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DU Home » Latest Threads » Forums & Groups » Main » Latest Breaking News (Forum) » Chicago Mayor Emanuel bac...

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 01:07 PM

Star Member Eugene (15,511 posts)

Chicago Mayor Emanuel backs marijuana decriminalization

Source: Reuters

By Mary Wisniewski
CHICAGO | Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:15pm EDT

(Reuters) - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Friday he would back a proposal that would decriminalize possessing small amounts of marijuana, the latest major U.S. political figure to support diminished penalties for the drug's use.

Under the proposed ordinance, to be voted on by the city council later this month, police officers in the nation's third-largest city would be able to issue a written violation for possession of 15 grams or less.

This is a modified version of an ordinance proposed last fall by a group of Chicago aldermen, who said the measure would help raise revenue for the city, save money and free up police to pursue more serious crimes.

More than a dozen states and several of the largest U.S. cities have already taken similar steps. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is another supporter of pot decriminalization.

-snip-


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/15/us-usa-marijuana-chicago-idUSBRE85E10J20120615

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Arrow 22 replies Author Time Post
Reply Chicago Mayor Emanuel backs marijuana decriminalization (Original post)
 Eugene Jun 2012 OP
LineReply i know a lot of folks hate rahm, but
 mopinko Jun 2012 #1
LineLineReply Well, he's not unfriendly with the administration--this is the way things are done in MA.
 MADem Jun 2012 #4
LineLineReply "he is doing a lot of common sense stuff"? Like what?
 AnotherMcIntosh Jun 2012 #6
LineLineLineReply like switching garbage pick up to a grid system instead
 mopinko Jun 2012 #8
LineLineLineLineReply Please excuse me, but I don't think that "he wants to look like a good progressive dem." Sure, he
 AnotherMcIntosh Jun 2012 #10
LineLineLineLineLineNew Reply whatever.
 mopinko Jun 2012 #15
LineLineLineLineLineLineNew Reply If Emanuel never referred to liberals as "fucking retarded," he would have never appologized.
 AnotherMcIntosh Jun 2012 #16
LineLineLineLineLineLineLineNew Reply His defenders here try to weasel saying he called an idea retarded rather than the people.
 Hassin Bin Sober Jun 2012 #21
LineLineLineLineNew Reply The community gardens sprouting up all over the North Side are awesome
 alcibiades_mystery Jun 2012 #20
LineReply Nice.He's still an asshole but this is good.
 Autumn Jun 2012 #2
LineReply I'm stunned. He is the most Republican-ish "Democrat" in the country.
 kestrel91316 Jun 2012 #3
LineReply Rahm liberals-are-retarded-and-where-else-are-they-going-to-go Emanuel? Broken clock analogy.
 AnotherMcIntosh Jun 2012 #5
LineReply being stoned may help you sleep through the gunfire.... n/t
 IamK Jun 2012 #7
LineReply Woot! K & R
 99th_Monkey Jun 2012 #9
LineReply I appreciate every voice of reason on this issue.
 JNelson6563 Jun 2012 #11
LineReply He's an asshole who belongs in prison, but he's right on this.
 Vidar Jun 2012 #12
LineNew Reply Good on him.
 Scurrilous Jun 2012 #13
LineNew Reply He must not own stock in Private Prisons...
 lib2DaBone Jun 2012 #14
LineLineNew Reply No kidding. There's gonna be serious push-back from those corporate persons.
 DCKit Jun 2012 #17
LineNew Reply Just legalize it already!
 ronwelldobbs Jun 2012 #18
LineNew Reply Excellent news. The tide seems to be turning, albeit slowly
 RZM Jun 2012 #19
LineNew Reply Good for him
 otherone Jun 2012 #22

Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 01:10 PM

Star Member mopinko (39,643 posts)

1. i know a lot of folks hate rahm, but

he is doing a lot of common sense stuff like this.
i think he is doing a good job in tough times.

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Response to mopinko (Reply #1)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 01:43 PM

MADem (85,867 posts)

4. Well, he's not unfriendly with the administration--this is the way things are done in MA.

Our governor is not unfriendly with the administration, either. People get a ticket and go on their way. The state raises some easy money and doesn't take a cop off the street booking someone for a petty 'offense.'

It would not surprise me if this becomes a federal standard based on the number of municipalities and states that have adopted it. It certainly would help to empty out a lot of overcrowded prisons. Right now, people can go to jail on a third strike for this -- if it's reduced to the level of a parking ticket, that's a horse of a different color.

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Response to mopinko (Reply #1)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 02:01 PM

AnotherMcIntosh (7,451 posts)

6. "he is doing a lot of common sense stuff"? Like what?

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Response to AnotherMcIntosh (Reply #6)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 04:30 PM

Star Member mopinko (39,643 posts)

8. like switching garbage pick up to a grid system instead

of following ward boundaries.
like expanding community gardens
like rewriting the zoning to allow for urban gardens
like actually talking to aldermen
like pushing forward the date to shut down coal fired power plants


i don't agree with everything, and i am happy as hell that he isn't my brother-in-law. but all in all, i think he is big enough for the job, and at least wants to look like a good progressive dem. if that pushes him to do the right thing, that is more than you get in a lot of places.

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Response to mopinko (Reply #8)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 05:22 PM

AnotherMcIntosh (7,451 posts)

10. Please excuse me, but I don't think that "he wants to look like a good progressive dem." Sure, he

wants to have a (D) after his name, but I don't see how he wants to be a progressive. Being a Democrat is the way to get elected in Chicago. Being a Democrat does not mean that a person has progressive or liberal values.

None of the issues that you touched upon, as far as I can see, are "progressive" or "liberal" issues.

You may call yourself a progressive. I call myself a liberal. What's the difference in the two categories? Well, Rahm hasn't called "progressives" retarded at this point. In 2010, he appologized to the Chairman of the Special Olympics committee for calling liberals retarded. Pardon me, but I don't forget that quickly. And I haven't seen anything to indicate that he is a progressive or a liberal.

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Response to AnotherMcIntosh (Reply #10)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 06:45 PM

Star Member mopinko (39,643 posts)

15. whatever.

he never said progressives were retarded. reality doesn't seem to mean too much to you.

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Response to mopinko (Reply #15)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 07:33 PM

AnotherMcIntosh (7,451 posts)

16. If Emanuel never referred to liberals as "fucking retarded," he would have never appologized.

At a closed-door meeting in the White House with liberal activists, he called them "fucking retarded" for planning to run TV ads attacking conservative Democrats who didn't support Obama's health-care overhaul. In February 2010, Emanuel apologized to organizations for the mentally handicapped for using the word "retarded." He expressed his regret to Tim Shriver, the chief executive of the Special Olympics after the remark was reported in an article by The Wall Street Journal about growing liberal angst at the chief of staff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel


Wikipedia, of course, is just one source. Many other sources reported his 2010 appology. This is the same year in which the Blue Dog Democrats managed to lose a great many elections.

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Response to AnotherMcIntosh (Reply #16)

Thu Jun 21, 2012, 11:11 PM

Star Member Hassin Bin Sober (8,607 posts)

21. His defenders here try to weasel saying he called an idea retarded rather than the people.

Same difference. The guy is a jerk.

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Response to mopinko (Reply #8)

Thu Jun 21, 2012, 10:39 PM

Star Member alcibiades_mystery (28,379 posts)

20. The community gardens sprouting up all over the North Side are awesome

Three in my near vicinity, all occupy what was otherwise blight space (on Lawrence, on Lincoln, on Montrose).

Rahm's horrible to the teachers. But this other stuff is really positive and common sense, as you say.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 01:27 PM

Star Member Autumn (11,256 posts)

2. Nice.He's still an asshole but this is good.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 01:28 PM

Star Member kestrel91316 (45,355 posts)

3. I'm stunned. He is the most Republican-ish "Democrat" in the country.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 02:00 PM

AnotherMcIntosh (7,451 posts)

5. Rahm liberals-are-retarded-and-where-else-are-they-going-to-go Emanuel? Broken clock analogy.

In early 2010, Rahm Emanuel appologized to the Special Olympics chairman for calling liberals retarded.

His recent conversion to decriminize possessing small amounts of marijuana is the right thing but probably would have been smarter if he would have converted earlier.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 04:05 PM

IamK (956 posts)

7. being stoned may help you sleep through the gunfire.... n/t

 

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 05:17 PM

Star Member 99th_Monkey (7,192 posts)

9. Woot! K & R

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 05:22 PM

Star Member JNelson6563 (24,758 posts)

11. I appreciate every voice of reason on this issue.

Thanks Mr. Mayor.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 05:26 PM

Vidar (18,335 posts)

12. He's an asshole who belongs in prison, but he's right on this.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 05:31 PM

Star Member Scurrilous (24,646 posts)

13. Good on him.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 15, 2012, 06:28 PM

lib2DaBone (8,124 posts)

14. He must not own stock in Private Prisons...

 

Hard to believe he missed out on that..?

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Response to lib2DaBone (Reply #14)

Sat Jun 16, 2012, 11:15 AM

DCKit (18,189 posts)

17. No kidding. There's gonna be serious push-back from those corporate persons.

Without our draconian drug laws, their profits are going to be cut in half.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Thu Jun 21, 2012, 08:12 PM

ronwelldobbs (28 posts)

18. Just legalize it already!

 

Americans of all stripes are fed up with this Reefer Madness bullshit.
Enough with these baby steps, the President and Congress both needs to grow some cojones and just legalize it.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Thu Jun 21, 2012, 08:58 PM

RZM (8,295 posts)

19. Excellent news. The tide seems to be turning, albeit slowly

The more people who come out for this, the better. And I don't care if they are left, right, center, or anywhere in between. If you're on the right side of the issue, I'm going to give you props for it.

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Response to Eugene (Original post)

Fri Jun 22, 2012, 01:58 PM

otherone (360 posts)

22. Good for him

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