Het congreslid [Barney Frank] introduceert rekening decriminalize persoonlijk marihuanagebruik

Rep. Barney Frank (DMA) heeft goed op zijn belofte gemaakt om te introduceren wat hij de „Zaal van het Merk voor de Ernstige Rekening van Misdadigers“ op 21 Maart, 2008 riep verschijning op HBO Echt - tijd met Rekening Maher. Cosponsorend de rekening zijn Rep. Ron Paul (r-TX), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Dana Rohrabacher (r-CA) en SAM Farr (D-CA).

Tekst van Donderdag persmededeling, van Rep. De openhartige Congreswebsite, volgt.

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Congreslid, 4de District, Massachusetts 2252 de Bouw Rayburn · Washington, D.C. 20515 · (202) 225-5931

17 april, 2008

OPENHARTIG VOERT DE WETGEVING IN OM FEDERALE SANCTIES OP HET PERSOONLIJKE GEBRUIK VAN DE MARIHUANA TE VERWIJDEREN

Het congreslid dient ook Rekening in Toelatend Medisch Gebruik van Marihuana in Staten die verkiezen om het met de Aanbeveling van de Arts toe te staan

Het congreslid Barney Frank voerde vandaag de tweeledige wetgeving in die op het verwijderen van federale beperkingen op het individuele gebruik van marihuana wordt gericht. Één rekening zou federale sancties voor het persoonlijke gebruik van marihuana verwijderen, en andere - versies van die Frank in verscheidene voorafgaande zittingen van Congres heeft ingediend - zou het medische gebruik van marihuana in staten toestaan die hebben verkozen om zijn gebruik voor medische doeleinden met de aanbeveling van een arts wettelijk te maken. Representatieve Ron Paul (r-TX) sloot zich aan bij Frank als cosponsor van federale sancties miljard. De cosponsors van de medische marihuanarekening zijn Rep. Paul, samen met Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Dana Rohrabacher (r-CA), en SAM Farr (D-CA).

Het congreslid Frank gaf de volgende verklaring vrij die de wetgeving verklaart.

„Ik denk het slechte wetshandhaving is op de boekenwetgeving te houden die als misdaad iets bepaalt geen wat in feite de maatschappij ernstig wenst om te vervolgen. In my view, having federal law enforcement agents engaged in the prosecution of people who are personally using marijuana is a waste of scarce resources better used for serious crimes. In fact, this type of prosecution often meets with public disapproval. The most frequent recent examples have been federal prosecutions of individuals using marijuana for medical purposes in states that have voted – usually by public referenda – to allow such use. Because current federal law has been interpreted as superseding state law in this area, most states that have made medical use of marijuana legal have been unable to actually implement their laws.

“When doctors recommend the use of marijuana for their patients and states are willing to permit it, I think it’s wrong for the federal government to subject either the doctors or the patients to criminal prosecution. More broadly speaking, the norm in America is for the states to decide whether particular behaviors should be made criminal. To make the smoking of marijuana, whether for medical purposes or not, one of those extremely rare instances of federal crime – literally, to make a ‘federal case’ out of it – is wholly disproportionate to the activity involved. We do not have federal criminal prohibitions against drinking alcoholic beverages, and there are generally no criminal penalties for the use of tobacco at the state and federal levels for adults. There is no rational argument for treating marijuana so differently from these other substances.”

To those who say that the government should not be encouraging the smoking of marijuana, my response is that I completely agree. But it is a great mistake to divide all human activity into two categories: those that are criminally prohibited, and those that are encouraged. In a free society, there must be a very considerable zone of activity between those two poles in which people are allowed to make their own choices as long as they are not impinging on the rights, freedom, or property of others. I believe it is important with regard to tobacco, marijuana and alcohol, among other things, that we strictly regulate the age at which people may use these substances. And, enforcement of age restrictions should be firm. But, criminalizing choices that adults make because we think they are unwise ones, when the choices involved have no negative effect on the rights of others, is not appropriate in a free society.”

“If the laws I am proposing pass, states will still be free to treat marijuana as they wish. But I do not believe that the federal government should treat adults who choose to smoke marijuana as criminals. Federal law enforcement is a serious business, and we should be concentrating our efforts in this regard on measures that truly protect the public.”

by RAW STORY Link to Article 4/17/2008

Who is Barney Frank? Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia, a link to the complete article can be found here.

Frank is one of the most liberal members of the House, and has been outspoken on many civil rights issues, including gay rights. In 1987, he spoke publicly about his homosexuality for the first time. He said in a 1996 interview: “I’m used to being in the minority. I’m a left-handed gay Jew. I’ve never felt, automatically, a member of any majority.”

Reprimand

In 1990, the House voted to reprimand Frank when it was revealed that Steve Gobie, a male escort whom Frank had befriended after hiring him through a personal advertisement, claimed to have conducted an escort service from Frank’s apartment when he was not at home. Frank had dismissed Gobie earlier that year and reported the incident to the House Ethics Committee after learning of Gobie’s activities. After an investigation, the House Ethics Committee found no evidence that Frank had known of or been involved in the alleged illegal activity.^[2] Regarding Gobie’s more scandalous claims the report by the Ethics Committee concluded, “In numerous instances where an assertion made by Mr. Gobie (either publicly or during his Committee deposition) was investigated for accuracy, the assertion was contradicted by third-party sworn testimony or other evidence of Mr. Gobie himself.”^[3

Also, a biography for Barney Frank can be found here>> Barney Frank bio.