Marijuana penalties

[© tweed]

Vote.

[Jake]

I can see confiscation, maybe, but nothing unless you're selling it.

[angus]

I don't really like the idea of confiscation, since confiscation is just an invitation to cops to acquire weed for free.  I think any confiscation should be accompanied by a written receipt from the police officer describing exactly the container, the amount, the color, and smell of the confiscated marijuana.  And I think police who confiscate marijuana should be required to report this information to their supervisors immediately after confiscation.

Of course, I don't think it should be illegal in the first place, but if it's going to be illegal, I suppose community service such as helping high school students with their algebra homework or counselling young people about choices would be appropriate, assuming the person has the requisite skills and motivation.  I do not think possession of marijuana merits jail or fines.

[MasterJedi]

Confiscation, Fine and Community Service.

[dazzleman]

Confiscation, fine and community service.  No jail time for possession of marijuana only.

[John Dibble]

Just confiscation, and as angus said make sure the cops write up the details.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Nothing.

[John Dibble]

Nothing.

Well, generally things aren't illegal and have no punishment of any sort at the same time. I mean, they really wouldn't be illegal if that was the case, now would they?

[dazzleman]

Just confiscation, and as angus said make sure the cops write up the details.

That's almost tantamount to making it legal.  If you support confiscation only, you might as well go for legalization.

[angus]

Actually I agree with that sentiment.  If it's legal, then it should be legal.  But if not, then we should be serious about deterring its use.  I disagree that it merits a fine, but I think some appropriate community service (real community service too, not just playing spades with the guards and watching the clock at a youth center for eight hours on a saturday.)  Having folks do things like tutoring is great, as it exercises their minds and involves them with helping others.  Giving talks to young folks about the mistakes they made forces them to do serious soul-searching and has the benefit of helping others.  Playing big brother and basketball coach to inner-city youth is another great idea. 

[© tweed]

Just confiscation, and as angus said make sure the cops write up the details.

That's almost tantamount to making it legal.  If you support confiscation only, you might as well go for legalization.

Sure, but this poll is under the assumption that marijuana would remain illegal.  Legalization isn't an option in this poll.  (and if it was, everyone would vote for it, about 70% of this board favors the legalization of recreational marijuana).

[Ebowed]

Confiscation, followed by immediately giving it back and congratulating the person for being such a freedom fighter

[Emsworth]

A fine of one dollar seems appropriate.

[Gabu]

This question doesn't really make a lot of sense, because it leaves nothing for those who don't want it to be illegal.

If I must answer, I'll say that the person must pay a fine of one cent, which then can be deducted by the income tax the person must pay.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Nothing.

The fact I agree with him on anything is scary, and why is confiscation one of the choices?

Will they leave you with the weed and write a ticket?  

[Ebowed]

A fine of one dollar seems appropriate.

Too high

[angus]

A fine of one dollar seems appropriate.

Too high

John Thomas Scopes, anyone? 

actually, I have received the ticket for posession and I can tell you it was approximately 57 dollars in 1987 when I was 19.  It involved me going downtown, listening to a brief lecture about drug use by the cops, paying the ticket, and getting into my car and driving away.  Toward my connection's house, in fact, to stock up again.  I have no doubt that those two cops who took my weed enjoyed smoking it after I was gone.  They probably turned in some bunk leafy homegrown shake to cover for it.  They were really goofy about the whole thing.  This is why I'm a big fan of the receipt.  But it really is not the amount of the fine, but the principle of the fine, that bothers me.  Any fine is too high, imho.  Also, the fifty seven dollars is certainly not a deterrent.  I should have been made to do some realistic community service, if the state wanted me to ponder the gravity of my offense.  Something like having to get up in front of a bunch of high school students and lecture to them about the interaction of Cannabinoid compounds on the neurons, or their inactivation of cytochromes and subsequent effects on metabolism, would have been much more appropriate since it would have forced me to do research and to learn something.

Anyway, I agree that it should not be illegal, but assuming it is, fines and jail time are not appropriate.  And confiscation is a very bad idea, since it guarantees that the user buys more, increasing overall demand.  Not to mention that it supplies crooked cops with weed.  The fines and jail time do not deter and they do not educate, and at worst, jail time tends to make someone a bigger criminal than he was before he went to jail.

[minionofmidas]

I've twice been in police raids where I or somebody I was with (one case each) carried amounts of Marijuana not high enough to actually get me sentenced / not high enough to get the three of us sentenced had we incorrectly claimed it belonged to all of us (but high enough to get this one guy to whom it actually belonged sentenced - around 7-8 grams).
In both cases the stuff was silently dropped to the ground before the search. In both cases a police dog walked all over the ground where it was lieing, while we were standing maybe ten meters away. In neither case did the police mention finding it. In one of these cases though - the smaller amount, the stuff I'd been carrying myself - was gone after they left.

[dazzleman]

Actually I agree with that sentiment.  If it's legal, then it should be legal.  But if not, then we should be serious about deterring its use.  I disagree that it merits a fine, but I think some appropriate community service (real community service too, not just playing spades with the guards and watching the clock at a youth center for eight hours on a saturday.)  Having folks do things like tutoring is great, as it exercises their minds and involves them with helping others.  Giving talks to young folks about the mistakes they made forces them to do serious soul-searching and has the benefit of helping others.  Playing big brother and basketball coach to inner-city youth is another great idea. 

The problem with community service is that it's tough to enforce if a person really doesn't want to do it.  There are so many ways to goldbrick, and I think it would need the threat of worse penalties behind it to have any teeth.

Realistically, fines will continue because the make the government money, while community service probably costs money to administer.

I'd be a lot more deterred by community service than by a fine.  That's because at this point in my life, I have more money than free time, so I'd much rather pay a fine, even of a few hundred dollars, than give up large blocks of scarce free time.

OTOH, younger people may make an opposite calculation.  They may have little money, have  a lot of time, and not mind giving some of it up.  That was my attitude when I was younger, toward the type of 'community service' I was sometimes assigned to in high school.

Also, a fine is not equally painful to everybody.  Logically, the pain of a fine is related to percentage of income, not a dollar amount.  Realistically, there is also the component of how much you enjoyed what earned you the fine.  I imagine you can relate to this -- that any given level of punishment hurts a lot less when you enjoyed the 'crime' than when you didn't [the reason I hate parking fines, but laugh at speeding fines].  In Finland, traffic fines (and maybe other fines as well) are tied to percentage of income, not a fixed dollar amount, but I don't see that as being in the cards for the US.

Still, I like your community service idea in concept.  My issues are only with the practicality of administering it.

[David S]

This question doesn't really make a lot of sense, because it leaves nothing for those who don't want it to be illegal.

If I must answer, I'll say that the person must pay a fine of one cent, which then can be deducted by the income tax the person must pay.

I was going to say two lashes with a wet noodle, but I like your plan better.

[Dave from Michigan]

confiscation, very small fine, it really  should be legal

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Consfication.

[opebo]

This should obviously be legal, along with prostitution and all other drugs.

Out of the choices above I would say confiscation, with no other punishment or 'criminal record' - kind of like if you have valiums at customs.

[Frodo]

Confiscation for possession, at the maximum.  For those growing it, probably a fine would suffice.   

[MODU]

A crime is a crime.  There should be confiscation for possession, as well as financial penalties and jail time (if repeat offender).