Rhode Island Possibly Next to Decriminalize
March 26th, 2009 by Rick
Following its sister states Massachusetts and Connecticut in the New England family, Rhode Island is introducing a bill that would decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, making it a civil violation punishable by fine rather than jail time.
The bill sponsored by Sen. Leo R. Blais, R-Coventry, would not make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana legal, but it would reduce penalty for such possession from up to a year of jail time to a civil violation with a maximum $100 fine and forfeiture of the marijuana. The laws concerning possession with intent to sell would not be changed. I guess this idea is better than the alternative where people get whisked away to jail. Still, losing your marijuana and having to pay a fine for it… harsh. That’s like paying for the bag of weed all over again and getting nothing out of it. What, do they hope that people will just give up smoking after being busted a few times? That just might work because people won’t be able to afford to pay the fines and then get another bag of weed, thanks to this wonderful economy.
This idea just won’t work or solve anything because the drug traffickers will still be putting their product into the streets. Going after the user is never the answer. Do they think that if they bust the user then the drug traffickers business will drop? No, ten more people will be right there willing to take their place. In fact, they’ll probably only catch 1 out of 10 people that possess pot. This approach doesn’t work for prostitution and it won’t work for marijuana.
The only way to stop the drug traffickers is to legalize it. If they legalize marijuana then the users would go to commercial retailers or grow their own. The drug traffickers would be out of business, having to go legit or be forced to drop out of the game. The violence associated with some drug traffickers would diminish and money would be made that would be going toward the state. If you’re fair about it, people will pay… if you’re greedy, then they will just take some space in their basement and start an indoor crop of their own and keep it on the black market.
Blais said he thought his bill had a 60-percent chance of passing this session. He attributed the lack of vocal opposition to last year’s passage of the medical marijuana law, saying it showed support for easing the penalties concerning a small amount of the drug.
Blais said:
We approved medical marijuana. That horse is already out of the barn and in the next field.
Yeehaw… let’s get the show on the road. It’s going to be like a game of Russian Roulette, people feeling more confident to possess weed when they know they’ll get a fine, instead of going to jail. It’s not the cure, but it’s a step in the right direction. Wow, think about how the show Cops will be, with all these states wanting to decriminalize marijuana.
New England Tokers Told to Wait Until 2009
December 5th, 2008 by Perry
Just because marijuana has been decriminalized by the Nov. 4 election, does not mean people should light up in the streets of Boston just yet.
The new law was recently approved by the Governor’s Council in its certification of November’s results. However due to a 1972 state supreme court ruling, all laws take effect 30 days from certification, not the ballot.
The delay will also help law enforcement figure out how to address and police the new law.
Timothy Cruz, Plymouth County District Attorney, said an important distinction should also be made with the new legislation — it does not legalize marijuana — but decriminalizes it.
There are two significant differences. The first is that legalization currently only applies to medicinal users and under decriminalization everyone is treated the same. In Massachusetts, that means a $100 fine for less than an ounce. The second big difference being legalization allows for a legal supply (although the statutory efficacy of legalization in that respect is a work in progress).
As Cruz points out in the article:
Decriminalization is not legalization. Where are people going to get their marijuana? Not Tedeschi’s, they’re going to a drug dealer.
Cruz also said street dealers will probably have to adapt to the new legislation as well. He said the $100 fee is likely to be passed down to consumers as “a cost of doing business.” The article reports that ounces of marijuana are selling for as much as $600.
