Mass release Californian prisoners

EQUALITY=CODEWORD FOR MARXISM=SAO PAOLO ONLY WORSE

reply to post by tezzajw


Does that imply to all the marijuana dealers? The DEA shakeup over medical marijuana is making its rounds in the news. Just the other day the History Channel aired the history of marijuana in the United States. I'm guessing this is a bold move for California since they lead the way in legislation if that's what the intended release vows to.

reply to post by Moonsouljah


Dude, nobody finances California but Californians.

In point of fact, California probably supports your state.

Me, I sick of pushy New Yorkers who suck off the rest of the country without producing a single tangible product other than corporate thieves and banking crooks.

That said, California sends an excessive number of people to jail in order to keep the unemployment figures reasonably small. The money paid to incarcerate people is about 80% waste: absolutely nothing productive comes from it, and the public isn't any safer because the people they've locked up never threatened anyone in the first place. A lifestyle choice shouldn't be criminalized.

If, as a result of your lifestyle choice, you actively harm people, then prosecute them for the crime they've committed. For instance, deciding to be a banker shouldn't automatically land you in jail, but committing fraud by selling the same toxic assets to a dozen different people should.

The prison system is a multi-billion dollar business. From law enforcement to lawyers to prisons etc. The prisons have been overcrowded for a while and this "release" was inevitable. It is a temporary fix to a much bigger problem.

Also, there are a lot of misleading posts in this thread. In California, possessing less than an ounce of marijuana is a MISDEMEANOR (unless it is bagged up for sale). Your average pot head is NOT getting locked up in state penitentiaries. That being said, the legalization of pot would significantly reduce the load that the state prisons are facing while creating a much needed boost in revenue from taxes.

reply to post by kawz1


So your saying you get caught 3 separate occasions with 25 grams of pot on you, that your not gonna see a day in jail?

U know it is california right? 3 strikes


Oh and 1 gram of Hard is fed time

[edit on 10-2-2009 by unknown known]

reply to post by unknown known


I know all about 3 strikes. I said the "average pot head". What average pot head is going to be carrying 25 grams of weed on a regular basis? I would say that this person is NOT an average pot head. Most weed smokers pick up no more than an eighth to a quarter at a time = 3.5 to 7 grams. If you are regularly carrying around just under a zip, you are most likely slanging half of that so you can smoke for free. Which would move you from "average pot head" to "extremely minor distributor".

Look, I am on the same page as you with the faults of 3 strikes and the faults of the criminalization of marijuana. I simply think that it is misleading to state that there are tons of AVERAGE pot smokers locked up in the state penitentiaries because it is just not true.

reply to post by blueorder


Well my Neoconquistador friend, let us wait for the shaping. No man is perfect but i am surely fit to rip this asunder.

reply to post by kawz1


Oooh, let's bandy about some more stoner terminology brether! You are correct surely, I think the most I've ever picked up was an o and I got burned by a black dude, but I will not let it taint my perception of them, because as within, so without. I realize that their culture has been thoroughly raped and is in need of salve. Let us heal.

By the way, I quite enjoyed your second quote, have you formulated it yourself?

//||\\
\\||//

i am the smoldering boulder king
sing my praises after i have razed your wages
or would you rather i raised your wages?
ha! now who is the jester peasant?
i can feel your resentment.
you may as well let it fester

i became blessed after testing myself many times
many signs are yet to come
many rhymes upon my lung
stung the hornet or strung the coronet
i've formed my mask from a plaster catalyst

i am the prince of peace
i am the king of coup rage
i've seen a bullet tear across my iris
i shed a tear for the mere fact that i am a human blooming
the ultimate sentinel sees all eyes crying

ergo the seer slow
i took the boy that i used to be an burned him in the furnace
these are my earnest confessions to the rest of my brethren
i am a sickly sallow fellow who needs to be placated
i truncated my family and separated as aimless
famous vagrant unfolded his pages in several stages

train your thoughts to not be rotten
prune your fruit when the suit fits
my soot sits with the rest of my ashes
and i wear it as war paint when i feint the blatant traitor
this Bush is burning when he speaks to me
i seek you see i have a great thing contained within me believe you me

What some fail to realize is recreational drug users do not only stick to pot, but will also take things like valium, lortabs, xanex.. etc.. the problem here is if you get caught with a single pill that you do not have a prescription for, then you just found yourself facing felony offense possession. I forget what schedule narcotics offense those are, but I have a tainted record due to having 3 Lortab pills without a prescription.

This happened as a teenager, around 18 or 19 and still haunts me now at the age of 28. I still cannot "legally" own a firearm due to having three little pills.

If a person is selling quantities and things of that nature I understand the more severe penalties, but come on, a couple of pain pills ruining a person's record, or worse, putting a man in jail. Luckily it was my first offense and I got probation in leu of a jail sentence which would have been 2 years had I violated my probation.

Does the overcrowding have anything to do with the three strikes your out rule?

I do agree that there are many people in jail for absurb stuff.

Now I think that it should depend on the drug violation. Having a half a pound of pot? No.

But you are busted with several pounds of coke in the car, of course.

So I think the degree of drug violation should be considered.

Well, lets hope that Charles Manson, Charles 'Tex' Watson, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel aren't among those that get released next year when they start letting people out of California's Prison system.

Originally posted by Aaron_Justin
This happened as a teenager, around 18 or 19 and still haunts me now at the age of 28. I still cannot "legally" own a firearm due to having three little pills.

Yeah, that's a disgrace. It's completely over the top that you should have to suffer for having three pills in your past. I agree.

Similarly with coke dealers - if the stuff was LEGAL, then people could make/grow their own raw ingredients and bypass the dealers. Prices would fall and the cokeblowers could all dope up as much as they liked - which they do now anyway! No more coke dealers with kilograms of the stuff to peddle, as they wouldn't be the only source for the product.

Drugs are a health problem, not a legal problem. Put real criminals in prison, not people with health/medical problems.

reply to post by tezzajw


Completely agreed. S&F
Being on paper for a while now and going through everything I have and knowing friends that did time for small crimes I will have sadly concluded that the criminal justice system is run by criminals....

One factor not yet mentioned is the testing industry.Mary jane is testable far longer than chemical compounds with highly addicting pharmacological profile,such as the oft cited crack.Employing multitudes.Hence the use of an otherwise relatively harm reduced substance as a marker of deviant/non conformist behavior with a good long test-span.
This is a big part of any of these systems,as the arbiter of a subject's liberty or the slammer rests in the 'hands' of a stranger far.

If they release the non-violent and non-larceny offenders its a very good thing.

Originally posted by tezzajw

Originally posted by Aaron_Justin
This happened as a teenager, around 18 or 19 and still haunts me now at the age of 28. I still cannot "legally" own a firearm due to having three little pills.

Yeah, that's a disgrace. It's completely over the top that you should have to suffer for having three pills in your past. I agree.

Similarly with coke dealers - if the stuff was LEGAL, then people could make/grow their own raw ingredients and bypass the dealers. Prices would fall and the cokeblowers could all dope up as much as they liked - which they do now anyway! No more coke dealers with kilograms of the stuff to peddle, as they wouldn't be the only source for the product.

Drugs are a health problem, not a legal problem. Put real criminals in prison, not people with health/medical problems.

You honestly think people would, or would be allowed to make their own coc aine, if it were legal? Not only is it not the easiest thing to make, its manufacture is dangerous- almost akin to cooking up meth.

Alcohol is legal. Is making moonshine legal? If drugs were legal, only corporations would be allowed to manufacture them, so there would still be gangstas and dealers who would undercut the corporate-made drug prices.

Florida released a large number of inmates several years ago. I was employed with the Fla. Dept. Of Corrections during that time and over crowding was an issue, However the way it was done was unreal..

Basically if you were not incarcerated with a Sex crime or Murder charge you were eligiable for gain time..Some inmates would arrive with two years sentence and would be gone before you got to know who they were. lol.

One inmate had 8 years and was released after TWO MONTHS. Every inmate getting gain time were assigned a personal code and the gain time would be posted on the main bulletin board within the Prison. (Weekly) some were getting 80 to 100 days of gain time off of their sentence a week...

Originally posted by stevegmu
You honestly think people would, or would be allowed to make their own coc aine, if it were legal? Not only is it not the easiest thing to make, its manufacture is dangerous- almost akin to cooking up meth.

Of course people would make it! If it is legal, then they can buy everything that they need to get it and make it.

Alcohol is legal. Is making moonshine legal?

I know lots of people who brew their own beer at home. It tastes better and is much cheaper. Of course it is legal. Making moonshine shouldn't be illegal either. People know how to do it, so they should be allowed.

Here's my take on it:
Alcohol can be made if you know how. Most people don't know how or prefer to buy it premade for them. Which is why it can be sold commercially and taxed. It's not illegal to consume alcohol, which is a drug.

Hard drugs can be made if you know how. Most people don't know how or prefer to buy it premade for them. However, it's not sold commercially, or taxed, hence it being a 'crime'.

Tobacco (cigarettes) can be grown and made if you know how. Most people don't know how or prefer to buy it premade for them. Which is why it can be sold commercially and taxed. It's not illegal to consume tobacco, which is a drug.

Weed can be grown by ANYONE in their own yard. It takes no experience at all, just a patch of dirt and water. Even lazy people can grow it - no one needs to buy weed, they just need a few seeds to get them started. It's only a crime, because of all the drugs, it is the one that is most accessable to everyone, naturally. You can't tax something that grows in the backyards of the entire population.

That's why weed (marijuana) stands out as being different from all other drugs. They have to make it a crime, as they can't tax it. That's why jails have far too many people there for trafficking a god-damned weed! It's ridiculous.

All drugs should be legal. People who use them will burn out and die pretty damn quick. Population control, maybe? The odd toke won't kill, but shooting your veins full of garbage will kill your genetic lineage pretty quick. Health problems are not jail problems. Junkys won't live long enough to be a problem if they have access to cheap drugs and it's legal.

I'm not sure how cynical I am but I know that the current system is screwed. Jail is for serious crime, not for people who sell pills, plants and powders.

[edit on 10-2-2009 by tezzajw]

Originally posted by tezzajw
All drugs should be legal. People who use them will burn out and die pretty damn quick. Population control, maybe? The odd toke won't kill, but shooting your veins full of garbage will kill your genetic lineage pretty quick. Health problems are not jail problems. Junkys won't live long enough to be a problem if they have access to cheap drugs and it's legal.

I'm not sure how cynical I am but I know that the current system is screwed. Jail is for serious crime, not for people who sell pills, plants and powders.
[edit on 10-2-2009 by tezzajw]

Agree Completely Tezz, victimless crime is not a crime at all, you should be allowed to victimize yourself if you wish, that's your prerogative.

Of course there will be people who will say that it will increase violent crime, but in my experience, the types of people who do those things do them as a result of poor upbringing, whether they have access to drugs or not. Improve societal conditions and you reduce crime, simple as that.