Rep. Barney Frank has introduced a bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul, to decriminalize the possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana and the not-for-profit transfer of up to 1 ounce. The bill, dubbed the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, marks the first time in decades that Congress has considered removing criminal penalties for marijuana.
Last month Frank issued a statement about marijuana legislation:
To those who say that the government should not be encouraging the smoking of marijuana, my response is that I completely agree. But it is a great mistake to divide all human activity into two categories: those that are criminally prohibited, and those that are encouraged. In a free society, there must be a very considerable zone of activity in which people are allowed to make their own choices as long as they are not impinging on the rights, freedom, or property of others. I believe it is important with regard to tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol, among other things, that we strictly regulate the age at which people may use these things and enforcement of the age restrictions should be firm. But criminalizing choices that adults make because we think they are unwise ones, when the choices involved have no negative effect on the rights of others, is not appropriate in a free society.Are politicians finally catching up with the public opinion on this issue? I think it's rather silly to put marijuana users in jail considering the fact that many leading politicians including Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, George Pataki, and Barack Obama have admitted using the drug. If any of those politicians think people should go to jail for smoking pot, well, then they should turn themselves in first.
You can use this handy online form to contact your member of Congress and ask him or her to support the personal use of marijuana.
2 comments:
did you celebrate by drinking any "water"? :P
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