$31 Worth of Weed = 10 Years in Prison?

The Global Commission on Drug Policy is taking action in New York to decriminalize drug offenses and focus on more pressing issues.

Does possession of marijuana (under an ounce) merit jail time and a lingering drug conviction?

“More than a quarter of the 2.3 million American prisoners are jailed for drug offenses, which bloats the system and eats up tax dollars,” a recent report by the NAACP said. The report was endorsed by the Americans for Tax Reform group, founded by former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Grover Norquist. Recent public opinion polls are showing an increased support by Americans to legalize THC or lessen the current punishment with rehabilitation and community service.

The growing support to legalize some substances can be attributed to the high cost that taxpayers endure to house inmates with non-violent drug offenses, the amount of money used to investigate drug dealers and the unfortunate tribulations that offenders experience when reintegrating into society after their conviction.
Watch the video after the jump…

Posted by:

Lashunda

99Problems.org Presents … Darrell Jones

Check this out folks … this is crazy moving:

This video is based on the writings of Massachusetts inmate Darrell Jones. Since his incarceration, Mr. Jones has maintained his innocence and spent the last 23 years fighting to stop the devastating cycle of violence and incarceration he is witnessing. This video is about hope and responsibility on an individual and government level . If the men and women behind bars think that no one expects more of them, if they believe that this great “change” Obama spoke of meant everyone else but them, the results are disastrous. Without hope, the prisons are currently breeding violence, racism and anger to be released back into our streets (97% of men come back out) fueling this endless cycle of violence and incarceration. If Obama is able to address terrorists and school children alike, then why not this prison system when it is holding so many of our people?

Here’s one excerpt from Darrell’s letter, to show its resonance and unique perspective:

Mr. President, I once read in a news article that listed the top music artists you had on your iPod. Among them, it listed Jay Z. Well, with 24 years in prison, I’ve never seen an iPod, and neither have many of the men around me, but I do know that daily I see many very young males walking around me with “Spiritual iPods” that are playing in their ears, the songs of Notorious B.I.G. singing the words “You’re nobody unless somebody kills you”. Yet two things are clear, sadly, Biggie did become bigger in death, and that many of these kids who have never seen their families together during a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner meet them for the first time in a casket with their eyes closed at a funeral. So, what troubles me is not so much that they’re willing to die, but that they don’t even want to leave here (prison) and get back to living.

For more information and to read the full letter or to contact Darrell directly, please go to www.obamaanswerthis.com.

Posted by:

The Editor