Download the NORML Daily Audio Stash for 2009-02-19
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Today on the Stash we get to sit in on the Washington State hearing for Senate Bill 5615, the measure to decriminalize up to 40 grams of marijuana. I know, you’re thinking, “ooh, a government hearing, how exciting,” but really, this one is a lot of fun. Between the clueless senator asking for someone to visually estimate for him how much marijuana forty grams is (about a full standard sandwich baggie, Senator) and the chairman admitting to having inhaled frequently back in the day, this one is a rarity in government hearings. Special bonus points for one of the opponents being named Senator Roach.
Also, Tere Joyce brings in a man named Redbeard who runs the Clover Collective in Van Nuys, California, to talk about his ideas for bringing down the prices on medical marijuana in the California dispensaries.
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Just an update regarding Mr Zebe. He is currently in Snohomish County jail with a 1 Million dollar bail. He is accused of attempting to shoot a homeowner he was burglarizing. Luckily, the mans Zippo lighter deflected the bullet. Old Karl boy was featured on Washington’s Most Wanted and arrested shortly after. He had been wanted on a department of corrections warrant for quite a while and complained that he was such a victim of the system and his innocent desire to be stoned while on parole.
I have followed this guy for quite a while after having a run in with him. At that time I did not know he was a wanted felon. The guy is a violent criminal, regardless of his BS claims he is not, and he belongs in prison…. and it has absolutely nothing to do with his desire to smoke pot…..
Be glad he is locked up, and be even happier he did not try to rob and shoot you!!!
Good bye Karl. Maybe you can smoke a joint or two in the joint…… where you should stay for a very long time….. With any luck…. 3 strikes and you are out!!
Thank god, I sick of going to jail for a pipe or a small amount of pot!! Hell I’ve been busted in Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties. Talk about a waste of tax payers money.
No problem, I am not some straight redneck dickhead that thinks anybody smoking a joint should go to jail. God knows I smoked a whole boatload of it in my life, among doing many other things. I grew up in the “hippie” era and have seen it all. I do not do it anymore, and also don;t drink… it all turned into a problem for me and I choose not to indulge… That is my choice.
His choice is to indulge in spite of using better judgement, and then whine… and very near my list of things I do not like is people that whine about getting caught for making a bad choice on their own… My position is simply… don’t do it until you are off probation… or they tell you peeing in a cup is not a requirement of staying out of jail any longer… Then smoke your ass off if you want…
Thanks for the clarification.
NO Bud … You are missing the point…. I do not not think smoking pot should be a crime either.
There are two discussions here… One is if it should be illegal or not… I don’t think it should be illegal and I personally don’t think people that smoke it should go to jail for it.
The other question is, if you earn the right to whine about it sending you to jail when you get caught doing it. Especially when you are on parole for a violent crime (he tried to slash a store security guy with a razor after being caught for cutting a product key code off of a Microsoft box in a Costco. A crime which indicates impaired judgement anyway…), have previous felonies, and you know you are going to have to piss test and stay clean….
I agree also, it is less harmful than amphetamines… I went to jail for selling them..
I was 21 years old and a cook in a restaurant in Kodiak Alaska. I had been in Kodiak for around 4 months and an undercover Federal Narc (posing as a local cab driver) wanted to bust a group of dealers in the Kodiak area they could not get to. The guy befriended me for around 3 months and then asked me if I could get some speed from a cocktail waitress that I worked with… The wife of one of the guys he was chasing… I got 10 criss-cross for him as a favor and it was my only transaction… It was clear and simple entrapment, as I was not involved except when my “buddy” asked me to do him a favor. I plead guilty and did 30 days for it…. I did not whine about it, I have never whined about it, and when I was on probation for 2 years following that I was also not ignorant enough to risk pissing dirty so I could go back to jail for 2 years…. and if I had been, I would not have wined that I was being treated unfairly when I got caught… I guess the difference between me and the original poster, is that I can man up and it appears he would rather whine about how unfair the world is….
Putting people in jail for smoking pot is not a real wise use of our jail resources and the laws should be changed, but until they are…. Felons that get caught doing something they know they will be tested for it should not whine about how unfair he is being treated… His wife and kids are treated unfairly by him when he jeopardizes their household by indulging himself….
Many of my friends smoke pot, including my lifelong best friend, and they all know the risk… They are willing to take it… and not a one of them would whine about it being unfair if they got caught and had to pay the price… You don’t get to dance, and then cry if the fiddler wants to get paid….
That is the attitude of a child….
Ah, the old “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time” mantra. Pot’s illegal, so Just Say No! You knew it was illegal, so don’t whine about going to jail.
The point you’re deliberately missing is that the smoking of the pot shouldn’t be a crime one should be locked up for in the first place. It’s not theft, it’s not assault, it’s not rape, it’s not murder, it’s not infringing in any way upon the rights of others.
You’re the kind of guy who would have told the Southern abolitionist, “Well, you knew harboring fugitive slaves was a crime, so don’t whine about being locked up for it. The way to get around not being locked up for ‘no reason’ would be to stop harboring fugitive slaves.”
Besides, the pot he smoked is far less harmful than the amphetamines you sold.
In case you forgot to check Washington state law, the crime you did not commit was smoking pot….. So the way to get around not being locked back up again for “No reason” would appear to be to quit smoking pot….. Yeah, I know… it is so dificult without treatment….. by the way NA meetings are FREE, happen every day, and are easy to find….. So the I could not get treatment statement would be a cop out…. I guess you would rather take the position you are being chastised and treated unfairly because the “system” will not grant you a free pass to break the law you feel doesn’t apply to you…. If you had not committed other crimes, such as Robbery in the First degree at a Costco, and who knows what in New Jersey, then you would not be the unfiar object of such unconstitutional treatment. (Google internet searches are great)
The really unfair thing is that you would teach your kids that this treatment, for only breaking a small law you choose to ignore, is unfair to you….. Give me a break…..
I went to jail once for sales of amphetamines…. I was entrapped and plead guilty anyway….. I was very young, kept my nose clean and the conviction was expunged… No other crimes, no other jail time, no whining because I can’t quit rolling joints and when I pee dirty in a cup, a cup I know I will have to pee in, I get thrown back in jail. Get a grip bud… You were on parole, you broke a law smoking pot, you got caught a couple of times, and you want to whine about it being unfair…. Give me a F—— break… Maybe you should think twice about losing your job, your life, and your possessions before you smoke the next one….. It is, after all your choice, and it appears you seem to like making the wrong one….. and like it or not, the law and society are not to blame… Look in a clean mirror… You will see the problem clearly….
The definition of Insanity…. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result…… Next time you get locked up for not committing a “crime”…. think that one over…..
I’m a Washington State Parolee, I’m also a life time Marijuana Smoker,Ive been violated and sent back to prison once for smoking pot(Dirty UA) 23 days of my life, for nothing but having THC in my body, I haven’t committed any crime and don’t plan on it, I sought treatment but before i could gain treatment I was again found dirty and am awaiting re incarceration, this time they’ll lock me up more than the first 45 days, each time they violate me I lose my life my job and all my personal possessions, none of which matters to authorities,they policy regarding marijuana is lock them up and the hell with treatment,I feel that this treatment is abusive and unconstitutional, how can i ever expect to live my life with the constant threat of incarceration looming over my head, I’m 49 years old and have always held a job and am a father of three, my wife and children are mystified by the constant threats of incarceration and actual incarceration for virtually nothing more than a puff weed,I once believed we were a free people, with a great destiny I no longer believe we are a great people i now believe that we are a close minded scared small minded people with little compassion and serious issues with control,I can’t believe we as a people have so little foresight and constantly pass laws to hinder our own people and suppress whatever freedom we chose.well anyway it’s my body and my one life and screw em all, me and hundreds like me still suffer from the antiquated system of thought and risk our lives and freedom to make a point. Karl
[...] offenses to a civil fine of no more than $100. You can listen to audio from the hearing and vote here. This proposal now goes before the Senate Rules Committee, which must take action on the bill to [...]