Published: Monday, June 11, 2012, 4:14 PM Updated: Monday, June 11, 2012, 4:56 PM
Rhode Island's General Assembly approved legislation last week to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.Rhode Island's General Assembly passed a bill last week that brought it onestep away from being the 15th state in the United States to roll back criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana.
The legislation only needs the approval of Gov. Lincoln Chafee before Rhode Island joins neighbors Connecticut and Massachusetts in the increasingly popular movement, according to theHuffington Post. Last week in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposedcutting the penalty for public possession of small amounts of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a violation.
The legislation is part of a surge in policy regarding medical marijuana programs, pot dispensaries, decriminalization and even legalization of the drug. Seventeen states plus the District of Columbia currently authorize medical marijuana, a practice that began in California in 1996.
The Rhode Island bill would eliminate large fines and jail time for possession of an ounce or less of pot. Instead, adults would be subject to drug confiscation and $150 civil fine similar to those imposed on speeding drivers, the Taunton Daily Gazette reports. Minors caught with the drug would also have to complete drug awareness and community service programs. The incident would not appear on a person's criminal record.
Rep. John G. Edwards, sponsor of Rhode Island's House version of the bill, told the Taunton Daily Gazette its purpose is to "alleviate" the impact of "youthful indiscretions" on one's criminal record.
Governor Cuomo's office used similar reasoning for last week's proposal in New York. A statement said that the legislation would avoid unnecessary misdemeanor charges against thousands of New Yorkers -- "disproportionately black and Hispanic youth."
Some supporters, like Rep. John Savage of East Providence, want to go a step further and legalize marijuana. Savage told the Huffington Post that America's 50-year war on drugs has been "an abysmal failure" and said marijuana should be sold and taxed.
But opponents like Rep. John Carnevale, a Democrat from Providence, thinks the legislation will have a negative impact on the younger generation.
"What kind of message are we sending to our youth? We are more worried about soda – for health reasons – than we are about marijuana," Carnevale told the Huffington Post.
A poll conducted last month by Rasmussen showed that 56 percent of respondents now favor legalizing and regulating marijuana. A Gallup poll last year indicated that number was 50 percent, which was up 25 percent since the mid-'90s.
"The public understands that there are substances that are far more harmful – alcohol, tobacco – that we regulate. People are realizing just how much money is being wasted on prohibition," Robert Capecchi, legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project, told the Huffington Post.
But Robert DuPont, a national leader in drug abuse prevention under President Nixon and PresidentFord, believes that marijuana is a major "drug of abuse."
"Other drugs have serious consequences that are easy to recognize. Marijuana saps people's motivation, their direction," he told the Huffington Post. "It's a drug that makes people stupid and lazy. That's in a way more dangerous."
Colorado and Washington will hold referendums on legalizing marijuana in the fall. A ballot question on legalization failed in California in 2010.
Do you support decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana? Leave your comments below.
I was very pleased to find this web-site. I wanted to thanks for your time for this nice read!! It's really a great and useful piece of info.
ReplyDelete