Drug war still alive and well in Louisiana

[n2doc]

Judge blasts 'ridiculous' 18-year sentence for marijuana

Associated Press
MICHAEL KUNZELMAN


BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Is 18 years in prison without the possibility of parole too harsh for a man arrested with 18 grams of marijuana? The Louisiana Supreme Court's chief justice thinks so, and she blasted her colleagues for upholding the punishment.

In a withering dissent Wednesday, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson called it "outrageous" and "ridiculous" that the state's highest court affirmed the lengthy prison sentence for such a small amount of marijuana — enough for at least 18 marijuana cigarettes.

A jury convicted Gary D. Howard of marijuana possession with intent to distribute and a Caddo Parish judge sentenced him as a habitual offender in 2014. Howard's previous convictions include possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in 2008.

Johnson questioned whether it was a mere coincidence — or an "arbitrary" decision — that Howard's sentence amounted to one year per gram of marijuana that police found during a 2013 search of his girlfriend's home in Shreveport.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-blasts-ridiculous-18-sentence-marijuana-155337465.html

[RKP5637]

1. We live in a backward country in MANY areas. n/t

[yuiyoshida]

2. Maybe people be better off picking up and leaving

these states, if they can't seem to pass legislation about marijuana. Its happened so many times before, with people leaving to go to a state that is much better for them like Colorado, Washington State or other states where Marijuana is legal to possess, especially for medical benefits.

[n2doc]

3. Of course, but it is never so simple

Family,friends, jobs, other ties to the area, and finances often make it hard/impossible to move.

[yuiyoshida]

4. true, or perhaps its better to stay and fight

for the right to legalize medical marijuana as other states have.