double oops list! this was NOT meant to be posted to the public! Sorry
all!
Aaron Neumann
Sheridan
"To err is human"
Aaron Neumann wrote:
oops! sent from the wrong email addy. please reply to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (if need be). thanks!
Pulse of the Twin Cities wrote:
Jason,
I, too, was dismayed at the mayor's short-sighted comments. I also
understand the communities' frustration with gangs - and the drug
trade that often fuels that trade (all the more reason for ending
prohibition and regulating the market!). You and I, among many
others across political ideologies on the list, are on the same page.
As you may know, I am running for the Green Party endorsement and
sequentially the Ward 3 City Council seat. This effort in part a
grassroots effort and part educational effort. In that spirit, our
campaign is organizing a series of community issue forums, one of
which will be about the War On Drugs.
Whatever our differences in the past - and I am requesting that we
leave them there where they belong - this is an opportunity to
present a real alternative, policy wise and on a municipal level, to
our current policies and attitude ("bullet in the head of child"
mayoral comment).
My questions to you:
Would you and Aaron Marcus be interested in helping shape a policy
alternative (and would you be willing to contact Aaron as his cell #
no longer connects to him) in the name of COHR - if COHR is still
active?
Would you an Aaron Marcus be open to coordinating/participating in
this particular forum. So far I have Tom Gallagher and Mark Berkson
on board, looking for possibly Bishke, Keith Ellison, Marcus, and
someone from the policing community (Boaza is in the short list).
The forum will most likely take place on the Northside
(park.community building).
And could you either forward this to Aaron Marcus or let me know his
new contact info as to speak with him directly on this matter.
Thanks for your consideration. Only when we work together are we
able to affect social and political change positively.
Aaron
Jason Samuels wrote:
Dennis Plante Writes:
And you should be alarmed. There is a very direct connection
between buying
pot and many of the deaths of young, african american males on the
northside. What exactly do you think most of the gunshots fired on
the northside are about? And where do you think the money comes
from to purchase the guns?
Jason Samuels Responds:
If a regulated adult market existed for marijuana, criminals wouldn't
profit. And if prohibition worked, it wouldn't be easy to get. But
then it's
a lot easier to blame crime and death on "drugs" than on deep-rooted
inequalities, isn't it?
DP: You admit that buying marijuana suppoirts gang violence, yet it
appears
that you accept the loss of life associated with this endeavor as
acceptable
collateral damage.
JS: Absolutely not! I am protesting the fact that violent gangs
control a
segment of the marijuana market, and pointing out that there are
alternatives.
DP: Well, if "bad" people are attracted to illegal activity, then
why does
such a large percentage of our population continue to purchase
illegal drugs
like pot?
JS: Because people always have. It has to do with the pursuit of
pleasure,
and it doesn't necessarily make a person "bad." Here is a good
article on
the underlying chemistry:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/closetohome/science/html/whydrugs.html
The bad people are the ones who harm their communities exploiting this.
DP: Is it possible that there is a deeper social issue connected
with what
Mayor Rybak was trying to get across in his statement?
JS: It is possible that Mayor Rybak was trying to connect with the
knee-jerk
support that many politicians have come to expect from tough talk on
drugs.
The sound bite made it sound like the Mayor believes that marijuana
users
kill children. I cannot vote for him if this truly represents his
understanding of how drug policies affect our city.
DP: I suggest that if you were to take into consideration that many
of the 100,000 arrests came in the form of multiple arrests for the
same individual, the actual percentage of our state population
arrested in the past decade would be MUCH LESS than the "roughly 2%"
you mention.
JS: Note that I said "well over 100,000 arrests." The number has ranged
between 10 and 16 thousand annually for the past decade. Without
taking the
time to look up and add the numbers, it's probably closer to
120-130,000.
Out of 4.9 million people in our 2000 census, considering some multiple
arrests, I would say it's probably not much less than "roughly 2%."
DP: However, why is it that no state laws have been passed to
legalize the
drug? JS: States are not free to liberalize drug laws without
federal reform. The
Supreme Court will likely affirm that when they release their pending
opinion in Raich v. Ashcroft.
DP: Is it possible that the majority of people decided, after trying
it, to
not support its legalization? If it is so harmless, why has the
MAJORITY
chosen to not legalize it?
JS: We live in a republic and not a pure democracy, so people do not
make
the laws directly. The Minneapolis City Council made that very clear
rejecting a medical marijuana charter amendment last summer.
DP: I am not sure what you use to gauge a society which is progressive
and/or successfull. And, maybe such a thing has and will continue to
allude
mankind. I however, believe that the most successfull societies
mankind has
experienced were those which recognized the limitations in
themselves and
were willing to set and adhere to standards of acceptable behaviour.
JS: Herein lies the ethic instilled in law a century ago. Prohibitions
developed as part and parcel of the Progressive movement, and as
such came
amidst a wholesale re-evaluation of America's moral and legal
responsibilities. I wholeheartedly agree that society needs to enforce
standards, but those standards need to be reasonable and in touch with
reality. Marijuana prohibition is an instance where government went
too far,
and the numbers demonstrate that it is ineffective.
I am not arguing that marijuana use should be encouraged, but placing a
criminal stigma on it is counterproductive.
Jason Samuels
Whittier
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PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list.
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