CA Bill Would Make Marijuana Growing No Longer A Mandatory Felony
Joe | Feb 24, 2011 | Comments 3
While California’s Proposition 215 provides protections for those who grow cannabis for medicinal purposes, if you are a CA grower and not legal under 215, you currently face a mandatory felony and jail time. Everyone’s favorite assemblyman – Tom Ammiano – wants to change that.
The bill written by Mr. Ammiano (D) would give district attorneys a choice between charging an illegal grower with a felony or misdemeanor – a choice they don’t have now. District Attorney David Eyster of Mendocino County, CA backs the bill. As many of you know, Mendocino County is one of the top marijuana-producing areas in the United States.
It seems unnecessary and wasteful in this age of budget deficits and shrinking resources to make every person caught growing a pot plant go to jail. Thankfully there are politicians like Tom Ammiano who see this and are willing to do something about it.
Filed Under: Activism • Exclusive Web Content • Politics • The War On Drugs
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Although offering a “wobbler” would be beneficial to prosecutors, and inevitably divert a majority of the ~900/year felony cultivation convictions in California from state prison to county jail, neglecting other pot laws that desperately need reform is not the answer.
Currently with cultivation laws, PC Section 1000 allows for a deferred entry of judgment (in certain cases) for “personal use”, but that’s about all the legal system offers for non-medical uses. The disparity in punishment for possession vs. cultivation, as well as possession of 1 ounce vs. possession of 1.5 ounces (among many others) just shows that we need to re-think our approach to illegal activity that 46.2% of this state (in a conservative election) feel should be legal/regulated.
Marijuana is almost ready for legalization, at least in California, but we need a more broad yet effective incrementalist approach to ease the transition, as well as provide the current legal approach some guidelines on prioritization.
Perhaps something as simplistic as this bill: http://www.ca2012.com
Just two cents. Great article, thank you for bringing us Cali cannabis news!
~ Chad
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