LdyLunatic
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Austin -- Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman today called for the decriminalization of marijuana to avoid further clogging state prisons with nonviolent offenders.
He also said he would favor a review of people already imprisoned on marijuana charges to "rehab them, try to get them back into society."
"We've got to clear some of the room out of the prisons so we can put the bad guys in there, like the pedophiles and the politicians," said Friedman, a humorist and author.
Friedman said he doesn't yet have specifics on how decriminalization would work, including what amount of marijuana a person could possess without being charged. He did say that he doesn't favor making marijuana legally available for purchase.
"I'm not talking about like Amsterdam," he said.
"I agree with (U.S. Sen.) John McCain that we've lost the drug war," Friedman said. "Drugs are more available, they're cheaper.
"It's clear to me, if you've lost the war on drugs then you've got to go some other direction. You can't keep banging your head against the wall."
Friedman's comments on marijuana came one week after he created a controversy in Houston when he said the musicians and artists who fled Hurricane Katrina had returned to New Orleans but the "crackheads and thugs" remained behind. He later added that many evacuees who remain in Houston are good citizens.
The candidate said today that crack cocaine "is a different deal" from marijuana.
"Marijuana is a very different situation. It's not like crack and (other) drugs that create violence," he said.
Snipped:
Complete Article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4185281.html
Newshawk: Taylor121
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Author: Janet Elliot and Peggy Fikac
Published: September 13, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Houston Chronicle
He also said he would favor a review of people already imprisoned on marijuana charges to "rehab them, try to get them back into society."
"We've got to clear some of the room out of the prisons so we can put the bad guys in there, like the pedophiles and the politicians," said Friedman, a humorist and author.
Friedman said he doesn't yet have specifics on how decriminalization would work, including what amount of marijuana a person could possess without being charged. He did say that he doesn't favor making marijuana legally available for purchase.
"I'm not talking about like Amsterdam," he said.
"I agree with (U.S. Sen.) John McCain that we've lost the drug war," Friedman said. "Drugs are more available, they're cheaper.
"It's clear to me, if you've lost the war on drugs then you've got to go some other direction. You can't keep banging your head against the wall."
Friedman's comments on marijuana came one week after he created a controversy in Houston when he said the musicians and artists who fled Hurricane Katrina had returned to New Orleans but the "crackheads and thugs" remained behind. He later added that many evacuees who remain in Houston are good citizens.
The candidate said today that crack cocaine "is a different deal" from marijuana.
"Marijuana is a very different situation. It's not like crack and (other) drugs that create violence," he said.
Snipped:
Complete Article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4185281.html
Newshawk: Taylor121
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Author: Janet Elliot and Peggy Fikac
Published: September 13, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Houston Chronicle