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Well-Known Member
Feb. 16, 2008, 7:33PM
Campaign launched to discuss laws on marijuana
By NANCY BARTLEY
Seattle Times
SEATTLE Travel writer Rick Steves and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington have formed a partnership to tackle a topic they call the equivalent of the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s: the criminalization of marijuana.
Steves, the Edmonds, Wash.-based travel guru who five years ago acknowledged he uses marijuana while visiting Europe, says he's not "pro-marijuana," but in favor of discussing the laws that affect the 830,000 Americans who are arrested annually under marijuana laws. About 90 percent of the arrests are for possession.
Saying the laws disproportionately affect minorities and can impose severe consequences for possessing as little as 40 grams (roughly the equivalent of two packs of cigarettes), the state ACLU received funding from the national organization to create an informational program it hopes will air on television stations and the Internet.
Washington was considered a good place to launch a campaign to discuss marijuana laws because it's viewed as being on the cutting edge of drug legislation, the ACLU's Alison Chinn Holcomb said. A law allowing medical-marijuana use was approved by state voters in 1998, and in 2003 Seattle voters approved Initiative 75, which made the adult use of marijuana a low priority for law agencies.
Washington's medical-marijuana law and similar ones in 11 other states are not recognized by the federal government. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling said states cannot enact laws that supersede federal criminal laws in this case the Controlled Substances Act. So despite voter approval, even getting medical marijuana is legally risky, ACLU members say.
About $7.5 billion is spent annually for marijuana-law enforcement, according to the ACLU's research. The group contends that the arrests clog the courts and criminal-justice system, diverting resources from more serious crimes.
"Marijuana use should be treated primarily as a health issue, not a criminal one. In Europe I've seen how more thoughtful approaches to social issues can really work," Steves said.
Nationwide, 74 percent of marijuana users are white and 14 percent of the users are black, but blacks account for 30 percent of the marijuana arrests, the ACLU reported.
Campaign launched to discuss laws on marijuana
By NANCY BARTLEY
Seattle Times
SEATTLE Travel writer Rick Steves and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington have formed a partnership to tackle a topic they call the equivalent of the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s: the criminalization of marijuana.
Steves, the Edmonds, Wash.-based travel guru who five years ago acknowledged he uses marijuana while visiting Europe, says he's not "pro-marijuana," but in favor of discussing the laws that affect the 830,000 Americans who are arrested annually under marijuana laws. About 90 percent of the arrests are for possession.
Saying the laws disproportionately affect minorities and can impose severe consequences for possessing as little as 40 grams (roughly the equivalent of two packs of cigarettes), the state ACLU received funding from the national organization to create an informational program it hopes will air on television stations and the Internet.
Washington was considered a good place to launch a campaign to discuss marijuana laws because it's viewed as being on the cutting edge of drug legislation, the ACLU's Alison Chinn Holcomb said. A law allowing medical-marijuana use was approved by state voters in 1998, and in 2003 Seattle voters approved Initiative 75, which made the adult use of marijuana a low priority for law agencies.
Washington's medical-marijuana law and similar ones in 11 other states are not recognized by the federal government. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling said states cannot enact laws that supersede federal criminal laws in this case the Controlled Substances Act. So despite voter approval, even getting medical marijuana is legally risky, ACLU members say.
About $7.5 billion is spent annually for marijuana-law enforcement, according to the ACLU's research. The group contends that the arrests clog the courts and criminal-justice system, diverting resources from more serious crimes.
"Marijuana use should be treated primarily as a health issue, not a criminal one. In Europe I've seen how more thoughtful approaches to social issues can really work," Steves said.
Nationwide, 74 percent of marijuana users are white and 14 percent of the users are black, but blacks account for 30 percent of the marijuana arrests, the ACLU reported.
