Boulder DA dismissing small-scale marijuana possession cases in light of Amendment 64

[kag]

Source: Boulder Daily Camera

District Attorney Stan Garnett today announced that his office will dismiss all pending cases of marijuana possession under one ounce, saying the overwhelming support for Amendment 64 in Boulder County would make it highly unlikely a jury would ever reach a guilty verdict in any of those cases.

"You've seen an end to mere possession cases in Boulder County under my office," Garnett said.

Garnett said his office will also not prosecute any marijuana paraphernalia charges in light of Amendment 64 passing statewide earlier this month. Amendment 64 will legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana in Colorado for those over the age of 21.

Read more: http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_21994403/boulder-da-dismissing-marijuana-possession-cases-light-amendment

[NV Whino]

1. Wise man

Maybe this is the beginning of the end of the war on drugs.

[elbloggoZY27]

2. Lets Go Beyond

The war on drugs in general by the United States is a huge failure and decriminalization is the way to go. However, as we are well aware the use of illicit Drugs has been a huge problem for a very long time and needs to be addressed with vigor and common sense.

Sending people to prison except for the extremely violent felons will not cure the drug problems of our society.

A new and creative approach is needed.

[longship]

3. It's a small step in the right direction.

Hopefully one of many more, and larger, steps.

R&K

[DCKit]

4. I think it's HUGE.

The only thing the feds can do now is go after the legal (in CO) grow-ops, dispensaries and the illegal dealers.

Anyone arrested by the Feds with < an ounce is going to have to be prosecuted in federal court - an expensive, losing proposition. They'll never find a jury for that, either.

[longship]

6. You have a point.

But I really think it will be more like the MMJ states. The DOJ will go after the suppliers and the growers, who will face the federal charges. That's what happened in CA and here in MI. The pot shops were all closed down in a matter of days.

Even though it is still legal to use, there are no suppliers. If you grow too many plants, you're a target, too. (Actually, a single plant would likely be above an ounce.)

So, although this might be a big step, without federal reform, people will still go to prison for doing basically nothing harmful.

This country has a way to go before this insanity is going to be changed.

[colorado_ufo]

5. He just saved Boulder a ton of money!

Good on him!

[DCKit]

7. And exellent point - unclog the courts and let them spend more time...

on actual criminals.

[Nika]

8. Imagine that, someone in that job woke up and smelled the coffee.

Good move by him.