Senate Committee to Debate Reevaluating War on Drugs
This Thursday, December 3, members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will debate Senate Bill 714, The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009. The time and location of the hearing are available here.
Senate Bill 714 will establish
a `National Criminal Justice Commission’ to “undertake a comprehensive
review of the criminal justice system … and make reform recommendations
for the President.” The lead sponsor of this measure, Democrat Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, has remarked that this review ought to include a “very careful examination of all aspects of drug policy. … I think everything should be on the table.”
It’s been many years since a federally appointed commission has
taken an objective look at American criminal justice policies, and it’s
been nearly 40 years since federal lawmakers have undertaken a critical
examination of U.S. marijuana policy. Please take time today to urge your United States senators to support Senate Bill 714. If your senators sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee,
then it is especially important that that they hear from you. For your
convenience, a pre-written letter will be e-mailed to your members of
Congress when you enter your contact information here.
After you have written your senators, please take a moment to write
or call Sen. Webb and thank him for raising this important issue. You
may contact him here.
Thank you for assisting NORML’s federal law reform efforts.
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The criminal justice system requires changes that extend far beyond marijuana 's criminal status, and I highly doubt they're going to address any of the more controversial issues. Take something as fundamental as the "criminal record," an institution which serves no other purpose than to indefinitely stigmatize so-called "criminals," severely limiting their life choices upon release from prison and making it far more likely that they will resort to criminal behaviour in order to produce a livelihood. The entire concept needs to be done away with. In fact, the majority of inmates shouldn't be in prison at all... incarceration is fundamentally unhelpful most of the time, generally just serving to disrupt lives, prevent the development of healthy social bonds, waste money and in general increase, rather than decrease, criminality.
There are some few people who it is necessary to sequester to prevent them from causing harm to others... but that's not at all what the current system either attempts to do or accomplishes. The retribution model is worse than worthless, but unfortunately it's emotionally salient enough as to make alternatives difficult.
With our present economical stress test the marijuana problem is really on the front lines now. Our justice system is bogged down with new marijuana cases,again and still,while our county jails are housing convicted and sentenced prisoners waiting for a bed to open up for them,or space on the floor,at the prisons .
The pot is boiling over and the mess is going to have to be cleaned up.
Cannabis prohibition is obviously unsustainable. It makes no sense to ban it. But the criminal justice system as a whole is completely misconceived and broken; ending the prohibition of cannabis is insufficient. The way in which deviant behaviour is conceived of and responded to as a whole needs to be completely rethought, and frankly I don't think that making improvements to the current system is the right way to go about it at all -- what we need is complete change .
And it goes without saying that when new laws are made, there should not be one against cannabis.
An interesting take:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Y1Mstavrc
Thank you Sen. Webb!
It's about time someone in politics saw the light.
Emails to senators and thank you too Webb. With our present financial situation,the AMA more or less admitting that marijuana is medicine ,this may very well remove some of the obstacles hindering the legalization of marijuana,something that should never have been illegal in the first place,and has allowed the growth of a multi-billion dollar bureaucracy that not only is charged with fighting marijuana,but has final word on any testing or study that will show the safety of or medical uses for marijuana,,,,what a concept.