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Marijuana bill fails in House
A bill proposed by Del. David Englin, D-Alexandria, requesting Gov. Bob McDonnell to petition the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to allow the use of marijuana for legitimate medical reasons failed in the House Rules Committee Tuesday evening.
"Legalizing marijuana is probably not supported by 99 percent of the people here," said Del. Dave Albo, R-Springfield, who did not vote on the resolution. "Del. Englin is a self-described ultra-liberal, and that's the kind of stuff he believes in."
Englin's proposal cited studies showing "cannabis offers numerous health benefits for those suffering from multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, asthma, human immunodeficiency virus and other health disorders."
Englin has a second marijuana bill awaiting review in the House Rules Committee, which calls for a study of the potential sale of marijuana at more than 330 Alcoholic Beverage Control stores in Virginia as a means of generating revenue.
Legislators such as Albo, however, seem unlikely to support Englin's proposal.
"Selling [marijuana] at ABC stores is just a wacky idea," Albo said.
Albo said he would support a bill allowing someone to expunge his record years after a first offense of marijuana possession.
"There are some things you can do to keep people from having a permanent criminal record for smoking a joint," he said.
-compiled by Charlie Tyson
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Malcolm Kyle
(02/03/12 4:20pm)Report
What makes your clock tick?
http://www.drugsense.org/cms/wodclock
* In 2010, 52.1% of the 1,638,846 total arrests for prohibition violations were for marijuana -- making a calculated total of 853,839.
* Of those, an estimated 750,591 people (45.8%) were arrested for marijuana possession alone.
* By contrast, in 2000, a total of 734,497 Americans were arrested for marijuana "violations", of which 646,042 (40.9%) were for possession alone.
* From 1996-2010, there were 10.1 million arrests for marijuana possession and 1.4 million arrests for the sales and distribution of marijuana, equaling a total of 11.5 million marijuana arrests during that fifteen year time frame.
* Marijuana "violation" arrests were 39.9% of total prohibition arrests in 1995 increasing to 52.1% of such arrests in 2010.
* During this same period, arrests for marijuana sales and distribution fluctuated between 5-6% of total prohibition arrests, while those for simple possession increased from 34.1% in 1995 to 45.8% in 2010.
* Arrests for marijuana possession have risen from about a third to about a half of all prohibition violation arrests over the fifteen year 1995-2010 period.
Francis
(02/03/12 7:26pm)Report
“Legalizing marijuana is probably not supported by 99 percent of the people here,” said Del. Dave Albo, R-Springfield, who did not vote on the resolution. “Del. Englin is a self-described ultra-liberal, and that’s the kind of stuff he believes in.”
According to the most recent Gallup poll, 50% of Americans now support relegalization of cannabis, compared to 46% opposed. And support for reform continues to grow FAST. And the fact is that there's nothing "conservative" about cannabis prohibition. Conservatives are supposed to believe in principles like limited government, individual liberty, respect for the 10th Amendment, opposition to the nanny-state, and ending hugely-expensive government programs with a proven track record of failure. It's pretty hard to square any of those with support for the war on (some) drugs. It's painfully clear that most "conservative" opposition to drug policy reform stems from the misguided belief that this is a "liberal" issue (and should therefore be reflexively opposed). It's not. The war on (some) drugs has been a bipartisan disaster. There's also (as the article notes) an extremely tired "culture war" aspect to conservative opposition. "But only 'hippies' and leftists like pot." Um... no, that's simply not true. And even if cannabis (or any other drug) is disproportionately enjoyed by "liberals," THAT'S NOT A PRINCIPLED REASON FOR CRIMINALIZING IT! Opponents of reform like to say that "marijuana isn't harmless." Of course, very few things in this world are. But that's not the question. The question is not even whether the benefits of cannabis outweigh its risks. The question is who decides in a free society: adult citizens for themselves or politicians for all of us? The question is should we continue to spend billions we don't have on an unwinnable and increasingly unpopular war, a war that only empowers and enriches organized crime, fuels gang violence, promotes official corruption, undermines respect for the law, turns millions of ordinary Americans into "criminals," and poisons police / community relations? The question is should we be sending men with guns to arrest our fellow citizens and lock them in cages for the "crime" of possessing a plant (or engaging in consensual exchanges for its sale)? This madness can't end soon enough.
Liberty
(02/04/12 2:05am)Report
Well stated Francis.
Mike Parent
(02/04/12 5:06am)Report
99%? Really. Spoken like a bought and paid for politician. Prohibition for profit.\nIf you want to get really annoyed, watch Larry O'Donnell take politcians to the wood shed.\nDems and Reps, different pages from the same bad book!\nLEAP member, NYPD, ret.
Richard P Steeb
(02/06/12 12:54am)Report
The prohibition of Earth's most widely beneficial plant species is a crime against humanity. Of course it would impact Virginia's tobacco market, so it's use, even MEDICINAL, isn't approved by neanderthals like Albo.
To keep Cannabis illegal while tobacco and alcohol are dispensed freely would be *MURDEROUSLY STUPID*.
Otohara
(02/26/12 10:55am)Report
Come to Colorado - Virginian's - Your Governor, and creepy GOP State Law Makers are more concerned with vaginas and tobacco. Or better yet, get rid of them.