[Vision2020] It's Time for an Honest Conversation About Marijuana . . .

[Wayne Price]

Don't assume anything.....




On Aug 13, 2013, at 11:41 AM, Saundra Lund wrote:

> Patricia Spottedcrow was originally sentenced to 12 years.  Do you think that an appropriate sentence for a first-time criminal offense of selling $30 of weed to a police informant?  If so, I guess you’re still trapped in the whole Reefer Madness propaganda. 
>  
> For those who aren’t aware of the insanity of her sentence, I encourage you to check out the following from the Tulsa World:
> http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Patricia_Spottedcrow_paroled_early_in_12_year_sentence/20121130_11_a1_cutlin8232
> For those unfamiliar with it, no one would accuse the Tulsa World of having a liberal bias!
>  
> Here’s a snip:
> Her 12-year prison sentence for selling $31 worth of marijuana garnered widespread national attention after her story was featured in a 2011 Tulsa World series on women in prison. 
> 
> Spottedcrow originally faced a 12-year prison sentence out of Kingfisher County for selling a "dime bag" of marijuana to a police informant. She entered prison in December 2010 after spending a few months waiting in the county jail. 
> 
> After her story was published in the World, grassroots supporters lobbied officials to reconsider Spottedcrow's punishment. Advocates expressed concern for possible racial bias, disparate sentences for drug crimes, Oklahoma's No. 1 female incarceration rate per capita and the effects on children growing up with incarcerated parents.
>  
> And, for those who don’t immediately and insanely start frothing at the mouth at the mere mention of the ACLU, you can read:
> http://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/bittersweet-victory-patricia-spottedcrows-release
> Spottedcrow’s early release offers a happy, if complicated, ending. While she will return to her community and her children, her felony conviction will affect her ability to find work, receive public benefits, secure housing, and  her eligibility for student loans should she return to school. Spottedcrow and her children will suffer a distinct socioeconomic disadvantage – not because she sold $31 worth of marijuana, but because of Oklahoma’s inhumane sentencing laws. Her story should shock our collective conscience. What is most astonishing is not what happened to this one woman, but the fact that this narrative has repeated and will continue to repeat itself. Unless our nation’s  drug laws change, there will be other Patricia Spottedcrows, other lives torn apart and other children needlessly left parentless. The heartbreaking details will vary, but without sentencing reform, the agonizing impact will persist.
>  
> As one might be able to tell, I’m not a Johnny-Come-Lately to insane sentencing of women especially for non-violent drug offenses as Wayne Price appears to be to be.
>  
>  
> Saundra
> Moscow, ID
>  
> Until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is -- whether its victim is human or animal -- we cannot expect things to be much better in this world.
> ~ Rachel Carson
>  
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Wayne Price
> Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 6:38 PM
> To: Moscow Vision 2020
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] It's Time for an Honest Conversation About Marijuana . . .
>  
> Honest?  I think not!
>  
> Served 2 years in prison, not 12. 
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> On Aug 12, 2013, at 6:05 PM, Tom Hansen wrote:
> 
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> <1146440_502299883171842_938877420_n.jpg>
>  
> Cannabis Nation
> http://www.cannabisnationradio.com/
>   
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>  
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com
>   
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>  
> "There's room at the top they are telling you still 
> But first you must learn how to smile as you kill 
> If you want to be like the folks on the hill."
> 
> 
> - John Lennon
> 
>   
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