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[tigron-x.livejournal.com]

Comments

[thebigbadbutch.livejournal.com]

I am not ok with the private prison system that gets money be having more prisoners and lobbies for strict sentencing laws to increase profits. I am not ok with the fact that the majority of drug users in America are white but because of racial profiling and racial bias in the justice system people of color are more likely to be searched, arrested, and sentenced to a longer term in jail. Those are two things I would like to change. Those changes would probably have a bigger effect on the person who plans to sell 1 gram of pot than the legalization of marijuana. Because the people who are more likely to go to jail for such a crime are poor people of color who would end up with an unreasonably long jail sentence for something equally silly if pot were legalized.

And, I don't oppose the legalization of pot. I just don't believe it to be an effective means of addressing those issues.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

"for something equally silly if pot were legalized."

I don't know about that. I find it hard to believe you can name me something sillier than 1 gram of pot mandating a minimum of three years in prison. I've got no examples in my mind that I think come close to that level of sillyness, if you could provide one.....

And I'm not surprised we agree it should be legal. I'm just surprised by how little it is discussed given it's obviously easy to reap economic benefits. Taxes up the wazoo not to mention not funding prison and inmates, though some should also go to an AA type thing; since lots of drugs are addictive in lots of ways. We still have legal alcohol despite the dangers.

that said, I agree that the prison system is systematically skewed towards fucking the poor and minorities. that also needs to be reformed; but just how much of the prison population is pot related you think? I don't have the stats, but it's not an insignificant chunk.

And I hope it goes without saying that it's not just pot, but the war on drugs that is what I'm against here. Pot is just the safest of the drugs that is ridiculously outlawed. It's not even medicinal for fucks sake; morphine is medicinal.

I think we might actually, on what's wrong, I'm confused by why you're not adamant about a perhaps small (although I think the economic boost would be significant), but simple and obvious, step to improve on the problem.

[thebigbadbutch.livejournal.com]

I don't vote for simple obvious steps because they allow people to feel as though they are addressing the bigger issues of racism and classism without actually addressing these issues. The legalization of pot is a perfect example of one of those simple steps that doesn't solve the actual issues at hand.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

I don't think legislation can solve the problem of racism or classism. Unfortunately, a lot of the problem there is inside the skull of people; legislation cannot change that.

The incarceration of people, both black and white, rich and poor, for something as stupid as pot possession is a travesty.
Now, is our system equally fair to the rich white as it is the poor minority? No, of course not; I'd not claim it was.

But I'm all ears butch, what big solutions you got, legislatively, for racism and classism?

[thebigbadbutch.livejournal.com]

I don't think I can cure all racism and all classism. As I said previously though eliminating the for-profit prison system and eliminating strict sentencing laws would be a decent start for having fewer people in prison. You said that you have a problem with "400,000 people are in jail for the non-violent possession of pot?" so this is a way to address the issue of there being too many non-violent offenders in jail.