Forum Post: My Two Demands
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 7, 2011, 7:09 p.m. EST by thebeastchasingitstail
(1912)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
1 - End the Drug War
2 - Repeal the Patriotic Act
The main focus of OWS seems to be the economy. Those two issues concern me more.
If the student loan fairy came tomorrow and forgave everyone's loans and the job fairy came & gave everyone a job, but the drug war & the patriot act continue as usual - I wouldn't be pleased.
The TSA is a "jobs" program.
Prisons are a "jobs" program.
Sorry, that's just not acceptable.
Economic instability + repressive government policies = recipe for disaster.
Freedom is my one demand.
Freedom first. In that I am aligned with the (real) Tea Party.
I agree with you entirely. The drug war is a sham. An excuse to put more of the lower class in jails so they can fuel their privatized prison system and make as much money off of the people as they can.
The Patriot Act is a hateful piece of legislation that infringes on our most basic human rights. The amount of power this bill gives the government is ridiculous and insane.
More regulations/ more regulators/more taxes.
Government consumes/government creates debt.
So if both 1 and 2 were repealed, how would that change the lives of regular folk?
1.) They'd be living in a free country again.
2.) The Federal deficit should shrink by billions of dollars. Drug enforcement, the TSA, all the "toys" DHS is buying for podunk towns who have almost zero threat of a terrorist attack. The whole terror-industrial complex needs to severely downsize as does the DEA.
Let the states have more jurisdiction over drug prohibition. The feds should completely get out of the marijuana prohibition business & perhaps let the states decide how to handle it. Legalize, tax, medical only, recreational...make it like liquor & cigs.
3.) States could use money they spend on prisons for education, replenish pension funds, etc - whatever is needed to make life better.
4.) Families that are broken up by draconian drug enforcement would be reunited.
So all drugs are legal? No more need for security at airports?
Spending more on education has not shown to work in the U.S. Our country spends more than 90% of the other countries on education and our education results are mediocre at best.
Drug addicts back home with the kids? Is that the good news?
Wow, you didn't read everything I wrote.
"The feds should completely get out of the marijuana prohibition business & perhaps let the states decide how to handle it. Legalize, tax, medical only, recreational...make it like liquor & cigs."
The Drug War refers to a specific initiative that the Federal govt is undertaking.
States could still have drug laws. I was not advocating for complete legalization.
"Drug addicts back home with the kids" marijuana "offenders"? Why not? I know some very responsible people who smoke marijuana in the privacy of their own homes.
As for harder drugs, some addicts are very functional and have no history of violence. Is having no father at all better than having one who can work and contribute to the family, regardless of what kind of substances he uses?
Some parents drink, but that's legal. They won't go to jail unless they drive drunk.
Also, when I talk about reuniting families - it is because I know the kinds of things people get locked up for. There are many people locked up for "dealing" because they answered a family member's cell phone or gave someone a ride somewhere. They weren't dealing at all, but had the misforutne to be related to someone who might have been.
As for airport security - the airlines should go back to doing it. Naked scans are unecessary, they were a waste of "stimulus" dollars that were supposed to create jobs - I believe one new job was created with the purchase of those naked scanners.
"There are many people locked up for "dealing" because they answered a family member's cell phone or gave someone a ride somewhere. They weren't dealing at all, but had the misforutne to be related to someone who might have been."
Really? Post a link to a person convicted of drug dealing because they were related to a dealer.
Ok, this is not the case I was looking for, but here's a lady who was married to someone who was running a drug ring with his "mistress". He got arrested with the mistress, the wife winds up charged with conspiracy. She was caught doing nothing wrong, but drugs/guns were in the home. She winds up getting more time than anyone else in the so-called conspiracy because she went to trial and maintained her innocence instead of pleading guilty like everyone else:
http://www.famm.org/ProfilesofInjustice/FederalProfiles/TammiBloom.aspx
And there are many like that. Especially involving wives or girlfriends who are not actually caught in the act of doing anything.
What I stated was:
Arrested "because they answered a family member's cell phone or gave someone a ride somewhere."
Here's a quote from the ACLU about this, but I also have a specific Federal case and I'll see if I can find a link for you to read.
http://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/words-prison-did-you-know
Even when women have minimal or no involvement in the drug trade, they are increasingly caught in the ever-widening net cast by current drug laws, through provisions of the criminal law such as those involving conspiracy, accomplice liability, and constructive possession that expand criminal liability to reach partners, relatives and bystanders. In 1998, Congress added conspiracy to commit a drug offense to the list of crimes for which a federal mandatory minimum sentence would be imposed.[xv]
There is a difference between posting to end the drug war and then say it only applies to weed. The DEA would still need to be around regarding coke, meth, heroin, etc. and the criminal groups that prepare and sell the stuff.
If your post is just about legalizing weed, then say it.
Maybe it is better to not have a mom or dad that uses meth, coke, heroin to be around the kids. It's hard enough to raise kids sober, being high doesn't help. Violence is not the only reason to remove a parent from a home. Better to have the addict parent get treated and then come back to the home.
Why couldn't the states take over drug enforcement?
Because drug use is a national concern and not state specific. Easier to investigate drug manufacturers and dealers that go beyond state lines. The federal government has made it a federal issue. Plus, the states can't afford to do it on their own. They need federal money.
So you are not for lower Federal taxes, then?
It's funny, people from the outside look in and see all these people trying to legalize drugs and wonder why they won't back them. Due to popular belief not everybody is a drug fiend.
I've never flown in my life (other then once in a helicopter to see what it was like) so I have no idea what airport security is like now or in the past.
airport security is a pain in the ass if you want it to be.
I underwent a body search when my backpack revealed a mass of wires and connectors. Well, I had packed the chargers for the phones and ipods my family was taking on our trip. It did look like a homemade bomb when I saw the screen.
The TSA guy was polite and did nothing outrageous. On my return flight I made sure the cords were tied up and had no problems.
This is a good discussion of drug policy and legalization:
http://occupywallst.org/forum/why-has-the-legalization-of-marijuana-not-made-it-/
In addition, please see above, end the drug war does not mean blanket legalization of all drugs.
Then you have to be careful when you post, "end the drug war".
I posted "End the Drug War" because I am in favor of ending the "Drug War" and having states take over drug enforcement.
I fully support making the one demand of OWS = Marijuana.
And I fully support Obama and Pelosi supporting that one demand for Marijuana.
see you at the 2012 elections, OWS!
Conservatives are also talking about imprisoning fewer people and not only for marijuana offenses:
http://www.rightoncrime.com/priority-issues/substance-abuse/
http://www.rightoncrime.com/priority-issues/overcriminalization/
Free tacos for all buttmunches