Dennis is correct. I thought about what Mike Atherton said and I concur that legalizing drugs and zoning their sales and public use into a certain area would be a far better solution than we currently have. Perhaps not for the drug addict but at least for the innocent inner-city citizens living with the problem now. I wonder just what area of the city would be best to house this activity Mike?
Because drugs are illegal, the street has been made the supermarket and they have been contained (unofficial zoning) in certain areas because it is a convenient way for the government to deal with the problem. It's not a problem most politicians or citizens have to deal with. Growing up on Lake Nokomis then moving to Whittier was certainly an eye-opening experience for me. My biggest problem on Lake Nokomis was doggy poo poo on my boulevard. In Whittier it was making it down my driveway without getting popped. Quite different worlds. This bill will effectively decriminalize drug possession and sales for the most part. The only punishment will be to the really big pushers. The long and short of it is that the person will have to possess $50,000 worth of crack and sell $10,000 of it to a Certified Reliable Informant (CRI) in order to do any jail time. That includes sales to minors and sales at parks and schools. That will eliminate any jail time for about 99% of the drug dealers in the inner-city "containment" zones. Just how motivated are the cops going to be to arrest someone for drugs when they know nothing is going to happen to them. Boy, it's gonna be a fun summer. Good Luck Chief McManus. I hope he has cops over there testifying about the impact this legislation will have on the inner-city. I also hope that both Mayor R.T. Rybak and Mayor Randy Kelly will have people testifying about this legislation. I can't imagine the mayors of Rochester, Duluth or Mankato are too happy about it. They all have growing drug problems too. My understanding is that this bill is being pushed because of a growing methamphetamine problem in rural cities and towns. They are finally experiencing what we have been living with in the inner city for a very long time. My hunch though is that these crimes don't have as many guns attached to them as the ones committed in the inner-city. There is no room in prison and treatment options are 30 days in length. So, rather than legalizing drug use or spending money to add prison space or provide better treatment options, we are just going to decriminalize it. Sweep the problem under the inner-city carpet. It's very easy to recommend legalization as a solution to the drug problem when you don't live with it at your doorstep everyday. I understand why Mike Atherton espouses such an attitude. He doesn't have to care that kids in Phillips or the northside are dodging bullets because his house and his wife and kids are nestled far from the violence. So it's easy for Mike to examine the issue from an academic perspective then pontificate on it. But, when you are up to your eyeballs in alligators you don't talk about how great it would be to have them as pets if they would just stop biting you. You run. I think this bill is just plain bad news for the city period. Regardless of the fact that the worst drug offenders are concentrated in certain areas of town this will affect the whole city. We already have people migrating here from other cities because we have a booming market of drug buyers. We have seen numerous reports that over 60% of the drug purchasers stopped are not from the city at all but from the suburbs, towns and even other states like Wisconsin. I wonder how different things would be if Maple Grove or Eden Prairie were the hotbeds for drug entrepreneurs? I at least hope there are a ton of people from Mpls. that will go testify on Thursday. Barb Lickness Whittier ===== "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
