'pothead-turned-plutocrat Mayor Michael Bloomberg'

[marmar]

AlterNet / By Steven Wishnia

Marijuana Has Rocked the West Coast, And Now New England Is the Next Frontier for Reform
The political landscape for pot in the Northeast is changing dramatically, with bright prospects in many states.

December 16, 2010 |


New England may be the next frontier for reforming the nation's marijuana laws.

Maine and Rhode Island are moving toward creating a dispensary system for medical marijuana, and Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana in 2008. In Connecticut and Vermont, incoming governors are expected to be much more sympathetic to similar moves than their predecessors were. New Hampshire's legislature passed a medical-marijuana bill this year, but its upper house failed to override a veto by Gov. John Lynch.

In contrast, the other Northeastern states are moving much more slowly. New Jersey's new medical-marijuana law is the most restrictive in the nation, as it limits patients to four state-licensed clinics. Maryland and Washington, DC, are expected to pass or implement similar policies next year. And New York, despite its liberal reputation, continues to have the most petty pot busts in the country.

"The East Coast is going to be a little slow," says Neill Franklin, head of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. "New England is the area to watch."

....(snip)....

In New York, a medical-marijuana bill has passed the state Assembly several times without a problem, says a spokesperson for Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, its sponsor, but has only once found a sponsor in the state Senate. As the Republicans have regained a majority there, that problem remains. Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo opposes it on the grounds that he doesn't want New York to have the same problems as California and Colorado, notes Nicholas Eyle of Reconsider, a Syracuse-based antiprohibition group.

Meanwhile, police in New York City continue to arrest more than 40,000 people a year for marijuana possession. Although the state decriminalized pot in 1977, reducing the penalty for less than 25 grams to a $100 ticket, possession "in public view" is a misdemeanor--and a top priority for the administration of pothead-turned-plutocrat Mayor Michael Bloomberg. About 80 percent of those popped are either black or Latino, and a similar proportion are under 25. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/149139/marijuana_has_rocked_the_west_coast%2C_and_now_new_england_is_the_next_frontier_for_reform/

[mdmc]

1. Bloomberg. and Cuomo would never go to jail for pot

the rich and privileged always smoke, never go to jail, yet want black men to do time for doing the same thing.

[leveymg]

2. In NYC, policing is always a class thing.

The 1981 movie, "Fort Apache, The Bronx", captures part of it very well.



The Cavalry always wear white hats, and the Indians are equated with Nazis. Interesting cinematic formula.