Jordan Turner
Photo courtesy of Turner for Office, Inc., used with permission
Jordan Turner
I’m a small-government kind of guy who’s running for mayor of a small Wisconsin community, but we can set a big example and send a strong message to state and federal legislators that enough is enough! Alcohol prohibition didn’t work, and neither does marijuana prohibition.
If somebody’s doing something that doesn’t affect anyone else, stay out of their business. I don’t use marijuana, but for me to say that because “I don’t use it, I’m going to ban everyone else from using it,” is completely illogical and un-American.
America is a nation long recognized and celebrated for our freedom, yet we lock more of our own citizens in prison than any other country on earth. One in three young people will be arrested by the time they turn 21 years old. In 1973, the United States had 200,000 federal prisoners; today, we have 1.5 million.
Crime hasn’t necessary increased, but sentencing has. We have more prisons and jails than colleges and universities. Many of those incarcerated are serving time for non-violent marijuana offenses — that’s just not right.
A simple pot conviction can dissolve your right to vote, foreclose job opportunities, prevent your ability to attend college, and even disqualify you from housing. The most dangerous thing about marijuana is getting caught with it.
This is a plant that’s less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco. It is not a gateway drug, nor are children more likely to use it if adults do. Psychology Today and Dr. Constance Scharff stated “Marijuana is not a gateway drug. Many people mistakenly believe that marijuana use precedes rather than follows initiation of other illicit drug use. In fact, most drug use begins with alcohol or nicotine.”
I also believe decriminalizing marijuana will allow our law enforcement officers to focus on hard drugs, such as heroin and methamphetamine, instead of recreational marijuana users.
The Jefferson County and Watertown area has a significant heroin epidemic and we need to be doing everything we possibly can to address that. Redirecting our time and resources to the real issues will surely remedy the problems that our community is currently facing.
We have an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the country, and I intend to do just that. If elected, we will decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for individuals 21 years of age or older.
I’m a small-government kind of guy who’s running for mayor of a small Wisconsin community, but we can set a big example and send a strong message to state and federal legislators that enough is enough! Alcohol prohibition didn’t work, and neither does marijuana prohibition.
If somebody’s doing something that doesn’t affect anyone else, stay out of their business. I don’t use marijuana, but for me to say that because “I don’t use it, I’m going to ban everyone else from using it,” is completely illogical and un-American.
America is a nation long recognized and celebrated for our freedom, yet we lock more of our own citizens in prison than any other country on earth. One in three young people will be arrested by the time they turn 21 years old. In 1973, the United States had 200,000 federal prisoners; today, we have 1.5 million.
Crime hasn’t necessary increased, but sentencing has. We have more prisons and jails than colleges and universities. Many of those incarcerated are serving time for non-violent marijuana offenses — that’s just not right.
A simple pot conviction can dissolve your right to vote, foreclose job opportunities, prevent your ability to attend college, and even disqualify you from housing. The most dangerous thing about marijuana is getting caught with it.
This is a plant that’s less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco. It is not a gateway drug, nor are children more likely to use it if adults do. Psychology Today and Dr. Constance Scharff stated “Marijuana is not a gateway drug. Many people mistakenly believe that marijuana use precedes rather than follows initiation of other illicit drug use. In fact, most drug use begins with alcohol or nicotine.”
I also believe decriminalizing marijuana will allow our law enforcement officers to focus on hard drugs, such as heroin and methamphetamine, instead of recreational marijuana users.
The Jefferson County and Watertown area has a significant heroin epidemic and we need to be doing everything we possibly can to address that. Redirecting our time and resources to the real issues will surely remedy the problems that our community is currently facing.
We have an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the country, and I intend to do just that. If elected, we will decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for individuals 21 years of age or older.
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