In 2006 the Bush administration pressured Mexican President Vicente Fox into withdrawing his support from a bill that would have decriminalized drug possession. So far the Obama administration, which is headed by a man who once expressed sympathy for decriminalizing marijuana, has not objected to a similar bill that the Mexican legislature quietly passed this year. Fox’s successor, Felipe Calderon, is expected to sign it.
Under the bill, people caught with small amounts of illegal drugs intended for “personal and immediate use”—up to five grams of marijuana, 500 milligrams of cocaine, 40 milligrams of methamphetamine, or 50 milligrams of heroin—will not be prosecuted. Instead they will be encouraged, but not required, to enter a treatment program.
Across the border, meanwhile, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act, which would eliminate federal criminalpenalties for the possession of up to three and a half ounces of marijuana or the nonprofit transfer of up to an ounce. Frank’s possession limit is 20 times as generous as the marijuana maximum set by the Mexican legislature, although the practical impact of his bill is unclear, since such small-time cases typically are handled under state law.
A growing share of the American public supports liberalizing marijuana laws. For years surveys by CNN and other news organizations have found that most Americans agree pot smokers should not go to jail. In polls taken this year by Zogby, CBS News, and Rasmussen Reports, at least 40 percent of respondents went further, saying marijuana should be legalized.
Even the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, in its latest World Drug Report, says people should not be incarcerated for simple possession of drugs. The report comes close to endorsing the “creative approach” taken by Portugal, where possession for personal use triggers administrative penalties instead of criminal prosecution.
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J|10.7.09 @ 10:18AM|#
Think this would be a great idea, maybe not the ounce + deal, but the fact that it would help to stop the over-crowding of the jail system and burden on tax payer dollars.
abercrombie milano|5.27.10 @ 7:35AM|#
My only point is that if you take the Bible straight, as I'm sure many of Reasons readers do, you will see a lot of the Old Testament stuff as absolutely insane. Even some cursory knowledge of Hebrew and doing some mathematics and logic will tell you that you really won't get the full deal by just doing regular skill english reading for those books. In other words, there's more to the books of the Bible than most will ever grasp. I'm not concerned that Mr. Crumb will go to hell or anything crazy like that! It's just that he, like many types of religionists, seems to take it literally, take it straight...the Bible's books were not written by straight laced divinity students in 3 piece suits who white wash religious beliefs as if God made them with clothes on...the Bible's books were written by people with very different mindsets
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