Several letters to the editor have voiced concerns regarding the launch of our municipal initiative petition to lessen the criminal penalties associated with the possession of small amounts of marijuana. We understand those concerns and wish to address them.
Currently, Joplin police arrest an estimated 230 people annually for violating marijuana laws.
Most of these are young people, and 99 percent of those arrested are charged with possession only. The Sensible Sentencing Initiative would not legalize the use of marijuana by the public; it would address these violations in a more fiscally responsible manner that would preserve law enforcement resources and redirect taxpayer dollars to be focused on more serious crime.
More than 30 percent of the U.S. population lives under some form of marijuana decriminalization, and according to numerous government and academic studies, these laws have not contributed to an increase in marijuana consumption nor negatively impacted adolescent attitudes toward drug use.
Additionally, the way we handle marijuana possession cases now also puts students at risk of losing eligibility for federal financial aid. The Aid Elimination Penalty automatically strips financial aid from students with any drug conviction, including misdemeanor marijuana possession. Since the penalty was added to the Higher Education Act in 1998, nearly 200,000 students have been denied aid because of it. Countless others didn’t even apply for aid because they thought they’d be denied. This would not happen under our Sensible Sentencing Initiative.
Joplin’s current policy results in the arrests of hundreds of our fellow citizens without impacting marijuana use or the drug’s availability. Our initiative will give voters the choice to take a pragmatic, alternative approach to the marijuana issue. Let the people speak.
Kelly Maddy
Sensible Joplin/Joplin NORML
Opinion
Voices: Give voters the choice
- Opinion
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Our View: Great divide
In 1975, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the United States began meeting on an annual basis to coordinate economic policies.
Canada and Russia later joined this forum. Today and Saturday the G-8 summit will be held at Camp David, Md. -
Our View: Fiscal cliff
In August 2011, Congress and President Barack Obama agreed to tax increases and spending cuts to automatically take place in January of 2013.
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Our View: Ditto that
Lots of angry words are being tossed around about a secretive ceremony held Monday in our state Capitol to honor Rush Limbaugh’s induction as a member of the Hall of Famous Missourians. Let us add our “ditto” to that criticism.
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Our View: Linked for success
Dr. Richard Reed, a Joplin dentist, lost his office and equipment in the May 22 tornado.
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Your View: An alternative candidate
The bane of Duane Graham’s existence apparently is GOP politicians, other than those who provide him with derogatory commentary about the only competition his personal choice for president has (Globe, May 6).
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Your View: Why stop there?
The Sunday Globe column (“Freight train of entitlements hard to stop,” May 13) by Richard La Near, our local 18th-century economist, did not go far enough.
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Your View: Listening on the lost side of town
There have been many changes in my community since May 22, 2011, when the largest tornado in modern history wiped out one-third of my town of Joplin.
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Other Views: War on terror isn't over
Weary of a war on terror that has gone on for years, we would like to declare victory and return to normalcy.
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Phill Brooks, columnist: Stumbling blocks hinder Legislature
House Speaker Steve Tilley may have coined the best word for the 2012 legislative session. “Incremental” was how he described what the Legislature had accomplished on education.
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Other Views: When is a right a right?
The framers of the U.S. Constitution were admirably clear, or so they and we thought, when they wrote in the Fifth Amendment that no person shall “be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.”
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