Vermont Considers Marijuana Decriminalization
Joe | Aug 12, 2010 | Comments 2
The idea of marijuana decriminalization is being bandied about in Vermont, getting support from some of the candidates for Governor of the state.
“We simply are penny wise and pound foolish to be using law enforcement dollars to be locking up criminals when they’re dealing with small amounts of marijuana,” said Peter Shumlin, a Democratic candidate for Vermont Governor. He spoke at a forum on Tuesday, advocating for decriminalization laws.
Although decriminalization can’t compare to legalization – for instance, you can’t tax a product unless it’s legal – it is a positive step nonetheless. Lowering the penalties for cannabis from a possible 6 months in jail to a $100 fine is a big deal. It’s a compromise step for a state that doesn’t want to discuss legalization yet, but is raising the white flag when it comes to locking people up for “small amounts of marijuana.”
Decriminalization is seen as a defeat by some pro-legalization activists. But I think any steps in the right direction are worth taking. We should support Vermont’s attempt at this small step.
Filed Under: Activism • Exclusive Web Content • Politics • The War On Drugs
I think the government should legalize weed in Vt mainly because i live there and it would lower the problems with the cops
Yep, the goverment could tax it, yep that would help the economy, but it wouldn’t decrease the issues with the police, because people would drive under the influence, there would have to be a punishment set up for that, driving while under the influence or dui’s would increase, money would have to be spent to house the criminals (jail) when we already have an over crowding issue…would they be released along with the non violent offenders? would they be considered violent offenders, because driving while high puts everyone at risk as well? Then the dealers would only lower their price, so it would still be sold by dealers..besides the fact that the gov isn’t going to allow you to buy the product in large quantities. It would probably be sold in packs, like a cig..
Pro-taxation
Con-going to cost a lot to incarcerate the people that WILL still manipulate the system.