Barney Franks (D of Mass.) to introduce de-criminalization legislation in the Congres

[Aaronponic]

It was on Bill Mahr last night, very cool stuff. It will almost assuredly fail but hey, gotta try. I think it is going to be called the, "Make room for real criminals act"...

 

[Haps]

I saw that too, it is time, and it was good to hear. We shall not get our hopes up, but it has to begin, and fail, and the struggle will be on finally.
H

 

[inflorescence]

Saw it, me three. Barney is a smart man.

 

[Echoes]

Although it could fail, it could be an excellent chance!

Although it could fail, it could be an excellent chance!

Contact your representatives and tell them you support this but also give them reasons why you support it. Tell them it's time to stand up or be held accountable.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

I saw it too. Barney is a funny and sensible guy.

 

[SinsemillaJones]

Go Barney!

Go Barney!

This IS an election year.


A new Congress and a new President could change this -


to this -

 

[Doj]

 

[guest]

I would suggest that Ron Paul may wish to co-sponsor.

 

[Guest]

Contact your representatives and tell them you support this but also give them reasons why you support it. Tell them it's time to stand up or be held accountable.

Does anyone actually do this?

EVER?

 

[Deft]

Best to talk in person, letters are easy to throw out.

 

[Echoes]

Yeah, actually.

Yeah, actually.

Does anyone actually do this?

EVER?

Yeah, I do. And if more people got up off their asses and made an effort, there'd be more progress. I call and leave messages and I write letters and emails. I guess I could go in person and speak with them directly but they're usually so booked up and busy with projects and things of that nature that I usually don't bother. Just as they can throw out letters easily, they can also lie to your face rather easily (okay, maybe not all of them but I know of quite a few that don't mind as long as they think they are "in the right" or unchallenged.) The best way to tell them whether or not you agree is election time. That's basically their major report card/judgment day.

 

[Bud Meister]

The thought of Barney Franks and I agreeing on any topic at all make me feel like I need to vomit.

 

[RetroGrow]

Bill Richardson endorsing Obama means one thing. He wants to be vice president. It could very well happen, and Richardson is for medical marijuana, so there could be a silver lining amongst all these terrible candidates.

 

[SomeGuy]

Heres the story

Heres the story

Also some AP stories about it too


Boston Herald

Rep. Barney Frank is defending a bill he plans to file this week decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, saying the federal law unfairly targets those using medical marijuana in California.

Frank, who filed a bill to decriminalize marijuana as a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in the 1970s, said the decision whether to make possession of the drug illegal should be left up to the states.

He also said the federal government shouldn’t have a law on the books that is rarely enforced and which doesn’t make sense to large portions of the public.

"Do you really think people should be prosecuted for smoking marijuana? I don’t think most people agree with that. It’s one area where the public is ahead of the elected officials," Frank said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It does not appear to me to be a law that society is serious about."

Frank said he was particularly troubled by federal law enforcement agencies targeting those using marijuana as a legal medical treatment under California law.

"I don’t think smoking marijuana should be a federal case," he said. "There’s no federal law against mugging."

Marijuana use is illegal under U.S. law, which does not recognize the medical marijuana laws in California and 11 other states.

The Drug Enforcement Agency and other U.S. agencies have been shutting down major medical marijuana dispensaries throughout California in the last two years and charging their operators with felony distribution charges.

Frank first announced the bill on the HBO show "Real Time," hosted by Bill Maher.

Frank’s comments come as pro-marijuana activists are pushing a ballot question that would decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana in Massachusetts.

Instead of facing a criminal record, those caught with a small amount of marijuana for personal use would instead pay a civil fine of $100 — much like a traffic ticket.

Supporters say the measure would save the state millions of dollars in law enforcement costs and spare thousands of state residents from the burden of a criminal record.

Critics, including the head of the anti-drug education group DARE-Massachusetts, say they oppose decriminalizing any amount of marijuana because it could send a signal to children that smoking pot is no big deal.

They say they while not everyone who smokes pot will end up shooting heroin, almost no heroin addicts begin with the more dangerous drug.

Activists pushing the initiative point to more than two dozen nonbinding referendum questions placed on local ballots in Massachusetts in the past six years. In each, a majority of voters supported the idea of decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

About a dozen states have already adopted similar laws.
Asked about the marijuana ballot initiative last December, Gov. Deval Patrick said he had to consult with his Public Safety Secretary Kevin Burke and Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby before staking out a position.

"I think they are both skeptical," he said at the time.

The ballot question isn’t the only effort under way to ease the state’s drug laws.

A bill working its way through the Statehouse would also decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of the drug, but set a higher fine of $250.

 

[indicalover]

Haha, well said Bud Meister. He is pushing to make it very difficult for a man in my line of work right now, but on the flip side I respect him for pushing legislation forward like this proposed bill.

Contacting your reps is a good idea, but it seem like NORMAL or how ever it is spelled, should have petitions signed in each state. Or even a national petition. Has someone already thought of this and moved forward on it? Now would be the time to show how many supporters are around if bills are going to be presented to the house and senate.

 

[Deft]

It could defiantly happen in mass, dunno bout federally though. Tons of places in mass have had the ballot questions on pot and have showed people are ready.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

Does anyone actually do this?

EVER?

whats even scaryier is when the congressmen/women reply back to your thoughts/comments (assuming there polite) with hearth-felt sentament.....
my local congressmen voted yes on a california pro-pot thing and i had to tell him he did a solid, so he replied with a thanks and a bunch of information on other bills/measures and other things i might be interested in.

 

[sow the seeds]

This is good news. From the sound of that globe article something is gonna change with the drug laws in mass...hopefully. Then again mass has never been all that quick to do anything...except gay marriage

 

[Deft]

What globe article? I must have missed it.

 

[bounty29]

whats even scaryier is when the congressmen/women reply back to your thoughts/comments (assuming there polite) with hearth-felt sentament.....
my local congressmen voted yes on a california pro-pot thing and i had to tell him he did a solid, so he replied with a thanks and a bunch of information on other bills/measures and other things i might be interested in.

I know I was surprised at the personal reply I got back. Maybe it was just one of his secretaries, but it wasn't some general reply with my name thrown in. I know my congressman wants to know what I think.