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Criminal drug possession – Felony versus misdemeanor
In all but 13 States in the U.S., drug possession for personal use is still considered a felony punishable by years in prison and hefty fines. This despite the fact that a significant portion of those arrested meet criteria for dependence (addiction) on the drugs they are caught with, and the fact that our own…
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Drug use isn’t the problem – Addiction and the question of legalization or decriminalization
I don’t keep it a secret that I used to have a very serious drug problem. If you haven’t read it by now, my drug use started early on along with a whole bunch of high-school friends. They smoked weed, I wanted to fit in, and the rest is history. But guess what? Most of…
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Proposition 36 – California’s Addiction Treatment Under Attack!!!
If you’re not from CA, you may not know about proposition 36. It’s a law, passed by voters in 2000, that mandates treatment, not incarceration, for people arrested on drug charges. Defendants can chose whether to accept it or not if they’re eligible, and before I get angry responses from my “red-state” readers, only non-violent,…