Marijuana Laws in VI?

Decriminalization locks fewer people up for small quantities and keeps the youth from becoming felons and allows the police to concentrate on more important matters of public safety.'

If people are just buying for personal use, like a dime bag. The worse they are going to suffer is a misdemenor, so basically a parking ticket. I asked an AG here and they said it is also just a misdemenor. So I don't really understand where all this jail talk is coming from. If you're just buying for personal use and you're not an addict that needs a large quanity, you are only buying a small quanity. As far as I know most states are the same.

'I don't expect to change your mind, just to perhaps see if you can expand your paradigm so you might give it some thought from a different perspective......" For the times they are a changin"

Have you considered that we are educated people that just have a different point of view from yours? IMO I don't reall see more peole for for this stateside but thats just an opinion as I suspect yours is. What I do see is it becoming impossible for smokers to smoke anywhere statside. I think smoking ciggerattes will become illegal before MJ ever becomes legal, which will probably hurt MJ chance of ever even becoming legal.

My concern with only legalizing small quantities for personal use is that those people who buy the small quantities have to do so from somewhere. And its that somewhere that is the biggest problem of drugs, the drug dealers who truly ruin the community via their violent form of black market trading. Legalizing small quantities for personal/medical use will just lead to possibly more drug users without the positive side effects of tax revenue from legalized sales, and the elimination of thuggish drug dealers pedalling their wares. Seems like much of the practical benefit goes away under this paradigm.

Sean

Possession Penalties Virgin Islands

First offence, any amount is a misdemeanor with a possible one year in jail and a $5000 fine.

Second offence, any amount is a felony with a possible 2 years in jail and a $10000 fine

Any dealing or distribution is a felony with severe minimum mandatory sentence. Selling to some under 16 doubles the penalties.

norml.org

And, Sean, the problem would be (under only decriminalizing small quantities) that the individual is forced to deal with criminal elements, which are potentially dangerous. So, it seems that if you're going to decriminalize personal use, there has to be a "legitimate" distribution system also. I don't think this would be an issue for medical use of MJ, because the doctors could probably get MJ from police seizures.

I just read the wikipedia site on decriminalization of MJ ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decriminalization_of_non-medical_marijuana_in_the_United_States). I don't see any indications that the dealer gets off with a misdemeanor... only the user.

Wow! Well it looks like we'll be hearing more about this issue very soon. There is a Federal Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008 in the House right now! See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Use_of_Marijuana_by_Responsible_Adults_Act_of_2008. I really did not think that liberals would go after this now! But, there still seems to be an issue about the dealer in this bill.

So if its so dangerous to buy why do people risk it if they are not addicted? Let alone fund people we know are dangerous and most likely minor to major criminals?

I'll ask the AG I know about how many repeat offenders really get felonies. I kinda doubt that really happens with the case load they have.

Why is it something you have to have? At the very least smoking it is not healthy for you why would you want another bad habit? You can get mellow by mediating doing yoga or get high by working out. I just do not understand the need for it. It just seems like another way to get "drunk" and I just don't see a need for it.

Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America (behind only alcohol and tobacco), and has been used by nearly 80 million Americans. According to government surveys, some 20 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 11 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use. Our public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it.

Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose. According to the prestigious European medical journal, The Lancet, "The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat ... than alcohol or tobacco."

NORML supports the removal of all penalties for the private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults, including cultivation for personal use, and casual nonprofit transfers of small amounts. This policy, known as decriminalization, removes the consumer -- the marijuana smoker -- from the criminal justice system.

More than 30 percent of the U.S. population lives under some form of marijuana decriminalization, and according to government and academic studies, these laws have not contributed to an increase in marijuana consumption nor negatively impacted adolescent attitudes toward drug use.

Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually and results in the arrest of more than 829,000 individuals per year -- far more than the total number of arrestees for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

YEAR MARIJUANA ARRESTS
2007 872,721
2006 829,625
2005 786,545
2004 771,608
2003 755,187
2002 697,082
2001 723,627
2000 734,498
1999 704,812
1998 682,885
1997 695,200
1996 641,642
1995 588,963
1994 499,122
1993 380,689
1992 342,314
1991 287,850
1990 326,850

Of those charged with marijuana violations, approximately 89 percent, 738,915 Americans were charged with possession only. The remaining 90,710 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses, even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use. In past years, roughly 30 percent of those arrested were age 19 or younger.

NORML supports the eventual development of a legally controlled market for marijuana, where consumers could buy marijuana for personal use from a safe legal source. This policy, generally known as legalization, exists on various levels in a handful of European countries like The Netherlands and Switzerland, both of which enjoy lower rates of adolescent marijuana use than the U.S. Such a system would reduce many of the problems presently associated with the prohibition of marijuana, including the crime, corruption and violence associated with a "black market."

Medical Use
Marijuana, or cannabis, as it is more appropriately called, has been part of humanity's medicine chest for almost as long as history has been recorded.

Of all the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition, none is as tragic as the denial of medicinal cannabis to the tens of thousands of patients who could benefit from its therapeutic use.

Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications.[4] These include pain relief -- particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) -- nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders.[5] Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia.[6] Emerging research suggests that marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors[7] and are neuroprotective.

Currently, more than 60 U.S. and international health organizations support granting patients immediate legal access to medicinal marijuana under a physician's supervision.

Legal Issues
Driven by the Drug War, the U.S. prison population is six to ten times as high as most Western European nations. The United States is a close second only to Russia in its rate of incarceration per 100,000 people. In 2005, more than 786,000 people were arrested in this country for marijuana-related offenses alone.

i

Yada, yada, yada it's against the law. Call your elected officials to change the law.

Again where are you getting your information from? And who funds the website. If 20 MILLION people were smoking even on a once and while basis it would be legal already. I don't buy that info. Using the internet as your only source of information can be faulty at best. Sites like wikepedia for example don't fact check. Many sites about legalizing MJ are going to have their own agenda.

My husband for example loves CNN little medical surveys that will tell you one week coffee is good for you and next week its bad. In your judgment you find it a good thing. I think unless you need it for medical reasons its just another way to get "drunk" for the majority of personal users and I've never seen it make someone a better person.

Why should I care if people are buying drugs from criminals get arrested. Whom are helping to fund criminals? You don't break the law because its bad you work to change it first. If I get a ticket for speeding or get arrested because I'm way over the posted speed limit do I cry about the law being unjust? Well I probably would cry but I would know I was wrong.

If these 20 million people care about correcting a law they feel is unjust, that many people could get something done. They would have a voice.

Just answer this one question, if you are not ill WHY do you need it?

Betty, to answer your question. Yes, I am ill. I have a chronic disease. Multiple Sclerosis. One of the symptoms of MS is severe muscle spasms (think of the worst cramp you've ever had). Yes there are prescription drugs that will work for some people but the side effects are to me worse than the pain. Nausea, dizziness,and feeling out of it. MJ relieves this symptom without the side effects. It takes just a bit, not enough to get high. The loss of the meyilyn sheath that protects the nerve transmission pathways in the brain and spinal column are like short circuits.which cause neuropathic and phantom pain and the loss of control of muscles. There is no cure.

My father in law, who is in his eighties has glaucoma and is nearly blind. His condition is advanced and causes him terrible pressure in his eyes, one little puff and the pressure goes down to a tolerable level. Yes, he uses the eye drops and all that but without the same results. I coaxed him for years to try it. His ophthalmologist recommend it to him.

I work full time and have a part time business, I own a home, pay taxes and am law abiding. So if I hear you correctly I am breaking the law. period. end of discussion. I wasn't breaking the law in Maine or Hawaii but here I am and that's not me and is why I'm interested in working for change here as i did there.

I've enjoyed the discussion and debate. Thanks it was interesting I'm done.

So if its so dangerous to buy why do people risk it if they are not addicted? Let alone fund people we know are dangerous and most likely minor to major criminals? Why is it something you have to have? At the very least smoking it is not healthy for you why would you want another bad habit? You can get mellow by mediating doing yoga or get high by working out. I just do not understand the need for it. It just seems like another way to get "drunk" and I just don't see a need for it.

hmm...thats a pretty limited view...

Hi Betty, I just would like to understand where you are coming from here, background info helps others to understand your point of view.

How long have you lived here and how old are you?
Conservative or liberal/party?
Have you ever smoked MJ before?
Have you ever had an alcoholic drink before? If you have then why?
Are all people that drink any type of alcohol addicted??
Are they all evil users Betty?
Are they criminals?
Do you take any prescription drugs to relieve pain or control depression or anxiety?
Do you consider yourself a responsible adult?
Do you know how many people die every year caused by Alcohol?
Do you think that only "addicts" smoke MJ?
Do you know any cancer/aids/MS patients?
Do you think that alcohol prohibition worked?
Do you think that buying MJ is funding murders & rapists?
Do you think federal agents should continue to arrest people who smoke MJ instead of focusing on real issues like terrorism?
Do you think the 14 states that have legalized the use of medicinal MJ are wrong?
Do you think that the roughly 42% of people in the US that have tried MJ should be put in jail?
Do you consider yourself in touch with the culture in the usvi?

Thanks for the responses..

Why would you say that is a limited view? Asking why you have to do drugs if you don't need it for medical reasons??

From the questions you are asking you have not read any of my posts so I don't see why I should answer any of them. They are also heavily slanted and full of incorrect information.

Do you really believe Federal agents bust people for personal use???? Or that 42% of America smokes pot??? LMAO...come'on...

I can tell you're really proud of that Perry Mason line up of questions you've got there, but try to show some respect to another human being and not just ask silly questions in a VERY poor attempt to embarrass someone.

so i was sitting at a popular nightspot lastnight and i watched the skinny kid with long dreds pass off packets of coke to an old white guy with a young local girlfriend,then he bought the kid a shot and a beer and away they all went.

Hey Cory,
You do Know that MJ is illegal in the USVI? You do know what illegal means?

Good Morning Lizard,

no...i dont know what illegal means, please teach me.

Betty,

I sent this to you in a privage message and you told me to post it.. Cant answer now?

Cory,
Since you say you don't know what illegal means. Then you have heard the saying "Ignorance is Bliss"!

lol...is that supposed to peer pressure me into answering? What have you told us about yourself? But for some reason I have to answer to you? I told you I would not answer your questions in a pm because you can easily post and paste it to whatever you want it to read. The tone of your questions were and are to demeaning.

If, Cory, your last question about the culture of the USVI was inferring that marijuana use here is a cultural thing, I can assure you it is not.

humour,now if drugs were legal i would not be able to see old white guys debase themselves in public trying to pick up young local girls,knowing full well the young women would have nothing whatsoever to do with them unless free drugs were involved.

humour,now if drugs were legal i would not be able to see old white guys debase themselves in public trying to pick up young local girls,knowing full well the young women would have nothing whatsoever to do with them unless free drugs were involved.

TRW you are on to something. Perhaps it is not that this topic is "the third rail" for politicians...they just want to keep being able to pick up young girls!!

Why would you say that is a limited view? Asking why you have to do drugs if you don't need it for medical reasons??

I don't really have a dog in this fight except to note MJ's drug classification is based on an artificial division that appears to have little to do with potential long or short-tem harmful effects.

Betty, why does anyone drink coffee or any other highly caffeinated beverage? Using the same logic applied to MJ by the DEA in making it illegal, one can make a convincing argument against caffeine. In fact, large doses of caffeine can produce harmful effects that outweigh any of MJ's effects at high doses.

So Betty, do you consume any caffeine containing beverages? If so, why?

My name is Islandtyme & I'm a coffee junkie!
I crave its jolt to bring my morning head from its sleepy fog. At the smell of its brew I begin to salivate & wait only long enough for a partial cup & then breathe in the aroma deep in my lungs!!! Blow the dark heavenly liquid as not to burn my tongue & gulp its richness..I feel its warmth drenching all the way to my toes! :@)
From there I indulge myself to a whole "pot"............of coffee ............daily.
Um........golly, I'm additiced & dangerous there for must be stopped, do they have coffee support groups here.............I may need one!

Rkurpiers

Caffeine has never been proven to be additcive and for every study that proves its bad for you there are two others that say its good. Just watch CNN daily for there little medical reports. But no I don't drink coffee, I drink a diet coke when I need a pick up but I do not buy them for work. I do make Ice tea for home, much much less caffeine then soda or coffee. I am not saying that I have no vices I am saying I don't have any illegal addiction or pasttimes.

We are talking about illegal substances. Last time I checked coffee is not illegal. But I don't think any substanced should be abused. My grandmother is found of saying everything in moderation and if I can be half as wise as her I will be doing well. Just like the reports saying red wine is good for you, well what most people didnt research into is that its 6oz of red wine a day may have good benefits. Most people serve themselves quite a bit more.

Betty,

My post was directed at your question as to why anyone would choose to indulge in marijuana. I submit they do so for the same reasons people choose to indulge in caffeine. Both are mind-altering substances.

And caffeine certainly has proven to be addictive in that it causes physical withdrawal symptoms among those who consume it reguarly.

The issue for me isn't whether marijuana is illegal or not, but that the DEA apply the same criteria to all drugs when they classify them. I find it an extremely hypocritical policy to make criminals out of people who consume a drug that cannot be proven to be more harmful for an individual or a society than alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine.

"Coffee and Caffeine
by Rich Maloof for MSN Health & Fitness
Refill, anyone? Here are a few freshly brewed notes on coffee and caffeine, the most widely used stimulant in the world.

Coffee has been linked to osteoporosis.
Caffeine gets a footnote in the study of osteoporosis, a disease that makes bones weak and brittle. Ingesting caffeine promotes the excretion of calcium (in urine), which, as every school kid knows, keeps bones strong. While not considered a cause of the infirmity, coffee does in this way contribute to the disease. People who are believed to be at risk for osteoporosis and choose to drink coffee can offset the calcium depletion with a daily glass of milk."

I will say again I can find many that say its not addictive. Everyone assumes its addictive but I've never seenI'm pretty sure the jury's still out on caffeine. I don't believe you can say with any certainty that is addictive.

And for me ONE of the major problems with marijuana is that it is illegal. The other is it seems to have little good use for anyone OTHER then as a medical drug for pain, etc.. I could easily live without alcohol, and don't want something else like it on the market. If nictone became illegal I wouldn't cry of it either, and do think it will be eventually. However, no one is going to crash there car because of caffeine or destroy their family because of caffeine addiction.

I can tell you feel very strongly about the caffeine idea but it seems more like an opinion to me.

No Betty, I do not feel very strongly about caffeine. Nor do I feel strongly about marijuana. What I do feel strongly about is that we as a nation govern ourselves based on fairness, reason, logic, and intelligence.

There is no logic, fairness, intelligence, or reason which dictates that marijuana be illegal while alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine are legal.

Unless we are taught from the moment we are born how to naturally deal with stress while living in a highly competitive society, I don't know that it would be wise to make alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine illegal. In moderation, these substances can provide some level of benefit in coping with stress as well as helping us to function in a competitive environment.

In an ideal world we would all derive stress reduction and coping skills from relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation, and there would be a sound reason to make every mind-altering substance illegal. I could buy into that - a "Zen" world.

In lieu of that, I think we need to be consistent with laws concerning drug use because if nothing else, the Prohibition Era taught us the downside of trying to protect us from ourselves when a large number of the populace don't want the protection.