Pubdate: Tue, 29 Apr 2014
Source: Daily Journal, The (IL)
Copyright: 2014 The Daily Journal Publishing Co., L.L.C.
Contact:  http://www.daily-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2805
Author: Dimitrios Kalantzis

DECRIMINALIZATION EFFORTS ARE SHAMEFUL

The Bradley village board voted this week to decriminalize the 
possession of small amounts of marijuana. The third Kankakee County 
municipality to do so, Bradley now has the option of fining offenders 
between $200 and $750 in lieu of arresting them.

That's the way we reported the news. You'd think that's 
straightforward enough but it drew criticism, in part, over our use 
of the word "decriminalization."

One top prosecutor even insisted Journal editors should look up its meaning.

First appearing in common usage in 1969, decriminalization means "to 
remove or reduce the criminal classification or status of; 
especially, to repeal a strict ban on while keeping under some form 
of regulation."

So, yes, pot is still illegal. And no, Bradley won't be opening up 
any cannabis cafes anytime soon. But in the common parlance of our 
times, the word has come to mean the act of reforming pot enforcement 
so that offenders aren't processed through the court system and 
saddled with a conviction.

Sixteen states have already decriminalized marijuana. Maryland just 
did it this month.

So enough of the semantics. Let's call decriminalization what it 
really is: a tax in sheep's clothing.

Believe it or not, states such as Illinois have long had tax stamps 
on pot. You actually can pay taxes on a substance still considered by 
the federal government to be as dangerous as heroin.

No one actually buys these stamps of course. So it makes sense that 
imposing a tax on pot is best accomplished with fines. Which makes 
laws that decriminalize pot possession pretty shameful.

The message these laws send only further confuses the real issue. 
Marijuana's popularity grows each year. An estimated 18.9 million 
Americans use it, and 48 million have tried it at some point during 
their lifetime.

Colorado and Washington state have legalized marijuana and efforts 
here to do the same have recently re-emerged.

But before that happens, and it's only a matter of time that it does, 
places such as Bradley, cloak money-grabbing taxes under the guise of 
law enforcement. And throw the entire legal system under the bus to 
justify them.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom