Georgia Marijuana Reform Group Sets Legislative Agenda
Georgia C.A.R.E. wants legislators to look at reforming marijuana laws, beginning with the drug's medical use.
A group seeking reform of Georgia’s marijuana laws will head to the state capitol on today, Jan. 14 to begin an educational campaign for its legalization, beginning with medical use of the drug.
James Bell, director of Georgia C.A.R.E., said the marijuana reform coalition wants to start a public discussion on the impact marijuana laws have on the criminal justice system and the public. According to their website, Georgia C.A.R.E. is a project of the Georgia Taxpayers Alliance, Inc. They have a link to NORML, a national group that advocates for the legalization of marijuana, on their website.
Bell said with the Georgia General Assembly studying reform of the criminal justice system and criminal sanctions, marijuana law reform should also be considered.
“You can not talk about reducing the prison population and reforming Georgia’s criminal code without considering reforming marijuana laws”, Bell said. “We want lawmakers to take a close look at the impact these laws have on our state. We have sat on this issue for far too long.”
Each year, nearly 40,000 arrests are made for violations of marijuana laws putting a strain on the criminal justice system, wasting tax dollars and diverting law enforcement resources away from more serious offenses.
The Woodstock Police Department last year had 146 cases that invovled marijuana arrests. For the Cherokee Sheriff's Office, the agency had 298 marijuana-related arrests in 2012.
The first step in reform is to review the medical marijuana law passed unanimously in 1980 by the general assembly, according to Bell. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana measures with no negative impact on public safety.
Georgia C.A.R.E. Legislative Priorities include:
- Cannabis (Marijuana) as a Schedule Substance: Designate cannabis (marijuana) as a Schedule V (5) (O.C.G.A. 16-13-29) substance consistent with the “Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act”, (O.C.G.A. 43-34-120).
- Special Study Committee on Therapeutic Medical Marijuana: Establish a special study committee to examine reforming and expanding Georgia’s medical marijuana laws (O.C.G.A. 43-34-120); allow stakeholder to offer testimony on the issue and make recommendations for legislative reform.
- Special Study Committee on Marijuana Decriminalization: Study the impact of Georgia’s marijuana laws on the criminal justice system and public safety to make recommendations to the Georgia General Assembly concerning law reform.
In This article
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Woodstock Police Department
12453 Highway 92, Woodstock, GA -
Cherokee County Public Safety Building
150 Chattin Dr, Canton, GA
Sharon Ravert
5:53 pm on Monday, January 14, 2013
I support these efforts. Great job James Bell. We should not be arresting our young adults while big banks get a pass for laundering money for drug cartels. It is not fiscally sustainable or socially wise.
FlyingTooLow
10:58 am on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Over a 3-year period, marijuana was the top cash crop in the state of North Carolina. Tobacco, more than $100 million behind. Cotton is third on the list.
Marijuana is the top crop in 12 states and ranks among the top three in 30 states.
Law enforcement needs to re-direct its focus on crime...to those that are REAL crimes.
I was in Federal Prison for 5 years for a marijuana offense. No, it was not for simple possession. I was arrested aboard a Lockheed PV2 in Marianna, Florida...charged and convicted for conspiracy to import and distribute 12,000 pounds of marijuana.
As my years in prison rolled by, what I did see were armed bank robbers, coming and going...while I still sat there for marijuana. Most of the bank robbers only spent 17 to 24 months. But, I and my fellow 'drug offenders,'...we stayed for YEARS.
I wrote about the escapades that led to my incarceration. I admit, I had a great time. No one was injured, no one was killed, firearms were not involved...there were no victims.
We were Americans...doing what Americans do best...living free.
The book: Shoulda Robbed a Bank
I would be honored by your review.
FreeTheWeed
7:36 am on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Ga will be the last of the BibleBelt states to move for MM due to the backwards ways of thinking like not for our POTUS due to the color of his skin, asking for teachers to be able to carry guns in school(Bad Idea) and the small narrow way of thinking that people who use marijuana are stupid and that it makes you a bad parent things that are all LIES! Open your minds and stop the blindness to the true harm of Big Cigg companys and Booze! FreeTheWeed
FlyingTooLow
10:58 am on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
All card-carrying members of the DEA need to read: Shoulda Robbed a Bank
Here is one of its reviews:
5.0 out of 5 stars... If David Sedaris had written 'Catcher in the Rye'..this would be it, June 30, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: Shoulda Robbed a Bank (Kindle Edition)
I have never smoked pot in my life...nor do I ever care to.
I read about this book in numerous Huffington Post comments. Thought I would read it because I know nothing about marijuana or the people involved with it. I am ecstatic that I did. Funny, Funny, Funny!!!
The chapters are like short stories. Stories about unloading boats with helicopters, close encounters with law enforcement, traveling through the jungles of South America. The chapter about the author's first time smoking marijuana made me feel like I was with him...coughing.
All of the characters were just a group of loveable, nice guys and girls. Not what I had been raised to believe...hysterical maniacs high on pot bent on death and mayhem. They were nothing like that.
If you have ever read any of David Sedaris' books, and like them...you will love Shoulda Robbed a Bank.
And the crazy things happening reminded me of Holden Caufield in 'Catcher in the Rye' and the way he staggered through life.
The way the words are put together are like nothing I have ever heard. I am sure I will use many of the sayings found in this book just to dazzle my friends. A terrific read. I love this book.
adrian smith
10:13 am on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Great to see this. I totally support medical marijuana and decriminalization. I hope GA may surprised us someday and do the right thing.
FlyingTooLow
10:58 am on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The closest I have ever seen marijuana come to harming anyone was during an air drop. We brought in 1100 pounds from Jamaica and dropped it in a peanut field in middle Georgia. The bales were dropped from a small plane at 125 feet altitude. One of the bales, about 80 pounds, missed my compadre by only a few feet... but it surely messed up his truck.
You can read about it in: Shoulda Robbed a Bank
That is my contribution to helping point out just how ludicrous our pot laws truly are.
Mike Dar
8:00 am on Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Putting aside the 'Law and Order' proponets, some actually believing propoganda without factual basis and others that simply see 'Law and Order' as a means to the end of manipulating for self advancement(Politics), a serious understanding on an area seldom exposed and quicky hushed needs to come out for the States entrenched in the status quo to enable change.
That area is the fiscal rewards these States, in their policies, provide to certain persons whom influence policy. As has been said, without an Agenda, Politicians do not deal with something,( perhaps anything)!. A Known, "If money is not being made, it won;t happen".
Confiscation, in Georgia, is a very lucrative avenue for some. Mind you, not just in drug cases. Also Fines, legal fees, employement for officers(and overtime) are greatly enhanced with prohibition. So to a major degree, the Status quo is controlled not by the voters, but by those said individuals empowered and rewarded by prohibition. Taking those benificeries out of the eqaution, their regulating, policy preferrals and political influence, the road to sensible Drug laws becomes a much less bumpy road.
As of now, those that are the benificeries are the empediments on this road, not the citizens.
So, less than honest agendas hold sway, proponets for change need to expose those culpable in shemes for self advancement over the wants of the public. I'm hoping people start to discuss these individuals, not the system as a whole and expedite change.
uncle mike
10:32 am on Saturday, February 2, 2013
I have seen a few people die from alcohol use, it's not a good picture. Of all the things that are legal , booze, pills, guns, etc, it's hard to believe that marijuna is so illegal. The Gov. needs to cut bait on this.
FlyingTooLow
2:27 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013
"The Gov. needs to cut bait on this."
Well said, Sir.
jeremy
9:34 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
u can have back surgery and get fed 120 oxycodone a month. man made herion. but cant even use a god given med (legally) thats works better. come on gov. get on the ball. just think about all the damage alcohol causes. thats just the begining . take ur legal herion and ur booze. not me.
People are Crazy
2:24 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
@Jeremy-ever had back surgery? That is a poor comparison.
Marijuana may be good for a lot of minor to moderate chronic pain and nausea issues, but wouldn't touch the severe pain one has after a major surgery.
FlyingTooLow
2:53 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
@ Jeremy...
I copied the below comment from another website. I think the American veteran who wrote this sums it up very well:
"I am a disabled Army Veteran and smoke marijuana strictly for medical purposes. I never smoked before I broke my back in the military and it hasen't been a gateway to anything. I started smoking because of my cauda equina syndrome.
I had a herniated disk in my lower back that compressed the nerves at the lower end of my spine (cauda equina nerves). The doctors couldn't prevent permanent damage, so I am left with permanent pain that is so severe that it leads to vomiting on a consistant basis without my medacine (marijuana). The doctors prescribed me morphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, oxycotton, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, etc... All of the above named meda...
cines made me useless, I hardly knew what was happening around me. On top of that, they didnt help with the pain or the vomiting from the pain. I felt like bugs were crawling under my skin.
After complaining about this for a while, friends and family handed me cannabis. I was reluctant at first, due to the stigma that goes along with it. After I gave it a try, I realized that it was far and away a better solution than any of the above named DRUGS. I had none of the issues with cannabis that I had with all those other PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS. I can function and carry on with my life. Marijuana has made me a better person and a far more functional parent and husband."