REPORT #388 September 2000
DE-CRIMINILIZE WEED? DE-POPULATE OUR PRISONS AND WORLDWIDE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH OVERCROWDED PRISONS!


Produced by the Belize Development Trust

Sunday,September 10,2000
AMANDALA
WHY JAIL FOR WEED? STUPID LEGISLATION OR IDIOT POLITICIANS!
[Parting Shot, Kremadala Show, Monday night. September 4, 2000]

by Russell Vellos

There have been a number of times in the past when I have questioned the policies of the government of the day concerning the arrest, conviction and sentencing of citizens where the use of marijuana is concerned.

I have made no secret of the fact that I consider it hypocritical to send people to prison for using marijuana, known to all and sundry simply as "weed." Without calling names and naming incidents, we all know that government officials and politicians alike, over the years, have stolen thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and millions of dollars of government and statutory board funds, and these people are not in prison. Why, then, should a citizen be imprisoned for smoking the leaves of a plant made by God? Against whom is his crime?

Against whom is his crime? I'll tell you the same thing I have told these politicians and high-ranking officers of our security forces _ it is against the American government. The same American government that cannot stop its own citizens from wanting to smoke weed.

Clinton cannot stop his countrymen from hankering after the weed, so like the proverbial cow, he will look for the weak fence - in fact, the weakest of fences _ Belize, and countries like Belize.

I mean, really, apart from the stupid and hypocritical legislation in place in our country, what's wrong with smoking weed? Yea, seriously. What's wrong with smoking weed? Whom does it hurt?

Yea, bad for your lungs. Got a lot of chemicals, all bad for you. OK. Let's talk about cigarettes, which is legal to smoke and made the same way as weed- from one of God's plants.

Don't want to talk about cigarettes? Because it's legal? Oh, and weed is not. Well, they both come from God's plants. Why is one legal and the other not legal? Can't say, huh?

Well, ever thought of the fact that American presidents and presidential hopefuls can't accept donations from the proceeds of weed, but can accept donations frbm cigarette billionaires, who routinely kill millions of people every year with their products?

Like I said. This weed business, sending people to jail for smoking it, it's crap. It's senseless. No Belize politician, by himself or herself; an be that stupid. We send people to jail for weed because Bill Clinton says we haye to send people to jail fix smoking weed.

Prison ought to be a place for criminals. I mean, juking, chopping, shooting, stealing, raping, conning folks out of their hard-earned money, selling cocaine, you know? We love criminals so much that since we apparently don't have enough, we create some more - we make criminals of people smoking weed. Destroy their lives. Stupid legislation. $10,000 or three years. You know I don't have $100, let alone $10,000.

Belize. Sovereign. Independent. Deciding its own destiny.

Sometimes I wonder who we think we foolin'.

Oh, before I forget. I don't smoke weed. Or even cigarettes. Just thought I'd let you know.

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