Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Saturday, March 29, 2008

Federal Legalization Of Marijuana?



Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank is proposing a bill that would remove federal penalties for possession and use of small amounts of marijuana.

Why do we need a federal bill?

Because the rest of the country is far behind Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon in decriminalizing the herb, with Michigan on the verge of approving a similar bill.

We need a federal bill because we need to put an end to this fruitless, expensive prohibition once and for all.

We need a federal bill because of the growing number of people across the nation who are clamoring for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal and recreational uses.

We need a federal bill because the prohibition of marijuana is rooted in racism, fear and greed, not science.

The Cliff Notes version of a piece written for the Virginia Law Review on how marijuana became illegal begins in about 1910 with a cast of characters that runs the gamut from migrant farm workers to polygamist pot smokers; from Pancho Villa to William Randolph Hearst; from the nation's first drug czar Harry Anslinger - who led a vicious, unfounded assault on marijuana - to the DuPont chemical company. (For the full story on why and how marijuana became illegal, go to http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/LIBRARY/studies/vlr/vlrtoc.htm; http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm and http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html)

Frank's proposal would eliminate all federal penalties prohibiting the personal use and possession of up to 31â„2 ounces of marijuana. Adults who consume marijuana would no longer face arrest, prison or even the threat of a civil fine. In addition, the bill would eliminate all penalties prohibiting the not-for-profit transfers of up to one ounce of cannabis between adults.


The Spectrum

No comments: