mr.x007
Well-Known Member
Bill McCollum dishonest in describing anti-marijuana growing campaign on November 12 2007 They gave him ten for two*
What else can the judges do?
John Sinclair-John Lennon
By Randall Grantham
Community Columnist
It wasnt that long ago that the government was telling us that if you buy or use illegal drugs, including marijuana, you were supporting terrorists. The party line was that terror cells were co-opting marijuana growers around the world and then using the profits from pot sales to finance their operations.
So, in a show of patriotism, and as a shining example of the American people stepping up to the plate, some people reversed the trend. They in-sourced the cultivation of this easy-to-grow weed. Now, you cant go a week without reading about a house in an upscale subdivision being used to produce high-grade pot in a low key, quiet manner. In most of these cases the neighbors had no idea that the house was being used for that.
No high traffic sales disrupted their peace and quiet, no gangland shootings and no support for foreign terrorists. Great, huh? Not according to our law enforcement community who have a vested financial interest in ramping up this part of the War on Drugs. So they are now asking for more money, more resources, more personnel and more laws to expand their powers and agencies to combat the homegrown marijuana operations.
But the story theyre telling to try to get these things doesnt always jibe with reality. Theyre often thinly masked half-truths, exaggerations and outright misrepresentations. Take, for instance, the statements made this summer by Miami DEA chief Mark Trouville about the efficiently produced hydroponic crop. This aint your ...grandfathers marijuana. This will hurt you. This will addict you. This will kill you.
Oh really? How many deaths have been reported from marijuana overdoses? How many violent attacks have been committed by stoners? I cant even find any close calls in a recent online search--other than the cop who thought he was dying and called 911 after he and his wife made brownies from some weed hed stolen from the evidence room.
Now Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and two members of the Florida Legislature are pushing a bill to toughen penalties on growhouse operators. And the AG is trying to put his spin on it. In a recent op-ed piece circulated by his office, he starts out by criticizing California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for saying marijuana is not a true drug but is, instead, a leaf. McCollum then recites the mantra of how potent, and therefore deadly, this new strain is, but, again, without any statistical support for his hysterical claims.
Then, in a bit of sleight-of-hand verbal vagueness he tries to drum up support for the bill: I am supporting legislation... that lowers from 300 plants to 25 plants the standard for creating a presumption that a person is intending to distribute for profit. Well, that sounds reasonable, doesnt it? I mean if youre growing 25 or more plants, you probably are going to try to turn a buck or two.
But thats not what the bill does! As it currently stands, prosecutors are already charging these growers with felony possession, felony cultivation and felony possession with intent to distribute along with any other charges they can find, like possession of grow paraphernalia. Each of the felonies carry a maximum sentence of 5 years in the Florida State Prison. And there is nothing saying a judge cant give them the max.
What this bill does, in truth, is not create a presumption that the person intends to sell the crop. Thats already a given. It requires that minimum mandatory prison sentences, starting at 3 years, be imposed on anyone with 25 or more plants, of any size or grade. Maybe you agree with that or maybe you dont. But you would think that Mr. McCollum could be a little more honest in his description of this proposed law, and not try to soft-pedal a bill that is costly in terms of punishment to the grower and cost to the taxpayer.
After all, the reason we have an independent judiciary is to consider the unique circumstances surrounding individual cases and tailor an appropriate sentence for those found to have violated the law.
We dont need pandering lawmakers to tie the judges hands and imprison otherwise law-abiding citizens for growing a leaf.
A leaf, by the way, that nearly everyone has tried on one or more occasions. Even presidential candidate Barack Obama admits to having experimented with it. And he was a little more honest than others when asked if he had inhaled. He responded, I thought that was the point.
When will our lawmakers get the point?
*10 years for two joints
What else can the judges do?
John Sinclair-John Lennon
By Randall Grantham
Community Columnist
It wasnt that long ago that the government was telling us that if you buy or use illegal drugs, including marijuana, you were supporting terrorists. The party line was that terror cells were co-opting marijuana growers around the world and then using the profits from pot sales to finance their operations.
So, in a show of patriotism, and as a shining example of the American people stepping up to the plate, some people reversed the trend. They in-sourced the cultivation of this easy-to-grow weed. Now, you cant go a week without reading about a house in an upscale subdivision being used to produce high-grade pot in a low key, quiet manner. In most of these cases the neighbors had no idea that the house was being used for that.
No high traffic sales disrupted their peace and quiet, no gangland shootings and no support for foreign terrorists. Great, huh? Not according to our law enforcement community who have a vested financial interest in ramping up this part of the War on Drugs. So they are now asking for more money, more resources, more personnel and more laws to expand their powers and agencies to combat the homegrown marijuana operations.
But the story theyre telling to try to get these things doesnt always jibe with reality. Theyre often thinly masked half-truths, exaggerations and outright misrepresentations. Take, for instance, the statements made this summer by Miami DEA chief Mark Trouville about the efficiently produced hydroponic crop. This aint your ...grandfathers marijuana. This will hurt you. This will addict you. This will kill you.
Oh really? How many deaths have been reported from marijuana overdoses? How many violent attacks have been committed by stoners? I cant even find any close calls in a recent online search--other than the cop who thought he was dying and called 911 after he and his wife made brownies from some weed hed stolen from the evidence room.
Now Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and two members of the Florida Legislature are pushing a bill to toughen penalties on growhouse operators. And the AG is trying to put his spin on it. In a recent op-ed piece circulated by his office, he starts out by criticizing California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for saying marijuana is not a true drug but is, instead, a leaf. McCollum then recites the mantra of how potent, and therefore deadly, this new strain is, but, again, without any statistical support for his hysterical claims.
Then, in a bit of sleight-of-hand verbal vagueness he tries to drum up support for the bill: I am supporting legislation... that lowers from 300 plants to 25 plants the standard for creating a presumption that a person is intending to distribute for profit. Well, that sounds reasonable, doesnt it? I mean if youre growing 25 or more plants, you probably are going to try to turn a buck or two.
But thats not what the bill does! As it currently stands, prosecutors are already charging these growers with felony possession, felony cultivation and felony possession with intent to distribute along with any other charges they can find, like possession of grow paraphernalia. Each of the felonies carry a maximum sentence of 5 years in the Florida State Prison. And there is nothing saying a judge cant give them the max.
What this bill does, in truth, is not create a presumption that the person intends to sell the crop. Thats already a given. It requires that minimum mandatory prison sentences, starting at 3 years, be imposed on anyone with 25 or more plants, of any size or grade. Maybe you agree with that or maybe you dont. But you would think that Mr. McCollum could be a little more honest in his description of this proposed law, and not try to soft-pedal a bill that is costly in terms of punishment to the grower and cost to the taxpayer.
After all, the reason we have an independent judiciary is to consider the unique circumstances surrounding individual cases and tailor an appropriate sentence for those found to have violated the law.
We dont need pandering lawmakers to tie the judges hands and imprison otherwise law-abiding citizens for growing a leaf.
A leaf, by the way, that nearly everyone has tried on one or more occasions. Even presidential candidate Barack Obama admits to having experimented with it. And he was a little more honest than others when asked if he had inhaled. He responded, I thought that was the point.
When will our lawmakers get the point?
*10 years for two joints
