Quote:I was not aware of private companies running federal prisons. That is certainly a conflict of interest.
It's also irrelevant because that wasn't the case in the early 20th century when they started criminalizing possession.
Quote:It's also irrelevant because that wasn't the case in the early 20th century when they started criminalizing possession.
It's hardly irrelevant. Big Prison looooves the "War on Drugs." Like others have pointed out, it's their biggest money maker. I will add that cops and everyone else used to be much more tolerant and lenient about this sort of thing up until about the 80s or 90s when Big Prison, et al, successfully lobbied for zero tolerance and three strikes you are out type enforcement--along with police quota systems.
Quote:It's also irrelevant because that wasn't the case in the early 20th century when they started criminalizing possession.
it is relevant. The motives to criminalize marijuana a long time ago are not necessarily the same today to keep it from being decriminalized.
Quote:Yeah there has been sweeping changes in the prison system. There are still prisons that are government controlled at state and federal levels but the majority are not. The privatization of prisons has continued to grow because simply, it is big business. The companies make more money from full prisons, plain and simple. They also cash in on supplying work forces that are essentially slaves to perform contract work as you can see by the crews on the sides of the roads and such. This in turn hurts legitimate companies that provide those same services because of course they can't compete with free as a wage for their employees. As I said, if you can't lock up weed smokers these systems lose an average of 70% of their money makers.
Privatized prisons are also a necessity because of budgetary constraints that are being put on the states. These private companies can do it more cheaply and efficiently than the state or federal government can.
You're right that they need those prisons to be full.
Quote:Privatized prisons are also a necessity because of budgetary constraints that are being put on the states. These private companies can do it more cheaply and efficiently than the state or federal government can.
You're right that they need those prisons to be full.
True enough, but the prisons aren't full because of convictions involving weed. The true growth in prison populations for drug convictions have to do with the explosion of cocaine usage in the seventies and eighties.
Which is where you get the arguments regarding different sentencing rates etc. for powder cocaine v. crack.
"Standard" weed prosecutions have practically become a civil fine - unless you have a garage full.
I see a Walter White wanna-be here, but without the exploding meth lab concern...
Quote:I was not aware of private companies running federal prisons. That is certainly a conflict of interest.
Yeah it's quite the gambit. Conjure non violent charges and put the peasants to work on the gulag.
Back on topic, depending on your equipment,the extraction process nets roughly thirty to forty grams per pound of dry plant matter.
Quote:I was not aware of private companies running federal prisons. That is certainly a conflict of interest.
As far as Georgia is concerned, there are only about 7,000-8,000 people under the supervision of private companies.
Quote:It's hardly irrelevant. Big Prison looooves the "War on Drugs." Like others have pointed out, it's their biggest money maker. I will add that cops and everyone else used to be much more tolerant and lenient about this sort of thing up until about the 80s or 90s when Big Prison, et al, successfully lobbied for zero tolerance and three strikes you are out type enforcement--along with police quota systems.
If quotas exist, I've never been told about them. A huge number of police don't even concern themselves with weed. It isn't until drivers became careless after smoking it do they use it as a reason for arrest. Like anything else, many people function adequately after smoking. Many others simply don't have the ability to operate a vehicle while stoned. That whole 3-strikes thing is bogus, BTW.
Quote:True enough, but the prisons aren't full because of convictions involving weed. The true growth in prison populations for drug convictions have to do with the explosion of cocaine usage in the seventies and eighties.
Which is where you get the arguments regarding different sentencing rates etc. for powder cocaine v. crack.
"Standard" weed prosecutions have practically become a civil fine - unless you have a garage full.
Exactly.
Less than 1% of the prison population is marijuana possession and only 1/10 of 1% is 1st time offenders.
Local cities and counties make a lot of money on marijuana fines. They don't want them hogging the jail beds. Most likely, the guy will spend a couple hours in jail until he bonds out. The judge will fine him a few hundred dollars and probation fees and call it a day.