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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
NJ dopers' hope up in smoke?

New Jersey marijuana-industry boosters who thought Gov. Corzine might legalize the disorienting herb now face a less drug-friendly successor, ex-prosecutor turned Gov.-elect Chris Christie. But the pot lobby is pushing one more bill:

 

"On Monday, November 23, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider Senate Bill 1866, which would give judges the discretion to waive mandatory minimum sentences for some nonviolent drug offenses," write pot advocates Roseanne Scotti and Tony Newman of the Drug Policy Institute in a public appeal. Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, is backing the bill. A House version already passed.

 

The pot lobby says laws imprisoning users and neighborhood dealers "have been a spectacular failure.  They have done nothing to decrease drug activity and have filled New Jersey’s prisons with nonviolent drug offenders at great cost to New Jersey taxpayers." They cite the cost -  $46,000/offender/year - of putting the local pot distributor away. And they cite the anti-urban bias of the 1,000-foot Drug-Free School Zone, since in cities, schools are everywhere.

That's an appealing financial argument for tax-averse New Jerseyans. But the free-the-dealers crowd is less successful when it tries to grab the moral high ground: "Lives often spiral downward after prison," they add in their statement. As opposed to what happens after you smoke a lot of dope?

 

Posted by Joseph N. DiStefano @ 10:52 AM  Permalink | 10 comments
Comments   
Posted 11:56 AM, 11/18/2009
MainLineExRepublican
From a logical and intellectually consistent point of view, if marijuana is to remain illegal, then we should outlaw alcohol and cigarettes. Both are substantially more injurious and costly to society than marijuana. This prohibition has no basis in science or moral value. I suggest we push for alcohol and tobacco to be reclassified as DEA Schedule I drugs.
Posted 12:02 PM, 11/18/2009
distefj
I thought a big difference was, ethanol is water-soluble and goes away after a day, but THC is fat-soluble and stays (and accumulates) in the body. Long-term effects. No argument re tobacco.
Posted 12:24 PM, 11/18/2009
fafafooey
Pot smoking adults = high school kids who never grew up.
Comment removed.
Posted 12:33 PM, 11/18/2009
Swyve
gphilly - Nixon was the one who kick-started the "war on drugs".
Posted 12:38 PM, 11/18/2009
jmc
Yeah, ya gotta legalize pot because man, the prisons got these dudes in em, next to these other dudes that kill people, and it costs a lot of cash to have them stay in...these places...with...bars...what was I taklking about?
Posted 12:40 PM, 11/18/2009
MainLineExRepublican
To distefj - I believe you are correct. However, the damage caused by the alcohol in that brief period that it remains in the body is extreme. We all know more than one individual who has died from cirrhosis of the liver, various cancers caused or contributed to by alcohol, drunk driving deaths, etc. Alcohol is a really dangerous drug across a broad spectrum of effects. The same thing cannot be said of THC. It's relatively benign and, while detectable over a longer period of time, doesn't cause much if any damage during that period. That said, people under 21 are at risk because we don't really know the long term effects on the developing brain. There are smarter ways to enjoy it than smoking and, as it moves towards full legalization, I think we'll be seeing a broad array of products which are sold in the equivalent of liquor stores and which don't require it to be smoked. There are a large number of professionals over 50 who appreciate enjoying an occasional smoke now and then, just as they enjoy a glass of fine wine or a single malt, and so I see a relatively easy path to dropping the prohibition within the next 5 years.
Posted 12:43 PM, 11/18/2009
HandNik
Decriminalizing marijuana was a resounding success in every state and country that has. It should appeal to both ends of the political spectrum as a personal freedom and sound economic decision. The only people who are against it are lobbyists, pols who take lobbyist money, and wingnuts who let neocons think for them. They should make gun ownership illegal while they are at it.
Posted 12:57 PM, 11/18/2009
Politburo
Christie is already making excuses for why he won't be able to solve the State's problems. Maybe he should think outside the box...
Comment removed.
10 comments
About Joseph N. DiStefano
Joseph N. DiStefano writes this blog to feed his PhillyDeals column, which is printed in the business pages of The Philadelphia Inquirer every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Joe has worked at the Inquirer, mostly, since 1988. He has also written for Bloomberg and Gannett, authored the book Comcasted, majored in economics at Penn, and fathered six children. Reach Joe at 215-854-5194 and JoeD@phillynews.com

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