| Author | Message | ||
     Lseltzer |
See http://www.injersey.com/news/app/story/0,2110,364945,00.html. Marijuana farmer gets 50 years despite judge's misgivings Published in the Asbury Park Press 3/09/01 By ELAINE SILVESTRINI FREEHOLD BUREAU FREEHOLD -- Saying this was a case in which the state's mandatory sentencing laws required a penalty that is "simply too severe," a Superior Court judge nonetheless yesterday sent a convicted marijuana grower to state prison for up to 50 years. | ||
| Mem |
Unbelievable. And it's legal to have guns. | ||
| Deadwhitemale |
It's legal to have guns, only if you have a valid license. Otherwise it is illegal. It is illegal to grow marijuana, a marijuana farmer? Nineteen pounds. Substantial juvenile record, prior felony conviction for pot. Seems he smoked too much, and had clouded judgement, or he gambled and lost. So, obey the law. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Pure justice doesn't exist, so you takes your chances, no? Oh yes, the prosecutor asked for enhanced punishment, and the sentence will be appealed. DWM | ||
| Eb1154 |
I can't believe what I'm reading. We complain about crime and then we complain when we sentence the criminals. DWM hit it right on the head..."don't do the crime if you can't do the time." I know you think his crime wasn't severe enough for that kind of sentence but let's look at the food chain of drugs. First you have someone who grows or manufactures the drugs (without him there are no drugs or drug problems) second someone who sells these drugs (to our children)third you have those who use drugs and commit so many different kinds of crimes or causes an "accident" that effects someone else's life forever. The origin of the problems start with the growers therfore he should be punished the severest. Maybe this kind of sentence will make another grower think twice and if it doesn't atleast this one grower won't be effecting our society anymore!! Sorry, no sympathy from me on this one. | ||
| Tom |
Don't be such a puritan. It's just pot. Those "who use drugs and commit so many different kinds of crimes" will be prosecuted themselves for those selfsame crimes. Anyway, pot smokers aren't exactly a high-risk crime group. Second, "causes an accident" could just as easily refer to the idiot in a big SUV talking on his cell phone -- more easily, actually. 50 years is way out of proportion to any reasonable level of harm which wouldn't be prosecuted and punished on its own merits. Next we'll be sentencing twelve-year-old kids to life sentences. Oops, we already are! | ||
| Alidah |
In a perfect world pot smokers wouldn't be high risk crime group, but smoking pot is very often the first step to harder drugs. The problem doesn't start with the grower however. They're just supplying the dealers. And the dealers are satisfying demand. Chicken and the egg. Who has seen "Traffic"? That was a great description of the morass we're in. Another upsetting thing is that kids can't get into this movie on their own. What a shame. A great opportunity to let kids know that their drug use leads to exploitation and death to satisfy others' greed--and that they are expendable because there will always be another customer. | ||
| Melidere |
The Myth of Marijuana's Gateway Effect | ||
| Tom |
Is there any reason to believe that this farmer up in Freehold with 19 lbs. of pot was exploiting anyone, or indulging in "greed"? And have you personally known anyone who died due to marijuana use? "Traffic" is about cocaine, not pot! | ||
| Eb1154 |
19lbs seems like quite a bit of pot for just one man, so I guess he was in it for profit. No I haven't heard of anyone dying from smoking pot but I have heard of accidents caused by someone who had been smoking pot. As far as those who commit the crimes will be punished... this is also true but why should I/we have to wait to be violated before they are locked up, hence lock up the growers and my chances of being violated just went down considerably! Never tried pot or any other drug and I'm too young to remeber teh 60's so I don't know what the big deal with pot is. | ||
| Ashear |
If you are worried about real, serious harmful drugs how about we start locking up some bankers. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010302/pl/money_laundering_4.html Nah, we will just stick to pot farmers and low level dealers. | ||
| Tom |
EB, please don't buy into the "reefer madness" hype. Pot is no more likely than alcohol to lead to an accident, and perhaps less so. The only significant difference is that the purveyors of alcohol have better lobbyists. I'm also not sure we want to go down the road of preventative imprisonment for hypothetical crimes. It has a bit of an Orwellian flavor to it, don't you think? | ||
| Eb1154 |
Ashear, Lock them all up!! Tom, I don't want to sound like a snob or a goody to shoes(if you knew me you would know that I am far from either) but if we just let the "pot growers" go on with a slap on the wrist where does it stop. Why not let the cocaine manufacturers do their thing, and the crack dealers and so on? You don't think pot is that bad and someone else doesn't think cocaine is that bad so do we just legalize all controlled drugs? When do we say enough is enough? Does it take my kid or your kid to get killed? HOw do you control the amount taked by an individual? I'm no expert but I believe most controlled drugs are more addctive than alcohol so what do we do when someone gets hooked and starts committing crimes to support their habbit? I haven't read much about an alcoholic committing crimes to support their habbit yet it's quite the opposite with people on drugs. | ||
| Bix |
EB, It's a well-known fact that excessive marijuana causes normally rational, responsible adult males to start typing MARCO!!!!! POLO!!!!! with their pool buddies. B|X | ||
| Cfa |
LOL | ||
| Ffof |
Eb- Alcoholics don't commit crimes to support their habits because it is LEGAL to buy the stuff! They(drinkers) do however cause many automobile deaths per year. Any statistics out there regarding pot smokers and automobile accidents? I'd venture to say it's next to nil in comparison. | ||
| Melidere |
i read about a study done, once, in the netherlands, where they had the subjects smoke pot and then drive. The biggest difference between pot and alcohol, is that the first thing to go with alcohol is your ability to assess your own condition. People tend to drive a lot more recklessly with alcohol. The study concluded that pot smokers were actually pretty safe drivers as long as you didn't put them on highways where they had to go more than five miles an hour. and it would be prudent to feed them before you put them on the road...or they make these really dangerous screeching stops at mcdonald's.  | ||
| Tom |
That reminds me of the old joke about two stoners out on a highway at night. The flashing lights of a police car appeared in their rearview mirror, and soon they were pulled over talking to the traffic cop. He asked them, "do you have any IDEA how fast you were going?" They stammered and stumbled and said, "uh, no sir, we don't." He replied, "five miles an hour." | ||
| Musicme |
Remember how much we need to spend to fight the drug wars. Remember we're fighting the drug wars because they kill so many people right here at home. How many of your friends or relatives have died from cancer from Tobacco? From Liver disease from booze. Now compare that to the radically large number that have died of Pot, Coke of Heroin. Certainly, the citizens have to obey the law and should be treated fairly under that same law. Untill the law changes... A mandatory sentance for selling Pot? Yikes... |
