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Opponents of Marijuana Reform Constantly Contradict Themselves

This article on a marijuana decriminalization effort in New Hampshire provides a useful case study in the utter confusion and desperation of the anti-pot peanut gallery:

…Exeter Police Chief Richard Kane, among others, is adamantly opposed. "If we reduce the penalty for small amounts of marijuana, it will eventually lead to legalization and I think that's heading in the wrong direction," he said last week.

Nashua Police Chief Donald Conley also said it would be a mistake to take the sting out of the law. [Boston Globe]

So the Police Chief begins by arguing that we must go around stinging people for possessing pot. But when reform advocates argue that too many young lives are being derailed by harsh punishments for petty offenses, Conley completely changes his tune:

But Conley said it is rare for first-time offenders to get jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

"As far as someone getting arrested and their lives being ruined, I don't think that's the case," he said. "Employers are more forgiving in this day and age, and police prosecutors frequently reduce marijuana cases down to violations…"

Wait, so should we be stinging people or not? He begins by defending aggressive sanctions and ends by claiming the sanctions aren't aggressive. The contradiction is transparent and embarrassing.

It is, in fact, not at all uncommon to hear defenders of harsh marijuana laws speak approvingly of the fact that most offenders avoid jail time. Thus, it is not necessarily the practice of ruining lives for marijuana which they crave, but rather the discretion to do so should the urge happen to arise. Meanwhile, millions of otherwise law-abiding Americans are branded as criminals so that people like Chief Conley can live out their authoritarian fantasies.


Nashua Police Chief Donald Conley

is one slick customer.  Note his mercurial ability to suddenly switch from one opposing viewpoint to another by sugar-coating the sting.  He’s gaslighting his intended audience by denying the reality of the situation to people who know better.  It’s fairly clear from just a few statements how Mr. Conley rose to become a police chief.

Conley also says in the Boston Globe:  "I think it sends the wrong message. If we say it's OK to possess a small amount of marijuana, some will think it must be OK to use it and others will think it is OK to sell it."

Wrong message?  What does Mr. Conley think goes on in the minds of people whom he considers ignorant enough to believe something so utterly stupid?  The message I get from Mr. Conley is, “I think you’re an idiot, and I’m here to whack you because you scare me; screw your future.” Not, “I’m here to protect and serve.”

But the rest of the statement shows he just isn’t clear on what’s happening.   Possessing, using, and selling (sharing) are all pretty much the same thing to the drug user.  I mean, someone might enjoy viewing weed under a microscope because it’s intricate and it looks cool.  But most people buy it to smoke it.

I hope Nashua PC Conley can address these issues in the near future.  I would be interested in what he has to say.

Giordano

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