Sometimes one really should say NO to another toke, especially if one is driving directly behind a police car.
Steven B. Clarke
On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, Steven B. Clarke, 21, fell asleep directly behind a police car at a busy interception after toking on some Ganja. He apparently woke up after Police spotlighted him through his window and tapped on the glass.
Likely in a ganja-ridden Jeff Spicoli haze (reference to my favorite stoner movie of all time, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” with a very young Sean Penn in the staring role), he rolled down his window and exposed the officers to enough pot smoke that gave them probable cause to yank him out of his car and conduct a search. After finding 45 grams from his pocket, Clarke was placed under arrest. Although Clarke stated to officers, “I am from Jamaica and smoke a lot of marijuana,” officers weren’t persuaded in releasing him without charges.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Steven B. Clarke may have done something incredibly stupid by using his choice of medicine and driving, but the real crime is that will he will be paying for this mistake for the remainder of his life in this country. In Evansville, Indiana, the penalty for possession of Marijuana greater than 30 grams is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum incarceration of 6 months to 3 years, $10,000 in fines, court costs and any possible diversion treatment he may be ordered to attend. If the district attorney chooses to do so, they can escalate his charge to a felony.
Is anyone still laughing? How about the hand picked audience who attended the town hall meeting where President Obama laughed at us for asking him to open a dialogue for science over politics, are you still laughing?
The ratio of prisoners to citizens in the wonderfully green and beautiful country of Finland is 50 incarcerations per 100,000, while the United States leads the bold charge of locking up a considerable portion of our citizens at a rate of 738 per 100,000. According to 2008 statistics, the United States ranks first in the world for the number of incarcerations per citizens with those evil Chinese prisons a DISTANT second. In America, 7.2 million people are either behind bars, on probation, or parole. More than 1 in 100 adults were incarcerated at the start of 2008.
With the scales tipping more and more toward legalization, prohibition experts will continue to toe a harder line, especially in states that currently do not support any kind of pro-Marijuana initiative. In some states, we will likely see an increase in incarcerations for minor possession charges before we see and acceptance of medical use and subsequent decline of arrests and incarcerations.
Texas is one of those states that are fighting initiatives tooth and nail. In August of 2007, a new state law was passed which would save Texas taxpayers millions of dollars by allowing Police Officers to cite individuals found in possession of four ounces or less rather than go through the arrest and booking procedure saving approximately $2000 per arrest. Currently with more than 1% of the entire state’s population incarcerated, it sounded like a win-win for the state of Texas. Currently, statistics reported by the local county assessor’s office states that 8 persons in the state of Texas were awarded citations since the law went into effect in 2007 out of at least 3200 arrests for minor marijuana possession costing the tax payers in Texas a whopping $6,400,000. I don’t’ know about you, but I can damn sure think of some great uses for $6,400,000 that would help people, not oppress them.
The statistics speak for the attitude of those with strategic decision abilities in law enforcement; when they have the option to decide whether to arrest or cite a marijuana suspect, in almost every single case, they decide to charge and prosecute the individual instead of saving the state money and the individual their dignity. This perpetual circle of heavy handed laws, heavy handed law enforcement, surrounded by a prison industry second to none on the entire planet, is going to be a difficult cycle to break.
The moral of this story is, “Always be on your toes”. Marijuana is still illegal, and in some places, much more so than others. Don’t toke & drive, we need your support to continue to support the decriminalization of marijuana, and it’s hard to help if you are locked up in a cage. Be careful as you may find yourself in the same situation as Mr. Clarke. (View more information about driving and marijuana on NORML’s website here: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5448.)
