RE: Un-necessary consequences for Marijuana By Anthony Johnson July 24, 2014
When alcohol prohibition ended in the US, do you think the smugglers and bootleggers suddenly started smuggling even more to sell to the public? The answer is; they were put out of business. Alcohol became regulated, taxed and became cheaper to manufacture legally. It also became cheaper to purchase legally. Simple economics. End Prohibition, End the business of drug dealers. I would like to address another point you make. I state that I wish to end Marijuana Prohibition to disallow judges from looking at my child in baggy pants and giving him the maximum sentence when he gets arrested for Marijuana possession. Yes, speaking from emotion with regard to this. However, this doesn’t make it any less factual. I believe you are speaking from pure ideology and have no personal stake in this, but I won’t say your opinion is any less valid. Mr. Seibert, I know you are aware that the law allows a judge to give a minimum (probation) and maximum (Jail) sentence for any given crime. Perhaps you are not aware that an extremely disproportionate number of ethnic, Native American and African Americans are sent to jail and given the maximum sentence while Caucasians are given the minimum of probation, if that. Our Jails are over-run with African Americans, Native and Spanish citizens incarcerated for Marijuana. It’s not because more ethnic people smoke Marijuana either. Just as many white college students smoke pot, simply put, more brown people go to jail over it. My children are Alaskan Native. This is why I speak with emotion and facts. When one of my two children experiment with Marijuana as statics predict. They will go in front of the judge where he is three times more likely to send my child to jail because he is Alaskan Native. When viewed from this mechanism, Marijuana Prohibition acts as a tool of racism and oppression. It takes away our freedom as Americans, and is no more effective as Alcohol Prohibition was in this country. You suggest that we should be good parents and somehow govern every aspect of our children’s lives. Clearly you are not a parent. I’m a great parent, but still I won’t delude myself into thinking that I can truly stop both my children from trying Marijuana, Alcohol or even cigarettes. Mr. Seibert, I believe this conversation is digressing into conspiracy theory. The primary point I wish to make regarding Alaska Legalization, is that our children are losing their future over un-necessary penalties for pot. I would bet every person reading this knows one such person. If this Initiative passes, when a child gets caught smoking weed, they would get community service and a minor consuming, not a drug charge that will stick with them forever. One out of every two children will try pot at least once, my vote will be to not ruin their future forever. I vote to put drug dealers out of business. I vote to lessen our taxes spent on this over-burdened prison system. I vote to stop sending more Natives, Africans and Spanish people to jail than Caucasians just for pot. Fellow Alaskans, we have a chance to change this law and ensure our children have every opportunity they can. I urge you all to vote and pass this initiative for our children’s sake. Anthony M. Johnson Statistal Sources: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/persons-arrested/persons-arrested About: Lifelong Ketchikan resident, great parent and raising two children on this fine little island. Wishing to hear from other supporters despite this being a small island. Received July 14, 2014 - Published July 24, 2014 Related Viewpoint:
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