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Newsbrief:
Campaign
Watch
--
Kucinich
Says
Legalize
It
12/19/03
For the first time since
the days of Jimmy Carter, a prominent presidential candidate has called
for an end to marijuana prohibition. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH),
a progressive and therefore long-shot candidate for the Democratic presidential
nomination, quietly announced on his campaign web site last week that,
if elected, he would end federal prohibitions on the use of marijuana by
adults and would instead move to regulate it like alcohol.
 |
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| Dennis
Kucinich |
|
"Statistical evidence shows
that marijuana use follows a pattern very similar to that of alcohol,"
wrote Kucinich. "Most marijuana users do so responsibly, in a safe,
recreational context. These people lead normal, productive lives
-- pursuing careers, raising families and participating in civic life...
A Kucinich administration would reject the current paradigm of 'all use
is abuse' in favor of a drug policy that sets reasonable boundaries for
marijuana use by establishing guidelines similar to those already in place
for alcohol... A Kucinich administration would work to implement a drug
policy that removes responsible recreational users and medical users of
marijuana from the criminal justice system, in order to redirect resources
toward the following goals:
-
Enforce penalties for those
who provide marijuana to minors.
-
Enforce penalties for those
who endanger the rights of others through irresponsible use, such as driving
under the influence.
-
Develop drug treatment programs
focused on rehabilitation, rather than incarceration.
-
Support the efforts of state
governments in developing innovative approaches to drug policy.
-
Improve drug education by emphasizing
science over scare tactics.
-
Implement a Department of Justice
program that would review the records of, and consider for sentence reduction
or release, inmates convicted for nonviolent marijuana offenses.
Visit http://www.kucinich.us/issues/marijuana_decrim.php
to read the full text of Kucinich's marijuana plank online. Visit
http://www.kucinich.us/issues/drugwar.php
to read Kucinich's overall drug policy reform stances.
-- END --
|
Issue #316, 12/19/03
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DRCNet Temporarily Suspending Our Web-Based Write-to-Congress Service Due to Funding Shortfalls -- Your Help Can Bring It Back -- Keep Contacting Congress in the Meantime |
Perry Fund Accepting Applications for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 School Years, Providing Scholarships for Students Losing Aid Because of Drug Convictions |
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