Would you support releasing all @50K currently jailed low level marijuana convicts? Expunge record or keep it? What about 3rd strike convictions?

[DrPepper12]

Please note: the 50K number are confirmed state and federal incarcerations BUT DO NOT INCLUDE people in local jails serving a term of one year or less. Experts believe that that number could be two to three times higher.

Yes. Pardon, expunge & seal records

Yes pardon. Stays on record

Don't pardon. They broke the law at that time & this sends a conflicting & poor message.

Updates

1 y

TY all very much for robust opinions and a few of you giving some REALLY keen insight to the Law of Unintended Consequences.

It seems most of you think the war on drugs belongs right up there in the Pantheon of stupid, expensive, regressive, futile domestic policies with mostly bad effects

[madhatters4]

if a low level offense is the only thing on their record then yes I am fine with expunging their records. If there is anything else on their record then I would have to consider that first before making a decision

[blueonblack22]

What convicts are serving time is not usually what they were originally charged for. More often then not these “low level convicts” took plea bargain to avoid convictions for much more serious (and violent) crimes.

Anyway I of course think it’s a huge waste of taxpayer dollars to incarcerate someone for a low level crime like MJ dealing. But it’s not like all of those convicts are “low level” prone and it comes to criminality. That’s the issue I have.

There is often more to the story then “@50K currently jailed low level marijuana convicts”.

[DrPepper12]

That's a GREAT POINT!! The plea charges never match original!! GREAT POINT!!

[blueonblack22]

thanks @DrPepper12. While I do believe the “war on drugs” did exponentially more damage then help there is often more this then just a low level MJ dealer. But back in the 70s/80s MJ was treated like heroin by the government which was ridiculous.

However I have no problem with the government cracking down on fentanyl with an iron fist. That shit is STRAIGHT FROM HELL. People get hooked after their first try and it’s skyrocketing OD rates. A good friend of mines teen soon got hooked on it and it’s turned the entire family up side down. Plus other illicit drugs are get laced what crap and people OD on it when they don’t even realize they were taking it.

[blueonblack22]

*often much more to this

[blueonblack22]

*teen son

[SweetPi]

Keep them in jail they were convicted of more than just addictive drugs which are only now more addictive! The oils now useless in medicine since it has been tested in detail!

[Kelley1]

Drug laws have cost the U. S. countless billions with zero benefits.

[DrPepper12]

Couldn't agree more. It's been the most stupid broken domestic policy since Prohibition. The Dutch have a lot to teach us on this!

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Yes, pardon all low level marijuana convicts.

[exitseven]

Is it really sustainable to fund the state government mostly on the taxes from the sale of pot and lottery tickets. ? It was made illegal for a reason. We are becoming a nation of zombies. I work across the street from one of the biggest dispensaries in the state. I see the people lined up outside because they only let a few people in at a time. It looks like dinner time at the homeless shelter.

[Vegasrunner]

@exitseven You should see the line at the liquor store.

[exitseven]

@Vegasrunner it is not like this.

[Vegasrunner]

@exitseven True it's worse

[DrPepper12]

Methadone clinic?

[exitseven]

In Boston there is a section of town near the city hospital that is called Methadone Mile. It is an open air drug market.

[Zack-Bann]

They broke an established law at the time
The law changing shouldn’t pardon their lawless behavior


Thats from a purely pragmatic and cynical point of view


In reality it should be seen on a case by case basis
A convict who will walk and immediately start selling the next controlled substance should probably stay in.
Some gullible kid who got caught up in the weed trade and was sold out should be given a chance

[Lliam]

Absolutely, 100%. Pardon, expunge and seal records.
Criminalizing marijuana was evil from the very beginning. People should learn why and how it got criminalized in the first place.

[DrPepper12]

I'll take Nixon for $400 Alex?

[Lliam]

William Randolph Hurst. He had a profit motive for banning hemp and used racism to get it done.

Nixon introduced the War on Drugs as a way to crack down on the civil rights movement and anti-war activists.

[bobby_bush_eater]

Not federal, wouldn't federal mean there was some other context naturally?

States where weed is recreationally legal that should absolutely happen for low level amounts. Otherwise, unfortunately no, it's a state matter currently so you have to abide or accept the risk (I live in a recreational state and the surrounding states aren't but they're very lax).

[Ladsin2]

C, but not for that reason solely. Most low level marijuana offenses are plead down from traffickers, or intent to distribute.

If they want to make it legal to smoke weed I don't care much about that. Let people finish out their sentences and then they can smoke some of that devil's lettuce when they get out.

[Flower7]

They knew that marijuana is against the law when they were using it. Why should they get off easier than any other crime?

[Dargil]

If it were simple possession in non-distribution quantity, B.

[DrPepper12]

Good caveat. TY

[ohsheeT]

Yes if the government legalizes it or now says that it's okay to do it then those people shouldn't be held in jail anymore for something the government is now allowing and making money off of it

[Snakeyes7]

If possession is their crime and nothing violent then yes release them and put them in rehab instead if they still need it. Save the space in prison for the scum that actually deserve it like rapists and murders.

[Juxtapose]

Yeah, weed is part of bodily autonomy so it should be 100% forgiven.

[LiamJHayden]

Yes. Should never have been a crime in the first place.

[Jennz6]

It’s legal just about everywhere now so let them out

[captain_voidwalker]

Yes, I've never agreed with drug laws what people do with thier bodies is thier business

[Staximus]

Yeah, it's time to join the 21st century

[the29thhuman]

What did they do wrong?

[Slim57]

Pardon them it's ridiculous

[Kingofkings1992]

Nothing relating to marijuana is criminal