For Want Of A Seed

For want of a seed, there was no plant.                           

For want of a plant, there was no crime.

For want of a crime, there was no warrant.
For want of a warrant, there was no lawful search.
For want of a lawful search, there was no evidence.
For want of evidence, there was no proof.
For want of proof, there was no effective prosecution.
For want of effective prosecution, there was no order.
For want of order, there was no community.
For want of community, there was no harvest.
For want of a harvest, there was no plant.
For want of a plant, there was no seed.

Laura Johnson McNish; you never fail to amaze me with your stupidity. Instead of lying your ass off in court about something that did not happen, why not prosecute the young man who drove through someone's cornfield, for fun, in the summer of 2013? Or prosecute hate crimes? Or maybe domestic violence? Or at least, things that happen and are real........

Someone who has a newspaper open to a story about decriminalization of marijuana in Wichita sitting on his table has not committed a crime, and the story he was reading is not evidence that he has. Neither is any other information he may have on the subject. Because of the United States Constitution, it is lawful for a man to lobby his representatives for change, if he so desires; and it is also lawful to read about those ideas and discuss them. Have you completely lost your mind, McNish?

Disclaimer: Yours truly does not use any recreational drugs. She does, on occasion, read about election issues and results, however; and decriminalization of marijuana has been in the news lately.

Marijuana Will Be Up For Vote In Wichita

The new petition for decriminalization of marijuana, particularly first offenses, was written up, passed around, and signed by enough people to force the city of Wichita, Kansas, to put it on the ballot in April. This will make possession within the city a municipal offence with a small fine, rather than a felony, or whatever is convenient for prosecutors to call it. It seems like a step in the right direction; perhaps our jails and prisons can reserve space for those who commit violent crimes, instead of locking up those who get caught taking bong hits. It's also nice to see Wichita listening to it's constituency.

One aspect of this matter that is troubling, however; is one of the considerations listed by the city of Wichita, as a possible reason ignore the voters. Wichita is worried about lost revenue via fines and other fees, collected from offenders. Suppose everyone in Wichita sobered up and quit smoking pot? Or perhaps got better at hiding from cops? Then how would Wichita deal with "lost revenue"? Is it possible that our judicial system is actually, in it's own way, discouraging addicts and alcoholics from recovery because of financial considerations? Say it ain't so! Financial loss in the form of  penalty fines and fees should never be a consideration in this type of referendum. Here's an excerpt from Wichita's proposal:

Wichita Kansas May Have To Put Marijuana On The Ballot

A petition to decriminalize marijuana has gotten 5,800 signatures so far, in order to force Wichita, Kansas to decriminalize marijuana and change the nature of the offense from a criminal misdemeanor to a minor civil offense. This is over twice the number of signature needed, so Wichita really has no excuse to refuse to put the question of decriminalizing marijuana on the ballot. The petition calls for a twenty-five dollar fine in municipal court instead of the current criminal sanctions and requests that violations be treated the same way building code violations or uncontrolled pets are treated. I do not use recreational drugs and do not approve of recreational drug use, but I also do not approve of prosecuting victimless crimes with millions of dollars that can more productively spent on education. It's also a nice gesture to avoid the needless ruin of lives with what amounts to malicious prosecution and selectively applied sanctions. Power To The People!