The 2006 Uniform Crime Report released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that 44 percent of all current drug-crime arrests involve marijuana, amounting to a total of 829,625 people arrested.
This was reported in a Sept. 24, 2007 news release made by NORML, an organization that works for the reform of marijuana laws. Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of NORML, points out that people are under the impression that law enforcement officers do not target marijuana users; the 2006 FBI numbers speak otherwise.
"This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that diverts law enforcement personnel away from focusing on serious and violent crime," St. Pierre continued.
This is not an argument about the legalization of marijuana, but rather the misappropriation of the criminal justice system. Who poses a bigger threat to society: a Nintendo-playing stoner or a malicious sexual assailant? Police should be more concerned about violent criminals than potheads who get baked and sit around doing nothing.
Prisons are filled with the non-violent pot-smokers, and taxpayers are financing their incarceration. Instead, the government should be using that money to track down murderers on the loose.
The ideal of American streets being safe from criminals is far from realistic. But arresting killers and rapists instead of pot-smoking hippies is a step in the right direction. Who would you rather have behind bars: 50 stoners or one homicidal maniac?
Letter from the editorial board:
The Spectrum finds your letter to Red Jacket residents and dining hall patrons lacking. Your instructions do not represent what is right and just for the students you strive to protect.
The new fire alarm system in Red Jacket Quadrangle, however innovative it may be, does not altogether serve its purpose. With a beeping as benign as a cell phone, and a monotonous male voice reciting, "Attention. Attention. An emergency has been reported in the building. Please cease operation and exit the building using the nearest fire exit," the alarm is scarcely adequate.
The deep-sleeping and iPod-listening habits of most students will not be affected by such a passive fire alarm system - the ear-piercing siren and flashing-light alert system of yesteryear is required to force students to awaken and evacuate.
Seeing as the gently encouraging alarm was just installed, a reversion to an older technology is highly unlikely. Yet, the current system does not sufficiently serve its purpose of alerting students to an emergency.
Amie Rossi, you have resorted to threatening students who do not evacuate their buildings. Your letter reads:
"If you are found to be in your room during a fire alarm, you will be given a minimum of 20 hours of community service in addition to any other sanction the professional staff deems fit."
You cannot hold students responsible for involuntary noncompliance. While some students may not comply with fire alarm requirements for whatever personal reasons, other students are not able to comply due to the shortfalls described.
It is up to you to look after the lives of student residents. And as such, you must see to it that all students leave a building in the event of an emergency.
However, your methods are crass - punishing a student for something he or she may have no control over is wrong. You must find another way to protect yourself from disgruntled parents and potential lawsuits.
The resident advisors are the answer, as they are present in some capacity on every floor of the buildings. In the event of a fire drill, they must be sent around, door to door, knocking loudly to alert the lethargic bodies to the emergency. Additionally, the residents of each floor should do their duty as UB citizens and tell their neighbors what's going on.
Amie Rossi, you must not seek to put unwarranted judgment on students who are not guilty of a crime, lest you bring unnecessary attention to your dictatorial-type practices.
