Federal Decriminalization of marijuana?

[Oscar Wilde]

http://blog.norml.org/2009/06/18/lawmak ... secutions/

Lawmakers Call For An End To Federal Marijuana Prosecutions
June 18th, 2009 By: Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director

June 18, 2009

Washington, DC: Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, along with co-sponsors Ron Paul (R-TX); Maurice Hinchey (D-NY); Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA); and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), will reintroduce legislation today to limit the federal government’s authority to arrest and prosecute minor marijuana offenders.norml_remember_prohibition_

The measure, entitled an “Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults,” would eliminate federal penalties for the personal possession of up to 100 grams (over three and one-half ounces) of cannabis and for the not-for-profit transfer of up to one ounce of pot – making the prosecutions of these offenses strictly a state matter.

Under federal law, defendants found guilty of possessing small amounts of cannabis for their own personal use face up to one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.

Passage of this act would provide state lawmakers the choice to maintain their current penalties for minor marijuana offenses or eliminate them completely. Lawmakers would also have the option to explore legal alternatives to tax and regulate the adult use and distribution of cannabis free from federal interference.

To date, thirteen states have enacted laws ‘decriminalizing’ the possession of marijuana by adults. Minor marijuana offenders face a citation and small fine in lieu of a criminal arrest or time in jail.

“The federal government has much more important business to attend to than targeting, arresting and prosecuting adults who use marijuana responsibly,” NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. “This is an issue that ought to be handled by the states, not the Feds.”

According to nationwide polls, three out of four voters believe that adults who possess marijuana should not face arrest or jail, and one out of two now say that cannabis should be regulated like alcohol.

The reintroduction of the Frank/Paul bill comes one week after the duo reintroduced HR 2835, The Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act of 2009 – which seeks to halt federal interference in states that have enacted medical marijuana laws – and just days after Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) called for federal legislation to sentence certain first-time marijuana offenders to 25 years in prison.

“The US Congress has a definite choice,” said St. Pierre. “They can choose the path of compassion, fiscal responsibility, and common sense by supporting Barney Frank’s and Ron Paul’s efforts, or they can continue down America’s failed drug war path by endorsing Rep. Kirk’s draconian legislation. It is abundantly clear which direction the voters wish to go; will their elected officials follow?”

Not full legalization, but a step in the right direction.
Of course, if this gets through, which I don't see as happening.
Of course, even if this does gets through, it still allows the states to be complete cunts about marijuana.
So yeah...

[KlavoHunter]

How would federal decriminalization affect businesses drug-testing their employees?

[General Zod]

Something like this happens every year. I'll applaud it when it gets out of committee and up for vote.

[Broomstick]

How would federal decriminalization affect businesses drug-testing their employees?

For some jobs drug testing is a matter of safety - truck drivers and pilots, for example, in which case testing could probably continue much as it is without hindrance. Even as a private pilot who flies as a hobby any alcohol violation - in a car or in public - is grounds for revoking my medical clearance to fly. The rules for professional pilots are, if anything, even more strict. I'm allowed to drink alcohol, but I better not get in trouble as a result of it. Nor is it just alcohol - many legitimate and legal pharmaceuticals, including over the counter remedies, are forbidden within a certain time span prior to flight. Again, this is a matter of safety, not prudishness.

For other jobs... it may change. A lot would depend on the state in which the person in question is working. After all, there are still local regions of the US where alcohol is forbidden, at least the selling of it is (see Utah, but also certain counties in Texas, Kentucky, and other states)

[KroLazuxy_87]

So many of the states currently have laws similar to the federal laws that it places offenders in a near double-jeopardy situation where after prosecuted to the fullest by the state, the feds can come in and convict you all over again.

I generally like anything that shifts power and responsibility back to the states, and this is one of those.

[sketerpot]

Something like this happens every year. I'll applaud it when it gets out of committee and up for vote.

The goal of this bill has never been to actually pass. The goal is to keep the issue on Congress' radar, and out in public for discussion. Public attitudes about marijuana are shifting toward legalization, and the purpose of bills like this is to slowly teach Congress that, because of the change in public attitudes, supporting a loosening of marijuana laws would not necessarily be political suicide.

[NoXion]

So many of the states currently have laws similar to the federal laws that it places offenders in a near double-jeopardy situation where after prosecuted to the fullest by the state, the feds can come in and convict you all over again.

You mean there aren't laws in place that prevent one from being charged and convicted twice for the same crime? If true, that's utter fucking madness.

[Broomstick]

So many of the states currently have laws similar to the federal laws that it places offenders in a near double-jeopardy situation where after prosecuted to the fullest by the state, the feds can come in and convict you all over again.

You mean there aren't laws in place that prevent one from being charged and convicted twice for the same crime? If true, that's utter fucking madness.

Actually, the prohibition on double jeopardy is in the constitution. However, that has not stopped people from using technicalities to try to get past it.

[Ziggy Stardust]

On a related note, in my home state of Rhode Island, the General Assembly overrode the governor's veto of a bill that establishes "compassion centers," which are essentially pot shops analagous to the ones California is famous for. Link

I have some friends at the Department of Health in Rhode Island, and they say this week they have been inundated with calls from people asking how they go about buying some.

[Pollux]

All of this talk of the legalization/decriminalization of marijuana has begun to make me wonder: what sort of impacts would such a move have on American culture, if any at all?