U.S. House of representative Barney Frank says we should decriminalize Marijuana. Do u agree?

Question

Ease Pot Restrictions, Lawmakers UrgeCNNposted: 1 HOUR 38 MINUTES AGOcomments: 1185PrintSharefiled under: Law News, National NewsText SizeAAA(July 30) - The U.S. should stop arresting responsible marijuana users, Rep. Barney Frank said Wednesday, announcing a proposal to end federal penalties for Americans carrying fewer than 100 grams, almost a quarter-pound, of the substance.

Current laws targeting marijuana users place undue burdens on law enforcement resources, punish ill Americans whose doctors have prescribed the substance and unfairly affect African-Americans, said Frank, flanked by legislators and representatives from advocacy groups.

"The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government's business," Frank said on Capitol Hill. "I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time."

The Massachusetts Democrat and his supporters emphasized that only the use -- and not the abuse -- of marijuana would be decriminalized if the resolution resulted in legislation.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says people charged with simple possession are rarely incarcerated. The agency and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy have long opposed marijuana legalization, for medical purposes or otherwise.

Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, according to the drug control office.

Answer 1

i do not see the harm of recreational use of marijuana.if it has high factor for abuse why does the doctors prescribe it for chemotherapy patients glacoma patients cancer patients? you don't hear a super high proportion of people who have smoked marijuana going on a crime spree. i just don't believe marijuana as a gateway drug.

Answer 2

Yup.

You aren't going to win the war on drugs with this one.

Surrender gracefully and stop wasting resources and messing up people's lives.

Answer 3

Absolutely agree for several reasons:

1) Laws against drugs are a violation of a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness

2) Criminalization of drugs increases prices and thus leads to violence

3) War on Drugs is costing taxpayers a fortune and has failed miserably by all accounts

What's even more amazing, is that we already KNOW as a country that criminalization doesn't work!  We already went thru prohibition of alcohol in the 1920's and it was an epic failure.

www.LP.org

Answer 4

No.

Answer 5

There is a difference between decriminalization and making a drug legal. Decriminalization of marijuana is a brilliant idea. While it doesn't condone or encourage use of the drug, it does free up some of our clogged justice system. I am for decreased sentencing for all non-violent drug offenders and court ordered rehab instead of jail time. It's just simple logic.

If the police wrote tickets for marijuana possession we tax payers could save the money we pay for putting far too many people in jail. According to medscape, there are more than 27,000 people in jail in the United States in which a marijuana charge is the most serious offense leading to conviction. 90% of them have no history of violent crime! The American people are paying an estimated 600 million dollars a year to keep these people in jail.

What Do I want my tax money to go for? Keeping pot smokers off the street is not a priority of mine! Especially when state and federal budgets aren't balanced and recession is upon us.