Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating said that perception is, in fact, a myth, no matter what voters believed. Most first-time offenders, he said, have their cases dismissed before arraignment.

Translation: The DA can rack up points for "handling cases" while letting people go. This costs the taxpayers money in incarceration and court costs/loading as well as pads the DA's resume to make more money, thus costing the taxpayers more. It also costs the offender in lost time from work, and attorney's fees. The DA is an attorney, and defense lawyers are his kind of people too.

I can see why Keating wants to keep things the way they are, can't you?

How are we going to continue oppressing inner city slum dwellers? This is an outrage.

*sigh*

the point in decriminalizing it is that you free up resources to go after more SERIOUS issues, not continue to go after the pissant stuff.

Excellent use of the word honkey at the end of TFA.

SilentStrider: *sigh*

the point in decriminalizing it is that you free up resources to go after more SERIOUS issues, not continue to go after the pissant stuff.

But 'pissant stuff' pays the bills, don'cha know?

"Sure, if you're a suburban attractive and successful Caucasian-American, then yeah, they'll divert you," Downing said. "But if you're a black kid from a high-enforcement area, you get a criminal record."

Pretty much this.

Wahhhhhhhh!!!! We, the police, believe that Mary Jane is the cause of all evil. If only black people didn't like drum beats and weed they would be the primary example for racial excellence. Now that you've decriminalized it you have forced us to not pursue it- for this the voters are retards because they incoherently believe that marijuana isn't the root of all evil. Lewis Black said so!! Society will collapse because everyone who smokes weed quickly develops a meth habit and then they hallucinate and think GTA 4 is real life simulator and they start killing prostitutes and stealing cars and listening to radio stations that actually play decent music.

Wahhhhh!!! I'm a principal and every only the deadbeat students drink and smoke. There are no successful students who "misbehave." Further, no one ever quits drinking and smoking to move on in their life and focus on other success. A prime example of my sentiment is the fact that no president has ever drank or done drugs.

Combined: Wahhhh!!!! We don't think society should set its own standards or morals. We, the authoritarians, have the precise knowledge and expertise to guide society peacefully through life. Now that you have disobeyed us, 1984 will combine with Brave New World and reality will become the ultimate dystopic novel.

After RTFA I am still glad that I voted "yes"

After RTFA I am still glad that I voted "yes"

Ditto. There were articles like this one in several papers in the past week. I think it would be great if police followed through on their complaints and said they weren't going to bother enforcing this law because it's too much work for too little gain. I told the woman at the table when I signed the petition last year, I want legalization not merely decriminalization.

After decriminalization, Massachusetts police and prosecutors are upset that black city kids caught smoking pot will get the same no-criminal-record deal as suburban white kids

Yeah subby, that's exactly what the story says.

/agrees with the voters in MA

Never smoked pot... voted yes... think legalization would be fine... this article has not changed my mind.

Man, black inner-city children get all of the breaks!

"Sure, if you're a suburban honkey, then yeah, they'll divert you," Downing said. "But if you're a black kid niagara from a high-enforcement area, you get a criminal record."

FTFTFA

Don't prosecute crime = lower crime rate.

/Brilliant

Whitney Taylor is chairwoman of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, the group largely responsible for passage this past week of the ballot question that will reduce the penalty for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana to a ticket and a $100 fine. Taylor argued the punishments under the existing law have prevented respectable people from getting jobs, school loans or custody of their children.

"Respectable" people don't smoke marijuana. They drink liquor like the rest of us.

Hopefully, the rest of the country will be watching, and when MA fails to turn into a narcotic wasteland, similar measures will pass in other states. G-d forbid, even the feds may notice!

Hanover High School Principal Thomas Raab said the impact of the vote is dangerous, especially for young people who might interpret popular support for decriminalization as proof that marijuana is harmless.

OMG, MAKE EVERY DANGEROUS THING THAT IS LEGAL ILLEGAL TO SAVE THE CHILDREN.

Cars aren't harmless. Alcohol is not harmless. Joining the military is not harmless. Being a principal who went through the special education program at the school is not harmless.

Drug use should be licensed. You get a permit that allows you a certain amount of use. If the permit is revoked, you can't have drugs.

Not fair, I wish I was black

torch: It also costs the offender in lost time from work, and attorney's fees.

...and? They knowingly broke the law. The fact that the consequences of their actions might inconvenience them is hardly a reason to change the law. This also holds true for all of the complaints about their criminal record coming back to bite them in the ass. Hint: If you don't want a criminal record, don't commit the crime. It's really not that difficult of a concept.

King Something: "Sure, if you're a suburban attractive and successful Caucasian-American, then yeah, they'll divert you," Downing said. "But if you're a black kid from a high-enforcement area, you get a criminal record."

Pretty much this.

unfortunately.

Next they'll want to let marijuana smokers get married.

Samsaran: When will it become unacceptable for blacks to use racial slurs against whites?

When will it become unacceptable for white people to act like that shiat offends them? White people aren't typically offended by it; many minorities are (for many, many obvious and justified theoretical reasons). If I had a friend who was offended by being called a honkey I would order a vagina sand cleaner immediately. But oh yes, honkey, you are such a victim of the minority community, you poor baby you.

/white
//call me a honkey all you want
///cracker, too

Samsaran: No subby the article was not about differing penalties based on race. What you picked up was a comment by a black man, playing victim, and doing so using an offensive racial slur against White Americans. How long, do we tolerate this double standard? When will it become unacceptable for blacks to use racial slurs against whites?

The quote in question:


"Sure, if you're a suburban honkey, then yeah, they'll divert you," Downing said. "But if you're a black kid from a high-enforcement area, you get a criminal record."

Answer: When white people are no longer the privileged race in the United States. i.e. Never.

Now STFU back-woods cousin farker.

EliteAnalyst: Wow. We expected that it would be open season on whitey under Obama, but not this fast. I'm not sure how mainstreaming the word "honkey" is progress, I haven't heard it used in a non-ironic way in years.

Yeah, we tend to prefer cracker

Hanover High School Principal Thomas Raab said the impact of the vote is dangerous, especially for young people who might interpret popular support for decriminalization as proof that marijuana is harmless.

Do you have evidence to the contrary?

Samsaran: No subby the article was not about differing penalties based on race. What you picked up was a comment by a black man, playing victim, and doing so using an offensive racial slur against White Americans. How long, do we tolerate this double standard? When will it become unacceptable for blacks to use racial slurs against whites?

The quote in question:


"Sure, if you're a suburban honkey, then yeah, they'll divert you," Downing said. "But if you're a black kid from a high-enforcement area, you get a criminal record."

Or it could be the reality that white suburbia gets away with rampant drug abuse (especially among kids) while minority areas are targeted. It could be that African Americans represent a disproporinate amount of the prison population compared to their total population.

I agree that all "races" should stop deriding each other and start realizing the scientific reality- the amount of melanin in your skin has nothing to do with anything other than your tint.

"Will it exacerbate our drug problem? Yes Buy my snake oil," said Lt. John McDonough, head of the Quincy Police Department's drug control unit.

tonesskin But oh yes, honkey

Please, sir, when addressing my ethnicity I prefer to be called the more politically correct term Honkican-American.

Vangor: Hanover High School Principal Thomas Raab said the impact of the vote is dangerous, especially for young people who might interpret popular support for decriminalization as proof that marijuana is harmless.

Do you have evidence to the contrary?

To the contrary of what? That the kids will start smoking more pot now? That the kids think it isn't dangerous? That it actually is dangerous?

The first is irrelevant to the legality issue. The second is unlikely to be changed. Evidence to the contrary of the third (comparatively speaking) is substantial.

"Without stricter identification laws, people caught with marijuana could simply give an officer a fake name and deny having identification."

Wow, how the fark do they enforce all of their other laws, then?

Vangor: tonesskin But oh yes, honkey

Please, sir, when addressing my ethnicity I prefer to be called the more politically correct term Honkican-American.

Yeah, when I go to the KKK Cracker Sale, we refer to ourselves as Americans of Honkey Ancestry (AHA).

strathmeyer: Wow, how the fark do they enforce all of their other laws, then?

With a Taser and an eye for dark skin?

bonehead800 ...and? They knowingly broke the law. The fact that the consequences of their actions might inconvenience them is hardly a reason to change the law. This also holds true for all of the complaints about their criminal record coming back to bite them in the ass. Hint: If you don't want a criminal record, don't commit the crime. It's really not that difficult of a concept.



You chose your i.d. well... except it should have been times a billion instead of just 800.

I may be a honkey...
But I will never be Whitey.

/bank on it

So was Obama elected because he is half white and therefore "priveleged", or because he overcame the prejudice that came with being half black... or because of the socialist agenda that caught traction with people who complain about the prices of almost everything and the elimination of jobs... all of which will be exacerbated because they ellected a mulatoo socailist...

haha thanks thelordofcheese

gotta give cops something to do. theyve already taken care of all the dangerous drivers on the mass pike.

tonesskin To the contrary of what?

My comment was more directed at the 'proof that marijuana is harmless' comment, especially to the extent at least that criminalization is necessary.

Vangor: tonesskin But oh yes, honkey

Please, sir, when addressing my ethnicity I prefer to be called the more politically correct term Honkican-American.

And the missus prefers the term "honkey mom."

Hostile Apostle: So was Obama elected because he is half white and therefore "priveleged" privileged , or because he overcame the prejudice that came with being half black... or because of the socialist agenda that caught traction with people who complain about the prices of almost everything and the elimination of jobs... all of which will be exacerbated because they ellected elected a mulatoomulatto socailistsocialist...

If you are going to be a racist, ignorant fool, you might as well get your spelling right.

The article has one good point in that writing a legitimate ticket will be hard. If the cop doesn't take the pot to the lab every time, the defense to the ticket would be, "That wasn't pot. That was funny-smelling specialty tobacco, and you can't prove otherwise."

I'm still glad the "Yes" vote passed here though.

oink

If this trend continues we might actually get a black president one day.

as a Mass resident (dont ask) I am delighted with the ballot results. If it passes, I will slip a C-note into the case that holds my dugout and zippo and happily pay my fine and give up the hooch. I am still very concerned that the Gov, the DA, the AG and the rest of the less than reputable parts of our state government will repeal or fail to ratify the decision, in spite of the 2-1 landslide vote. Such is life in MA. Hell, we invented corruption, why change now.

Samsaran: No subby the article was not about differing penalties based on race. What you picked up was a comment by a black man, playing victim, and doing so using an offensive racial slur against White Americans. How long, do we tolerate this double standard? When will it become unacceptable for blacks to use racial slurs against whites?

The quote in question:


"Sure, if you're a suburban honkey, then yeah, they'll divert you," Downing said. "But if you're a black kid from a high-enforcement area, you get a criminal record."

While I agree with your thesis (racially-based epithets are bad no matter who says them, or at whom they are directed), I have a funny feeling that Bill Downing, president of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition is a white guy.

The Googles do nothing, however. Have any of you Boston-area Farkers ever seen or met the guy?

At least you can get good weed in Boston. Possession of dirt brown compressed brick weed should be criminalized.

/Boobies for me
//did not rtfa
///Slashies!

weatherwax: Samsaran: No subby the article was not about differing penalties based on race. What you picked up was a comment by a black man, playing victim, and doing so using an offensive racial slur against White Americans. How long, do we tolerate this double standard? When will it become unacceptable for blacks to use racial slurs against whites?

The quote in question:


"Sure, if you're a suburban honkey, then yeah, they'll divert you," Downing said. "But if you're a black kid from a high-enforcement area, you get a criminal record."

Answer: When white people are no longer the privileged race in the United States. i.e. Never.

Now STFU back-woods cousin farker.

The President-Elect is black. Your race card is now expired.

bonehead800: torch: It also costs the offender in lost time from work, and attorney's fees.

...and? They knowingly broke the law. The fact that the consequences of their actions might inconvenience them is hardly a reason to change the law. This also holds true for all of the complaints about their criminal record coming back to bite them in the ass. Hint: If you don't want a criminal record, don't commit the crime. It's really not that difficult of a concept.

Here's a hint: not all laws should be laws in the first place.

There are a few people in this thread who really need to spark up a doob.