Michael M. Remson
Special to the Kenosha News
Your neighbors are nice people. Their lawns are neat, they work hard,
they take their garbage cans in promptly and they give you a friendly
wave when they see you. Unfortunately, last Friday night each rolled the
stop sign on the corner, and the result was more than a traffic ticket.
The neighbor on your right, I’ll call him Righty, had gone out with friends after work and had a bit too much to drink. When the police officer pulled him over, Righty’s speech was a bit slurred. After being tested, he was given a ticket for driving under the influence of alcohol. It was his third such offense in the last 12 months.
The neighbor on your left, Lefty, also went out after work. He had a glass of wine with dinner at a friend’s house, but was quite sober. His blood alcohol, had it been tested, would have been well under the legal limit.
Lefty’s friend offered him some marijuana but Lefty did not want to drive stoned, so he turned it down. The friend gave him the joint to smoke when he got home, and when he rolled the stop sign the unlit marijuana cigarette was on the seat of the car. The police officer asked if it was marijuana, and he said it was.
Like Righty, this was not Lefty’s first offense. About 20 years ago, when he was 18 and living in another state, Lefty was smoking pot at a back yard graduation party. The music was too loud and a neighbor called the police. When the police walked into the yard they saw Lefty, and he was given a misdemeanor conviction for possession.
Those are the relevant facts, but which of these two will be charged with a felony? Lefty? Righty? Both? Or neither? The correct answer is Lefty. In the state of Wisconsin a second conviction for marijuana possession is a felony, no matter how small the amount. I think this is a bad policy.
No, I am not arguing that marijuana be legalized, except perhaps for medical use, but there is an alternative. I am arguing that possession and use of small amounts of marijuana should be decriminalized; and not be a felony. Here is why:
1. The current marijuana laws accomplish nothing: The war on drugs is a failure, and especially with regard to marijuana. Most seventh graders and certainly almost all high school students know where to buy marijuana if they want it.
The American people use marijuana widely, and when presidential candidates were accused of having used it, the accusations hardly created a ripple of attention.
A felony conviction is counterproductive. A felony conviction makes it very difficult to get a job. If someone who is already connected to the drug community can’t get a job, he is more likely to sell drugs. The current law increases the number of drug sellers in society.
2. The current marijuana laws are unfair.
A second conviction for the possession of a single marijuana cigarette gives a person a felony while a drunk driver must have three prior convictions in order to be charged with a felony. A felony marijuana conviction does not require a user to be driving. Simple possession of a single unlit marijuana cigarette can — and often does — lead to a felony conviction.
Because of cultural differences, poor people, young people and minorities are more likely to use marijuana outside, while prosperous people and mature white people tend to use it in their homes or in their back yards. This makes minority, younger and poorer users far more likely to have marijuana convictions, while middle- and upper-class white people can use illegal drugs with near impunity.
Substances such as alcohol and tobacco cause far more harm and lead to many more deaths than any illegal drug. In fact, research shows that drugs only become illegal when Americans are prejudiced against the people who use them. Cocaine was not illegal until its use spread among Chinese immigrants, and marijuana was not illegal until Americans perceived that it was widely used by African Americans.
The time has come to decriminalize marijuana. The time has come to urge our state of Wisconsin legislators to fix this terribly broken system.
Rabbi Michael Remson of Kenosha is president of Congregations United to Serve Humanity.
The neighbor on your right, I’ll call him Righty, had gone out with friends after work and had a bit too much to drink. When the police officer pulled him over, Righty’s speech was a bit slurred. After being tested, he was given a ticket for driving under the influence of alcohol. It was his third such offense in the last 12 months.
The neighbor on your left, Lefty, also went out after work. He had a glass of wine with dinner at a friend’s house, but was quite sober. His blood alcohol, had it been tested, would have been well under the legal limit.
Lefty’s friend offered him some marijuana but Lefty did not want to drive stoned, so he turned it down. The friend gave him the joint to smoke when he got home, and when he rolled the stop sign the unlit marijuana cigarette was on the seat of the car. The police officer asked if it was marijuana, and he said it was.
Like Righty, this was not Lefty’s first offense. About 20 years ago, when he was 18 and living in another state, Lefty was smoking pot at a back yard graduation party. The music was too loud and a neighbor called the police. When the police walked into the yard they saw Lefty, and he was given a misdemeanor conviction for possession.
Those are the relevant facts, but which of these two will be charged with a felony? Lefty? Righty? Both? Or neither? The correct answer is Lefty. In the state of Wisconsin a second conviction for marijuana possession is a felony, no matter how small the amount. I think this is a bad policy.
No, I am not arguing that marijuana be legalized, except perhaps for medical use, but there is an alternative. I am arguing that possession and use of small amounts of marijuana should be decriminalized; and not be a felony. Here is why:
1. The current marijuana laws accomplish nothing: The war on drugs is a failure, and especially with regard to marijuana. Most seventh graders and certainly almost all high school students know where to buy marijuana if they want it.
The American people use marijuana widely, and when presidential candidates were accused of having used it, the accusations hardly created a ripple of attention.
A felony conviction is counterproductive. A felony conviction makes it very difficult to get a job. If someone who is already connected to the drug community can’t get a job, he is more likely to sell drugs. The current law increases the number of drug sellers in society.
2. The current marijuana laws are unfair.
A second conviction for the possession of a single marijuana cigarette gives a person a felony while a drunk driver must have three prior convictions in order to be charged with a felony. A felony marijuana conviction does not require a user to be driving. Simple possession of a single unlit marijuana cigarette can — and often does — lead to a felony conviction.
Because of cultural differences, poor people, young people and minorities are more likely to use marijuana outside, while prosperous people and mature white people tend to use it in their homes or in their back yards. This makes minority, younger and poorer users far more likely to have marijuana convictions, while middle- and upper-class white people can use illegal drugs with near impunity.
Substances such as alcohol and tobacco cause far more harm and lead to many more deaths than any illegal drug. In fact, research shows that drugs only become illegal when Americans are prejudiced against the people who use them. Cocaine was not illegal until its use spread among Chinese immigrants, and marijuana was not illegal until Americans perceived that it was widely used by African Americans.
The time has come to decriminalize marijuana. The time has come to urge our state of Wisconsin legislators to fix this terribly broken system.
Rabbi Michael Remson of Kenosha is president of Congregations United to Serve Humanity.
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