[rhino369]

While simple possession could land you in jail, it's very rare for that to happen. There are 750,000 weed arrests in the US and maybe 500 people are in jail for simple possession only.

The big way weed gets you to jail is because it's a conviction that breaks your parole and you get sent back for your previous crime.

[marincounty]

I know a guy who went to the Midwest to sell small amounts of weed. Some "Silm Shady" type bought from said friend. Slim Shady decided to shoot someone over a bag. Said friend is in jail for 20 years. Said friend knew nothing of the murder, but the judge felt said friend should be punished--because he supplied an Idiot with weed, and broke federal and state law. The sad part is somehow he talked his brother into joining him in the Midwest. 'Hay, leave your Waiter position. We can sell small amounts of Mendocino's finest, and as long as we keep the weight low; we can live comfortably, with low risk.' His older brother got caught up in the drama, and was thrown in ail along with his brother. The judge called them Drug Kingpings. They found less than a pound of weed in the house, but still threw the book at the two.

[draugadrotten]

> I know a guy who went to the Midwest to sell small amounts of weed. ... we can live comfortably, with low risk

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time, as they say.

I find it really hard to feel sorry for criminals that are selling so much drugs that they can live comfortably on drug money. That's a significant amount of illegal activity.

They knew about the risk, and they took it. Now they have to live with the consequences of their decisions.

[thraw1]

Dude, if the same thing happened in an enlightened society, they would be free people right now.

[mcherm]

> That's a significant amount of illegal activity.

No one questions that. The question is over what amount of HARM was done and what is a reasonable response to that.

In other words, if you accept the existing laws at face value, then this is, indeed, terrible "drug kingpin" behavior deserving of severe punishment. And (ducking Godwin's law) if you accept the laws of North Korea, then thousands of people deserve lives of horror and torture for the crime of being born to a prisoner at a re-education camp. The question that I believe we should be asking is whether such laws are just and the punishment appropriate.

[lectrick]

There's enough scientific studies out by now that show that marijuana use is not really a problem.

The fact that an unjust law is still on the books just means that politics and law move too slowly.

I don't know how anyone can stand behind an unjust law "because law, duh," and that's why you're getting downvoted.

[mikeash]

How many crimes have you committed this week?

[pcthrowaway]

Please do some research on this. I guarantee you there are more than 500 people in jail at any given time for possession of weed. At least two out of roughly 40 people in my pod when I spent a week in jail were there for possession of marijuana alone.

[pcthrowaway]

Actually, I just remembered, one of those was in jail for possession of marijuana paraphernalia not even marijuana.

[rhino369]

Simple possession or with intent to distribute?

Or are we talking about awaiting a bail hearing?

[pcthrowaway]

When you are arrested in the United States, you are taken to jail. After you have your bond set, you will be released upon someone posting bail. You stated that it's very rare for simple possession to land you in jail. There was one person in jail for having been arrested with weed, and another arrested for paraphernalia. Both may have received a sentence of time served plus probation, but that doesn't negate the fact that lots of space in our jails at any given time is being filled up by people arrested with marijuana.

[jacalata]

Backed up by Rolling Stone at http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/top-10-marijuana-m...

[sandworm]

That article only speaks to the prison population. It doesn't count those in jails, those serving less than one year. For simple possession it is unlikely that anyone would be sent away for more than a year so I'm not surprised that so few are in prisons. Jails are a totally different story. They've got lots of people in after being arrested for pot.