Virginia is moving to decriminalize marijuana (Hurt: real estate, crime rate, how much)

[Joke Insurance]

Source: LIS > Bill Tracking > SB908 > 2017 session

[spencgr]

Good. The sooner we move towards legalizing marijuana and the eventual revenue from taxing it, the better.

[boyd888]

Um, no. Did you miss the part where it says "01/23/17 Senate: Passed by indefinitely in Courts of Justice?"

That means the bill is dead.

Marijuana being illegal is a huge cash cow for police/lawyers so it is no surprise their associations were both against it. Not to mention all the money they make off the diversion program. Better off moving right to taxing it to replace the lost "revenue" they generate from all the low level offenders.

[snatale1]

Originally Posted by boyd888

Um, no. Did you miss the part where it says "01/23/17 Senate: Passed by indefinitely in Courts of Justice?"

That means the bill is dead.

Marijuana being illegal is a huge cash cow for police/lawyers so it is no surprise their associations were both against it. Not to mention all the money they make off the diversion program. Better off moving right to taxing it to replace the lost "revenue" they generate from all the low level offenders.

PBI is more of a deal with it later than dead, but your right about them liking it better illegal for all the money they make off of it. Hurts their "war on drugs" excuse.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by boyd888

Marijuana being illegal is a huge cash cow for police

How do the police benefit monetarily from marijuana?

[Old Town FFX]

Originally Posted by spencgr

How do the police benefit monetarily from marijuana?

That's a pretty easy one, no? Everyone through the system generates revenue.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Old Town FFX

That's a pretty easy one, no? Everyone through the system generates revenue.

ok, not "playing" dumb on this one, I seriously am dumb. I certainly see how lawyers make money...but I don't see how police make more money off of drugs.

[Old Town FFX]

Originally Posted by spencgr

ok, not "playing" dumb on this one, I seriously am dumb. I certainly see how lawyers make money...but I don't see how police make more money off of drugs.

If it were legal, they couldn't ticket for it. If you can't ticket, you lose money.

http://www.attn.com/stories/1663/pol...violent-crimes

The War on Drugs has pushed police departments to go after easy arrests like grabbing a drug user off the streets. For example, over 663,000 people were arrested in the U.S. for simply possessing marijuana in 2011. That's 100,000 more than arrests for all violent crimes that year. In many cases, offenders were only in possession of a small amount of marijuana.

1. Federal Dollars.

Why so much attention on low-level drug offenders? One major reason is that police departments receive federal grants based on how many people are arrested, rather than a declining crime rate.

“Current measures inadvertently incentivize unwise policy choices,” reads a report from the Brennan Center for Justice. “Federal officials ask states to report the number of arrests, but not whether the crime rate dropped. They measure the amount of cocaine seized, but not whether arrestees were screened for drug addiction. They tally the number of cases prosecuted, but not whether prosecutors reduced the number of petty crime offenders sent to prison. In short, today’s ... performance measures fail to show whether the programs it funds have achieved 'success:' improving public safety without needless social costs.”

So, if a department is solving most of its murder cases, but doesn't make enough overall arrests, the department can lose some of its federal funding.

2. Stats.

This likely has an effect on individual officers. Just think: An officer who arrests 19 people for having some marijuana on them looks better, on paper, at the end of the month than someone who has made one arrest for a stabbing they investigated. An officer who arrested five drug users in a day also has more paperwork to do, and therefore they'll have to put in more overtime to fill out the paperwork and will have to appear in court for those arrests. They make more money and their record looks better.

Several major news stories have highlighted the amount of DNA rape test kits that have never been analyzed because police departments often claim they don't have enough time. How much time is spent instead on nonviolent offenders? Between 1963 and 2007, the amount of murder cases that were solved went from 91 percent to 61 percent. There is certainly more than one reason things have changed for police departments, including a significant rise in murders overall, but the elevated focus on nonviolent drug crimes often monopolizes the time of departments across the country.

3. Asset forfeiture.

There are even more financial benefits for police departments that focus on drug crimes. With the practice of civil asset forfeiture, where the police can confiscate property if it is believed to be related to criminal activity, police departments can take money or possessions like cars and real estate from someone without ever charging them with a crime. Since 2001, police departments across the country have seized over $2.6 billion in cash from people who never went to jail or had to appear in court. Police departments can use that money to purchase new patrol cars, guns, and whatever else is determined to be necessary. Sometimes, what is determined to be necessary includes tickets to a football game or trips to Las Vegas.

4. Quotas

Many police departments also have quotas for the amount of traffic tickets an officer gives out and how many arrests they make, and an officer could lose their job if they regularly fail to meet those quotas.

"I can tell my supervisors that I took three people to the hospital and I saved their lives. That the child that I helped deliver is healthy," a New York City officer told NPR in April. "I can tell them that. But that's not going to cut it."

Regardless of the reasons for not getting their numbers, the officers can be punished.

The Bottom Line.

Police departments and police officers operate based on the parameters set by the state and federal government. A department that lacks government funding will find another way to get funds, an officer who is underpaid will find ways to pump up their paycheck, and most officers will do what they have to to keep their job. Until the government stops encouraging policing for profit, those who protect us can only do it for the right price.

As for VA

Possession of marijuana is a Class I misdemeanor punishable by no more than 30 days in jail and/or a find of up to $500 for a first offense. A second or subsequent offense is punishable with up to 12 months in jail and/or a up to $2,500 fine. Possession of less than a one half ounce of marijuana is simple possession (possession for personal use).

See

Va. Code Ann. §§ 182.248-250

Possession
Less than 1/2 oz (first offense) Misdemeanor 30 days $ 500
Less than 1/2 oz (subsequent offense) Misdemeanor 1 year $ 2,500

http://norml.org/laws/item/virginia-penalties-2

Then, there is the whole angle of civil asset forfeiture:

Vehicles and other assets can be seized in a civil proceeding, regardless of whether criminal charges are brought.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Old Town FFX

If it were legal, they couldn't ticket for it. If you can't ticket, you lose money.

Why Police Make so Many Drug Arrests



As for VA

Possession of marijuana is a Class I misdemeanor punishable by no more than 30 days in jail and/or a find of up to $500 for a first offense. A second or subsequent offense is punishable with up to 12 months in jail and/or a up to $2,500 fine. Possession of less than a one half ounce of marijuana is simple possession (possession for personal use).

See

Va. Code Ann. §§ 182.248-250

Possession
Less than 1/2 oz (first offense) Misdemeanor 30 days $ 500
Less than 1/2 oz (subsequent offense) Misdemeanor 1 year $ 2,500

Virginia Laws & Penalties - NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws

Then, there is the whole angle of civil asset forfeiture:

Vehicles and other assets can be seized in a civil proceeding, regardless of whether criminal charges are brought.

thanks.

[boyd888]

Also if you decide to go through the first offender diversion program to get it dismissed you get to bust out that checkbook for even more people. The ASAP office, the DMV (you lose your license for six months but can get a restricted), your lawyer, counseling if ASAP sends you to it (which they will).

You are looking at easily another $1-3K on top of what the code says. $$$ all around. You really think the marijuana printing press is going to give up all their money for a $250 fine? Nope.