If a state makes marijuana legal, should it clear criminals — call off trials for possession, release prisoners, and expunge the records of everyone busted before society’s enlightened reversal?
Categories
If a State Makes Pot Legal, Should it Clear Criminals Busted Under Old Law
If a state makes marijuana legal, should it clear criminals — call off trials for possession, release prisoners, and expunge the records of everyone busted before society’s enlightened reversal?
10 replies on “If a State Makes Pot Legal, Should it Clear Criminals Busted Under Old Law”
anyone who broke the law like dealing in illegal drugs will probably go and do it again just for another drug. this is not a ” minor or simple ” crime or one that is done by your friendly neighbor who only sold one or two bags.
we remain a group of people who are governed by memories of head cases from high school and cheech and chong movies- not the realities of how the drug trade really works.
you can argue for simple possession of under a gram or two- but like any criminal behavior you have to look at the whole picture.
Gotta disagree with Bill — changing the law is indeed a tacit admission that the law was unjust/wrong in the first place, and so a person should not be penalized for having broken it.
Change the circumstances to get at the underlying principles:
In 1955, segregation was the law.
Rosa Parks broke the law, and she was arrested and charged with a violation of Chapter 6, Section 11 segregation law of the Montgomery City code.
The law was subsequently changed, an admission of its unjust-ness.
Should her arrest record have been expunged after that, or should that always stay on her record?
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that marijuana usage is still a violation of federal statutes. Anyone with a security clearance or works for the federal government (even as a contractor) will be fired if they fail a drug test.
I disagree with Bill. If, when I started my career, I was busted for possession of pot, my life would be drastically different. I absolutely cannot have any felonies on my record.
If I were to apply for a teaching job in California with a record for possession, I would not get hired. I think that’s grossly unfair. I would be penalized for something that’s is now legal in that state.
Not everything is black and white. There are shades of gray.
Magnificent episode, gents!
And Scott has a whole secret life we don’t know about. Probably got busted for jaywalking. 😉
Simple solution. In that check-box for prior convictions, for those employers who feel so inclined, label it, “Prior convictions for other than marijuana possession.”
For the most part, I agree with Bill….BUT– People can apply to have their conviction pardoned and expunged… There are some jobs which a person Can Not get if they have “any” Felony convictions. I arrested people in the 70s for possession of a “pin Joint” and it was a Felony. Several of them came to me after 2000 and asked if I would write a letter for them to get a pardon/rights reinstated and I did (and they did). I would also like to hear Bills attitude about the abominable abuse of Expo Facto when Domestic Assault “was not” a reason to loose your firearms rights, but the Gov’t went back and said that it did not matter…. You assaulted your spouse, even thought it was a minor assault, 30 years ago, therefore you can not buy/sell own or posses a firearm….. Just curious… Karl
I am with Bill on this as his main point is the necessity for people to respect the law in order to have, basically, civilization. There is a huge difference between places that have the rule of law versus those that have the rule of man (people deciding for themselves which laws apply to them). The only way that I would see it to be just for people to deliberately go against a law is if that law negates their God-given constitutional rights–for example, violating our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to bear arms, etc. Then there is justification for ignoring the man-made law in favor of the God-given law. But pot is not a God-given law, and therefore laws against it, even if later overturned, are not to be ignored and will carry the penalty for breaking them.
Did I miss it or did Bill touch on the “ban the box” movement which wants to ban criminal background checks for employment and home rental applications?
I have to stand with Bill on this one. Nobody’s in jail for misdemeanor possession of a joint or two and no job application I’ve ever seen asks if you’ve been convicted of a misdemeanor. A felony charge on somebody’s record is a reflection of character, and while laws change, character doesn’t without divine intervention. I had a felony marijuana charge on my record. After Jesus radically changed my life and after 10 years of proving my changed character, I received a full pardon from the governor of New Mexico through the legal process. There are already methods in place to have a felony record expunged if a person’s character changes. Simply erasing the record won’t give an individual any incentive to change his character. It would be the same thing as handing blanket amnesty and full citizenship to everyone who illegally crossed our border.
I am going to have to disagree with Bill on his premise. The part that xyz was against the law when he broke it.
On the face of it I would have top agree. BUT!
If we take the same circumstance and apply it to say.. Freedom of speech or the 2nd amendment. The situation changes. Law that violate the constitution are NOT laws.
So to say that drug laws prohibiting alcohol… was a Constitutional Amendment.
Exactly what Constitutional Amendment was passed to allow the government to prohibit something that a Free Person chooses to put in their body?
Look… Drugs are bad M’Kay…. but the government has no place telling a citizen what they can do with their own body. Now, the government has an obligation for the general welfare of society. So I am all for punishing people for public intoxication.
But !
Now from a practical standpoint, assuming these people had no other violations (violations related to the drug convictions like resisting arrest for being arrested for drug possession) they should be let go but if they want it off their record I say … sure after a set time a person can apply to have it expunged.