I can't tell you. ;)
Where were you when the #600 grub presented itself a few minutes ago?
Speaking of Clinton....
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1. Now He Has Something To Say? Clinton Supports Marijuana
Decrim, Sentencing Reform in Rolling Stone Interview
drcnet.org
In yet another exit interview, this one with Rolling Stone
magazine publisher and editor Jann Wenner, outgoing President
Bill Clinton called for reducing the sentencing disparity between
crack and powder cocaine and said possession of small amounts of
marijuana "should be" decriminalized.
The Clinton presidency has been marked by ever-increasing anti-
drug budgets, huge increases in the number of people sent to
prison on drug charges, and three consecutive years of record
marijuana arrests. During Clinton's two terms in office, the
annual number of marijuana arrests rose from 250,000 to more than
700,000.
Regarding the drug that he has famously not inhaled, Clinton told
Rolling Stone, "I think that most small amounts of marijuana have
been decriminalized in some places, and should be."
"Try telling that to the 700,000 people who got arrested for it
last year," retorted national NORML head Keith Stroup.
"Listen," Stroup told DRCNet, "I feel two ways about this.
First, I'd like to strangle the bastard for waiting until the
waning days of his administration to speak out on this. Where
the hell has he been, and why did 700,000 people get arrested
last year if he feels this way?"
"On the other hand," Stroup continued, "we are delighted to have
his support, and we will be using his statement in publicity work
because it is a very powerful statement. Last time I heard a
president talk like that, Jimmy Carter was in the White House."
"This is typical Clinton," Stroup argued. "It's a very positive
statement, but it underscores a real weakness, which is his lack
of political courage. If he had any guts he would have made this
statement years ago."
"But I have to welcome the president's support, even at this late
date," he concluded.
Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project was less ambivalent.
"Clinton's drug war has been every bit as vicious as those of his
predecessors," he told DRCNet. "He's addicted to being well-
liked and plays to his audience. He wants to come across as a
cool, open-minded guy on the drug issue when he's in Rolling
Stone or on MTV, but if he were talking to scared parents he'd be
talking about how we need to crack down."
"I just hope that anyone who reads that interview realizes that
despite Clinton's misinformed opinion, marijuana is not
decriminalized in the US," Thomas added. "He's right that it
should be, but that requires more than just yukking it up with a
Rolling Stone reporter."
"Maybe we need an apology from Bill Clinton," one drug reform
funder told DRCNet.
Regarding sentencing disparities, Clinton told Rolling Stone that
mandatory minimum sentences for drug use should be reviewed, as
should the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity.
"The disparities are unconscionable between crack and powder
cocaine," he said. "I tried to change that. The Republican
Congress was willing to narrow but not eliminate them, the theory
being that people who used crack were more violent than people
who used cocaine."
"What they really meant was: People that used crack were more
likely to be poor and, coincidentally, black or brown. And
therefore not to have money. Those people that used cocaine were
more likely to be rich, pay for it and therefore be peaceful."
If Clinton is sincere in his comments about injustice in the war
on drugs, he has an opportunity to act in the coming days. He
can respond to the Jubilee Justice petition campaign
(http://www.jubileejustice.org), a nationwide grassroots effort
that has gathered 32,000 signatures calling on the President to
release all federal prisoners who have served at least five years
for nonviolent drug law violations and commute the sentences of
all nonviolent federal prisoners. Clinton has so far made
limited use of his commutation power. A related effort, the
Coalition for Jubilee Clemency (http://www.cjpf.org/clemency/),
delivered a petition to the President from more than 600 clergy
(http://wire.ap.org/APnews/center_story.html?FRONTID=NATIONAL&STORYID=APIS78O3MC80). |
