Recently John Boehner, and even more recently Elizabeth Warren, repeated a lie that has been used repeatedly by marijuana drug dealers, the pot industry, and as the misguided basis of a “social justice” argument, to trick voters into legalizing and commercializing marijuana.
“When you look at the number of people in our state and federal penitentiaries, who are there for possession of small amounts of cannabis, you begin to really scratch your head. We have literally filled up our jails with people who are nonviolent and frankly do not belong there.” He said in an interview with Bloomberg News – Wednesday, April 11, 2018
For this statement he received 4 Pinocchio’s from the Washington Post!
Four Pinocchios = Whopper!
Elizabeth Warren’s faulty claim about marijuana convictions invoked a further look into the incarceration myth:
“…more people locked up for low-level offenses on marijuana than for all violent crimes in this country. That makes no sense at all.”
— Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in remarks at the We the People summit, June 13, 2018
Her claims were similarly debunked by the Washington Post. Warren’s position is curious. To base her reputation and so vocal a public position in support of an addition-for-profit-industry by quoting this self-created, self-serving myth, is completely unjustifiable-in-fact. Her legacy as a prescient consumer protection advocate is put seriously into doubt.
Drug legalizers have used the “social justice”, “we can’t put kids in jail for smoking a joint” argument for decades. The problem is this isn’t true and never has been true. The vast majority of marijuana incarcerations are for trafficking. Often pleading guilty to marijuana trafficking is used in a plea bargain from a much more serious crime. It is used as a ticket for even less time in jail or prison.
The pot incarceration facts:
In the state correctional institutions, only 3.4 percent of prisoners were in jail for all types of drug possession as of Dec. 31, 2015, according to the Justice Department. Only 92 people in 2017 were sentenced for marijuana possession in the federal system out of a total of nearly 20,000 drug convictions, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. That is one-half of 1 percent.
Fordham University Professor John Pfaff, who has closely studied the data, concluded the number in prison for marijuana possession could be as low as 0.1 percent.
But the self-serving addiction-for-profit pot-profiteers use the “jail” argument to induce sympathy from voters and legislators to soften their positions on marijuana and even legalize it. Meanwhile, kids, families, communities, and society suffer from the results of more addiction, more crime, more dropouts, more drug driving crashes and deaths, more suicides, more psychotic breaks, more children neglected by impaired parents and on and on and on.
Boehner deserves much worse than 4 Pinocchios! John Boehner represents the worst of Washington influence peddling. He got into office, garnered political influence and power and after “retiring” he becomes a high paid lobbyist for a corrupt industry.
In this case, an industry that profits on the drug use and addiction of our children and young adults. Now, “Mr” Boehner wants a piece of those profits. By the way, Boehner has experience peddling death. He also has lobbied for big tobacco, Reynolds American RAI.
Boehner once opposed pot legalization because it served his political needs at the time. He also deserves:
An Upside-Down Pinocchio = A “flip-flop” from a previously-held position.
With thanks to CALM