midwestbluntman
07-05-2007, 07:51 AM
Dear Midwestbluntman:
People convicted of marijuana offenses — even minor ones — may face punishments that go far beyond whatever fines or jail sentences the court imposes, according to a new study released yesterday. These "collateral sanctions" can haunt offenders for their whole lives and, in some cases, be worse than those faced by violent criminals.
The report, issued by the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, was funded by MPP's grants program and is the first report to analyze the extra punishments faced by marijuana offenders.
Click here http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/rpts/col_sanctions.htm to read the full report, here http://www.mpp.org/site/c.glKZLeMQI...newsletter2.asp to read some of the news coverage it has generated, and here https://www.kintera.org/site/c.glKZ...OvH9IJKUOtHiK1E to make a donation to MPP in support of our efforts to highlight the excesses of the government's war on marijuana users.
Some key findings of the report include:
* Sanctions triggered by a marijuana conviction can include loss of access to food stamps, public housing, and student financial aid, as well as driver's license suspensions, loss of or ineligibility for professional licenses, other barriers to employment or promotion, and bars to adoption, voting, and jury service.
* Sanctions triggered by felony marijuana convictions can be more severe than those for a violent crime — and a felony can be as little as growing one marijuana plant or possessing over 20 grams of marijuana.
* Marijuana offenders are subject to the most severe collateral sanctions in Florida, Delaware, Alabama, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Utah.
* Marijuana offenders are subject to the least severe collateral sanctions in New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Maine.
Please click here http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/rpts/col_sanctions.htm to see the ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
These types of reports are important because they systematically highlight the injustices caused by marijuana prohibition. Indeed, the issue of collateral sanctions is getting attention from officials: A story on June 24 in the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey described Mayor Cory Booker as incensed about laws that keep people with minor drug convictions from having a driver's license or getting many types of jobs, saying, "The drug war is causing crime. It's just chewing up young black men."
The laws that create a kind of "double jeopardy" for marijuana offenders are too often a "feel-good" way for legislators to appear tough on drugs. But the results can be devastating to people's lives.
Please consider making a donation today toward reforming our nation's marijuana laws.
In the past year, MPP's grants program has funded other similarly important reports on the horrifying effects of marijuana prohibition. In March, Stop Prisoner Rape released "Stories from the Inside: Prisoner Rape and the War on Drugs," http://www.mpp.org/site/c.glKZLeMQI...MPPs_Grants.htm which makes a direct connection between the high rate of incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders and sexual violence behind bars. And last summer, MPP helped fund the Cato Institute report, "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America," http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6476) which provides an extensive catalogue of abuses and mistaken raids by SWAT teams charged with carrying out the war on drugs.
Please donate now to help MPP continue making the case for badly needed marijuana policy reform. I'm grateful for anything you can give... https://www.kintera.org/site/c.glKZ...OHLcJPL3OFIlI7H
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2007. This means that your donation today will be doubled.
P.P.S. You can opt out of receiving fundraising mentions in the e-mail alerts I send you in 2007 by visiting www.mpp.org/2007optoutpreference at your convenience.
Raised in '07
$1,569,749
Goal in '07
$3,000,000
MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in our 2007 strategic plan if you and other allies are generous enough to fund our work.
We are required by federal law to tell you that any donations you make to MPP may be used for political purposes, such as supporting or opposing candidates for federal office.
People convicted of marijuana offenses — even minor ones — may face punishments that go far beyond whatever fines or jail sentences the court imposes, according to a new study released yesterday. These "collateral sanctions" can haunt offenders for their whole lives and, in some cases, be worse than those faced by violent criminals.
The report, issued by the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, was funded by MPP's grants program and is the first report to analyze the extra punishments faced by marijuana offenders.
Click here http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/rpts/col_sanctions.htm to read the full report, here http://www.mpp.org/site/c.glKZLeMQI...newsletter2.asp to read some of the news coverage it has generated, and here https://www.kintera.org/site/c.glKZ...OvH9IJKUOtHiK1E to make a donation to MPP in support of our efforts to highlight the excesses of the government's war on marijuana users.
Some key findings of the report include:
* Sanctions triggered by a marijuana conviction can include loss of access to food stamps, public housing, and student financial aid, as well as driver's license suspensions, loss of or ineligibility for professional licenses, other barriers to employment or promotion, and bars to adoption, voting, and jury service.
* Sanctions triggered by felony marijuana convictions can be more severe than those for a violent crime — and a felony can be as little as growing one marijuana plant or possessing over 20 grams of marijuana.
* Marijuana offenders are subject to the most severe collateral sanctions in Florida, Delaware, Alabama, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Utah.
* Marijuana offenders are subject to the least severe collateral sanctions in New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Maine.
Please click here http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/rpts/col_sanctions.htm to see the ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
These types of reports are important because they systematically highlight the injustices caused by marijuana prohibition. Indeed, the issue of collateral sanctions is getting attention from officials: A story on June 24 in the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey described Mayor Cory Booker as incensed about laws that keep people with minor drug convictions from having a driver's license or getting many types of jobs, saying, "The drug war is causing crime. It's just chewing up young black men."
The laws that create a kind of "double jeopardy" for marijuana offenders are too often a "feel-good" way for legislators to appear tough on drugs. But the results can be devastating to people's lives.
Please consider making a donation today toward reforming our nation's marijuana laws.
In the past year, MPP's grants program has funded other similarly important reports on the horrifying effects of marijuana prohibition. In March, Stop Prisoner Rape released "Stories from the Inside: Prisoner Rape and the War on Drugs," http://www.mpp.org/site/c.glKZLeMQI...MPPs_Grants.htm which makes a direct connection between the high rate of incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders and sexual violence behind bars. And last summer, MPP helped fund the Cato Institute report, "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America," http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6476) which provides an extensive catalogue of abuses and mistaken raids by SWAT teams charged with carrying out the war on drugs.
Please donate now to help MPP continue making the case for badly needed marijuana policy reform. I'm grateful for anything you can give... https://www.kintera.org/site/c.glKZ...OHLcJPL3OFIlI7H
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2007. This means that your donation today will be doubled.
P.P.S. You can opt out of receiving fundraising mentions in the e-mail alerts I send you in 2007 by visiting www.mpp.org/2007optoutpreference at your convenience.
Raised in '07
$1,569,749
Goal in '07
$3,000,000
MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in our 2007 strategic plan if you and other allies are generous enough to fund our work.
We are required by federal law to tell you that any donations you make to MPP may be used for political purposes, such as supporting or opposing candidates for federal office.