Friday, April 5, 2019
Blog Stage 5
Texas has too many people arrested for minimal amounts of marijuana. I believe Texas should decriminalize marijuana. This will reduce the amounts of non-violent arrests for small amounts of marijuana. This is far from recreational use but these small movements forward could spark change and enlightenment to other illegal states. Based on many polls, the majority of the voters in Texas support partial legalization. A lot of people who are arrested are seeking stress or pain relief, in many cases they are not interested in prescribed pain killers by their doctor. The outcome for possessing a small amount of pot is a Class B misdemeanor that shows up as a conviction on someone's criminal record. On top of this it is punishable by up to 180 day in jail or a 2,000 dollar fine. I believe this is a very harsh punishment for possession of the minimal amount of marijuana. When people are charged with a crime like this, it can greatly effect their life. They can have a harder time finding a job, getting a home or even a car. Luckily, in some counties they might give you the opportunity to pay a fee and take some classes so that no criminal charges will be pressed. In my opinion the outcome of possessing the minimal amount of marijuana in a non-violent arrest are little to intense for the severity.
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I agree with my classmate Estevan Hernandez's view on the marijuana reform. I am a strong believer in treating drug abuse, addiction and dependence as we would a mental illness. We need to educate people instead of throwing them in jail where there are countless minorities locked away for minor possession. This systemic inability to separate politics from science and facts creates a culture of ignorance and bias when it comes to issues such as marijuana. The science and facts say alcohol kills approximately 88,000 people a year from over consumption, marijuana has killed a grand total of 0 people from over usage, yet marijuana and heroin are classified are a schedule 1 drug. This kind of discrepancy in the way the average person and the government views cannabis is the reason so many peoples lives are affected by a small amount of virtually harmless marijuana.
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