing smoking and helping others to grow are brothers and sister in a war against oppression.

Falcore...Reading the below 420 Post, I would have to agree with you in regard to Marc as he is truly committed to the cause and will accept jail time just to prove "Our" point. Young Joshua and many others, however, are not in Ed & Marc's league and do not risk their freedom for the greater cause. They are just dealing. If MJ were to become legal would Joshua be a patriot or a small time dealer and could or would he appreciate the difference in the two? MF

Curtain Closes On Canadian 'Prince Of Pot'
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Walking along Hastings Street in Vancouver, arm in arm with his wife Jodie, Marc Emery (51) looked like anything but one of the US' most wanted drug dealers. But he is in fact number 46 on a list of 50 dangerous drugs criminals. His days as a free man are numbered: he is about to be extradited to the United States to be locked up.

The couple entered the building at No. 307, which they refer to as their "international headquarters". The building was decorated in green and filled with an entourage of followers. The headquarters features a store, an editorial room, a recording studio, political offices and a smoking cafe. Everything related to marijuana is sold here — except marijuana, being illegal. If you want to smoke a joint in the cafe, you have to bring your own. Not that it is hard to come by in Vancouver, a city nicknamed 'Vansterdam'.

Plea bargain
Emery, a tireless proponent of the liberal cannabis culture on the Canadian west coast, took a seat in the office of his Cannabis Culture magazine. He said he wants to make the best of his last days of freedom, before he begin serving his five year jail sentence for trafficking marijuana. After an extensive legal battle, he has struck a plea bargain with US prosecutors: a guilty plea in exchange for a lighter sentence. He is free on bail until the Canadian justice minister signs his extradition papers in January.
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It is a setback, Emery acknowledged. "But if I go to jail for five years, that doesn't undermine the huge accomplishments we were able to make", he added, pointing to the growth of millions of cannabis plants in Canada and the US from seeds he has sold. "It's worth the sacrifice. I expect to continue to campaign to legalise marijuana, even from jail."

Emery is going to prison for the sale of millions of cannabis seeds to American buyers. Between 1994 and 2005 he openly sold large quantities of seeds by mail order. He sold in packs of ten, for up to 100 US dollars, to customers all over North America and beyond. With the proceeds, he financed campaigns to legalise marijuana in various countries and US states. It earned him international fame, and the nickname 'Prince of Pot'.

Multimillion dollar business

Trade in cannabis seeds is illegal in Canada and the US, but the law in Canada is rarely enforced. At most, it is punished with a fine. Vancouver police turned a blind eye as Emery's operation grew into a multimillion dollar business. He paid taxes and courted publicity. By his own estimate, he has given away 4 million dollars in profits to political initiatives, including his own Marijuana Party.

"That was the only reason we were raising the money", Emery said. "I didn't keep any of it." His aim was to "overgrow the government," he explained. "We're trying to thwart the American drug war by having people grow lots of marijuana, and support different activities to try to make marijuana legal, by peaceful democratic means."

Emery was inspired to take this approach by the Dutch hemp pioneer Ben Dronkers. "In 1994, I went to the Cannabis Cup and I was on a panel with Ben Dronkers. He got up and said: 'we sold millions of seeds that produced tens of millions of plants all over the world.' I thought that was a brilliant plan. And even though seeds were legal in Holland, I thought it wouldn't be difficult to sell them in Canada. Even if I got charged, I would probably only get a fine."

Pressure from the Bush administration

The strategy worked. As ringleader of the cannabis industry in the Canadian province British Columbia (BC), Emery contributed to an explosive growth of weed cultivation on the west coast over the past 15 years. The sought-after marijuana from the area, known as 'BC Bud', is widely estimated to be the largest economic product of the region.

The rise of Vancouver as a weed Mecca was not appreciated by the anti-drug warriors of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). To their dismay, Emery could spread his seeds and ideas from his base less than 40 kilometres from the US border with impunity. In the words of Seattle-based DEA agent Rodney Benson: "Indoor grow operations that are popping up all over the United States traced right back to Marc Emery."

The DEA decided to intervene. Under pressure from the Bush administration, Emery was arrested in 2005 by Vancouver police on an extradition warrant. He was charged with marijuana trafficking and money laundering for his funding of political activities — acts that were tolerated in Canada, but that were punishable by 20 years to life in the US. The DEA hailed Emery's arrest as "a blow to the marijuana legalisation movement".

Progress for the cause in the US

Emery began a legal struggle against his extradition — an uphill battle, as Canada does not usually refuse US extradition requests. And the current Conservative government was not about to make an exception; it has a bill before parliament to impose tougher sentences on cannabis cultivation. Plans of the previous Liberal cabinet to decriminalise possession of small amounts of weed have been scrapped.

Emery rejects the U-turn in Canadian marijuana policy as the work of "our own Bush administration". Ironically, he now sees greater progress for the cause in US states such as California, where 'medical marijuana' is widely available. "California will supersede the reputation of British Columbia", he predicted. He chuckled. "I'll likely end up in a federal penitentiary in California, a jurisdiction where anybody can buy seeds anytime."

 

[nottinghamtop]

prohibition destroys all (in gods eyes we are all his children),the jailers and the jailed suffer.This has to stop ,because it destroys all . GOD created plants to help humans.

 

[falcore]

If MJ were to become legal would Joshua be a patriot or a small time dealer and could or would he appreciate the difference in the two?

you would have to ask joshua for a real answer to that. i believe he is participating in the mj revolution by simply by acquiring and distributing mj, he is not doing it the way i would, but i don't think he should be penalized for weed and i also don't think he should be further penalized for being black and i believe that he as well as other african americans are being penalized not just for the former but also for the latter. i say this based on what i have experienced in my own life and learned from other peoples lives.

 

[iloveX]

People who can not afford skilled defense lawyers go to jail. It has nothing to do with race. In approximately 1980 in the state of North Carolina a friend of my mom's who is white as my mom and I are went to prison for cultivating. You do not get a free pass on cultivation or any other crime just because you are white.