Monday, April 7, 2014

Civil Criminals

I heard on the news that Maryland has decriminalized the possession of a small amount of Marijuana. It is now a civil offense and subject to a fine. Selling Marijuana, any amount, is still a crime however. Buying it , is also a crime. You gotta love the way the lawmakers come up with this stuff. I find myself a criminal, that sells a substance that is illegal and illegally purchase this substance. Then, as long as I don't buy too much it is not a crime but a civil offense. The reason ? It isn't fair to have a criminal record for only committing a little crime ! You know, the same way it wouldn't be fair if you were expelled from school for only cheating a little bit. Now that is rock solid reasoning.
As far as whether marijuana should be legalized, that is another whole discussion. The short answer to that for me is ,no. I'm opposed. I think we have enough issues with intoxicating beverages and various other substances. For me, it is all about the money. Tax and sell without regard for future generations. But that is just my opinion.
Here in Maryland the legislators have decided that 10 grams of marijuana is a civil offense but 11 or more is criminal. Interesting how they choose to measure it in grams. Last I knew America was still using ounces unless it is in the medical field. That is how they measure stuff like drugs. It is true they use it for both legal and illegal drugs though. I guess choosing to measure in grams sounds more clinical or official or something because we are so smart, you know. The drug dealers, they are the criminals that sell this ten grams, measure it that way. That is because most of it is imported and other countries use that pesky metric system. It is imported because it is illegal to grow it here in Maryland.
The other interesting part of the argument used to support the decriminalizing of ten grams or less was race. Yes race. The argument was that more minorities got busted for having illegal drugs than non-minorities. That and that the ones that did, the non-minority, got off easier whereas the minorities were prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Yes, it is just a racist thing to make criminals out of people who commit a crime ! Any fool can see that !
The bottom lines is, you can now commit a crime, without being a criminal as long as you don't do too much at one time. Kinda like being a little bit pregnant. There is no legal avenue to sell or purchase any amount of Marijuana in the state of Maryland. It is still a crime to transport it across the state line. Yet, it is not a crime to have ten grams of it. Just how are you supposed to get it ? Nobody is saying. Just what is the message ? I'm a little confused. Does it make a difference if I  illegally obtain ten grams at a time ? I still get fined for having it. Repeat offenses increases the fine. Is what I am doing a crime ? No, it is a civil offense. Well not if I do it too much, than it is a crime. Some of the same reasoning behind limiting magazine sizes on guns. It isn't as bad shooting people with a small magazine, it is only when you use large magazines that it is criminal. But that is another topic, isn't it ?

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