Pubdate: Sun, 10 Jun 2012
Source: Buffalo News (NY)
Copyright: 2012 The Buffalo News
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/GXIzebQL
Website: http://www.buffalonews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/61

LOOSEN POT PENALTIES

Cuomo Is on the Right Track in Trying to Further Decriminalize Marijuana

New York State and the rest of the country have tried for a very long 
time to make marijuana go away. To say that it hasn't worked is to 
redefine understatement. Pot is, for all intents and purposes, 
mainstream. That may not be the most desirable turn of events, but 
it's a fact that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has decided to confront. It's 
the right move.

Acting cautiously, Cuomo has proposed to decriminalize possession of 
small amounts of marijuana  no more than 25 grams, or less than an 
ounce  in public view. Such an offense, under his proposal, would 
amount to a simple violation, the same level as a parking ticket, 
with a maximum fine of $100. Possessing that small amount of 
marijuana out of public view is already just a violation. Having the 
drug in public view now elevates the offense to a misdemeanor, which 
requires the person to be booked into the criminal justice system and 
could result in jail. Smoking pot in public would remain a 
misdemeanor and sale of marijuana would also continue as a more 
serious offense.

Cuomo's motivation for this proposal seems oddly unfocused. He is 
pitching it as a response to abuses of New York City's stop-and-frisk 
program, in which police officers can demand that people on the 
street empty their pockets. If that search produces marijuana, police 
can then charge the unlucky victim with have the drug "in public view."

Critics of the program say racial minorities are the main target of 
stop-and-frisk and that its repercussions follow them for years.

In truth, there are probably more direct ways to deal with 
stop-and-frisk abuses, including putting an end to the practice 
altogether. Regardless, it should be obvious at this point that 
criminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, in public 
view or otherwise, is in no one's interest  certainly not the 
possessor's, but also not those of the courts or the police or 
society. Too much time and too many resources are tied up in trying 
to discourage a practice that is plainly far beyond the law's ability 
to influence.

Indeed, both New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York 
City Police Department have endorsed Cuomo's proposal. Locally, Erie 
County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III praised Cuomo for his 
ideas on law enforcement issues, but not having seen the legislation, 
declined to comment.

To be sure, there are downsides to Cuomo's proposal. Some fear its 
reputation as a gateway drug to harder, more addictive substances. 
Perhaps, with penalties further relaxed, more people will drive under 
the influence of pot. Marijuana is not free of consequences.

But, like alcohol - and in many ways, less dangerously - marijuana 
has become mainstream. Evangelist Pat Robertson, who says he has 
never used the drug, backed legalization of marijuana earlier this 
year. Bill Clinton famously smoked marijuana, even if he didn't 
inhale (right). Clinton's 1992 acknowledgement unleashed a torrent of 
confessions by politicians of both parties, including former New York 
Gov. George E. Pataki, who admitted to mixing it with baked beans, of 
all things.

The list of well known-users is lengthy and includes names such as 
Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, and while that doesn't on its own 
justify further decriminalization, it does document both its 
ubiquitousness and its users' ability to pursue productive lives.

Whatever the downsides, on balance this is the right move. Pot's 
effects are not so predictably dangerous that we should be 
impoverishing those with small amounts of the drug and otherwise 
threatening their futures. Some people will abuse it, just as some 
abuse alcohol. We're already living with that. Let's admit it and get 
on with things.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom