Last time I checked, this is one country. But the laws on things like marijuana are so different in some states it absurd. In California you can’t be fined over $100 for possession 28.5 grams of marijuana. Here in Arkansas you can get a misdemeanor 1 year in prison, and a $1000 fine for simple PARAPHERNALIA possession. Pardon my French, but that’s ****ed up. One nation my buttocks.
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This is actually how it was intended to work.
It sounds like you are ticked off at California because you got caught with MJ. Different politicians make different laws in different states.
That’s how the Constitution is set up in this country. For the most part, people are allowed to make laws that represent the values of that particular community. The people of Arkansas feel differently about marijuana than the people of California.
The US is a FEDERATION. A federation is a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central (federal) government. It’s similar to a confederation, but has a stronger central government. Canada is an example of a confederation, as was the US right after the Revolutionary War.
Because the US is a federation, part of the powers of government lay with the federal government (notice how those two words are similar – FEDERATION and FEDERAL. Ever wonder why that is?) and part lie with the states. The Constitution even states this: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” – US Constitution, 10th Amendment.
That’s why it’s called the United STATES of America. Each state is a sovereign entity with it’s own constitution, legislature, executive branch, judicial system, and treasury.
Arkansans don’t necessarily feel that different than Californian’s do about reforming our nations failed marijuana laws. There is definitely more support in California in sheer numbers but many Arkansans are supportive of change too.
In 2006 Eureka Springs Arkansas passed a lowest law enforcement priority with 61% of the vote and in 2008 Fayetteville (Arkansas’s third largest city) passed a similar measure with an impressive vote of 66%.
The severity of the punishment for marijuana possession varies from state to state. Many of these laws were established before marijuana became federally illegal in 1937; they are unfortunate remnants of reefer madness propaganda. Citizens and legislators in 14 states have decriminalized marijuana starting in the 1970’s by lowering the fine and in some cases making it a non arrestable offense.
The laws vary considerably from state to state. Arkansas definitely has some of the harshest penalties on the books. In Arkansas its an automatic felony to get caught twice with marijuana no matter the amount, and anything over a ounce is an automatic felony. Here are some examples for first offense simple possession from NORML:
Nevada: Less than 100 lbs = felony 1-6 years prison
Utah: Any amount = felony 5 years prison
Rhode Island: less than 1kg = misdemeanor 1 year prison
New Jersey: 50 g or less = misdemeanor 6 months
Minnesota: less than 42.5 g = misdemeanor no incarceration
Kentucky: Any amount = misdemeanor 6 months
Georgia: Less than 1 ounce = misdemeanor probation
Florida: 20 g or less = misdemeanor 1 year
Washington DC: any amount = misdemeanor 6 months
Illinois: 2.5 g or less= 30 days jail misdemeanor
Kansas: any amount = misdemeanor 1 year prison
Colorado: 1 ounce or less = $100 fine no incarceration
Federal Penalties: any amount = misdemeanor 1 years prison
California: 28.5 grams or less = $100 fine misdemeanor no incarceration
Arkansas: 1 ounce or less = $1000 fine misdemeanor 1 year prison
According to NORML in 2007 California has the highest marijuana arrest numbers with 60,111, but when looked at proportionately only ranks the #41 state. Louisiana ranks number 2 in arrest rates per 100,000 and Nebraska come in #1. Nebraska happens to be a state that decriminalized marijuana in the 1970’s.