Leftish

[NOTE* from Leftish: Funny, how Senator McConnell has NO PROBLEM with the legality of either Alcohol OR Cigarettes, which are KNOWN killers…both of those commodities are A-OK to be legal — just not marijuana.  Hmmm…I wonder why that is.]

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told a constituent in favor of legalizing marijuana that he doesn’t support the idea because drugs like pot lead to death.

In a Feb. 14 letter to his constituent, McConnell said he has “serious concerns” about legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, a topic that the constituent had written to him about. He pointed out that the main ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, is already available in pill form for the treatment of certain illnesses.

He is also “troubled” by the fact that many legalization proposals would make marijuana available to the public “without following the scientific processes” of the Food and Drug Administration, McConnell said.

McConnell then cites a medical marijuana bill introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and raises concerns about what could happen if it became law — death.

“Because of the harm that substances like marijuana and other narcotics pose to our society, I have concerns about this legislation. The detrimental effects of drugs have been well documented: short-term memory loss, loss of core motor functions, heightened risk of lung disease, and even death,” McConnell wrote.

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Hartford - Possession of small amount of marijuana is no longer a crime in Connecticut, but now a minor offense punishable by fine. This concludes the two-year old fight for decriminalizing marijuana in the state.

In January 2009, NORML announced that a bill asking for reclassification of the possession of marijuana in small amounts, from ‘misdemeanor’ to ‘infraction’, had been presented to Connecticut’s Joint Committee on Judiciary. Known as Senate Bill 349, this request to amend the state law regarding marijuana’s possession such that adults caught in possession of up to one ounce of marijuana would have to face a small fine instead of criminal charges that, if proven, could result in up to one year of imprisonment beside a thousand dollars in fine. The Connecticut State Nurses Association, by then, had already started gathering public support for a new law that would allow patients access to safe amounts of marijuana for therapeutic purposes.

This week, readers on Gawker saw the “Good News” caption under the photo showing a man reaping a cannabis plant. The news brief wrote about Connecticut becoming the 13th American state to decriminalize marijuana as the new legislation was passed in the House of Representatives. The new law specifies that possessing half-an-ounce, or less, of marijuana (pot) for the first time will cost a monetary fine of $150—the amount of fine increasing with subsequent instances of the substance’s possession. For under-age offenders (less than 21 years of age), suspension of their driver’s license for two months also applies under the new law.
The Business Insider adds details of the new legislation of marijuana’s possession in Connecticut by which repeat offenders can get fined a maximum of $500 per offense. According to an estimate by the state’s Office of Fiscal Analysis, the new law will save the state around a million dollars as well as attract at least $600,000 in fines.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/307842#ixzz1P5yof1uT

[NOTE* from Leftish: Always the profitability angle.]

On March 22, 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana (sic) and Drug Abuse — chaired by former Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond P. Shafer — recommended Congress amend federal law so that the use and possession of pot would no longer be a criminal offense. State legislatures, the commission added, should do likewise.

“[T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use,” concluded the commission, which included several conservative appointees of then-President Richard Nixon. “It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior, which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only with the greatest reluctance. “

… Therefore, the commission recommends … [that the] possession of marihuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense.”

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