What is Digg?447 Comments
- Tomboys, on 04/23/2008, -5/+114If we stopped putting people in jail for pot we'd save a fortune in tax dollars.
- LiquidCure, on 04/23/2008, -8/+87End marijuana prohibition! This war on drugs is far too costly, both in lives and dollars.
- dotlizard, on 04/23/2008, -16/+86USA! USA! greatest country in the world! we rock! they hate us for our freedoms! oh wait.
- MrVictor, on 04/23/2008, -11/+57It's called the prison-industrial-complex. Privatized prisons profit off of prisoners so it is in their best interest to push for more laws that make more people criminals. The more prisoners a prison has, the more money they can make with labor contracts with the local government. Isn't capitalism great?
- DiggyWiggy, on 04/23/2008, -5/+40"All research and successful drug policy show
That treatment should be increased
And law enforcement decreased
While abolishing mandatory minimum sentences" - ZephyrNinety, on 04/23/2008, -3/+29Does this also mean we lead the world in the nonviolent crime of marijuana use?
- str1fe, on 04/23/2008, -6/+31...we have the most prisoners, -and- we still have the death penalty. These prisoners also include victimless crimes like marijuana use/possession. There is something seriously wrong with our justice system, but it's kept in tact so our citizens feel "safe".
When is some one going to stand up and actually do something about this? - itsthemechanic, on 04/23/2008, -3/+27Beware of the prison-industrial complex. The whole industry around arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating people employs more people than the auto industry, and it has higher growth rates. Most prisons are privately owned. This industry throws tons of cash at Washington and makes sure that the only way your laws ever get changed is towards the harsher end of the spectrum -- because every new prisoner is another "paying customer" for their system, at the expense of yours truly, the taxpayer.
Wake the ***** up! - jezsik, on 04/23/2008, -5/+26As comedian John Oliver put it: since "they hate us for our freedom," Bush & company have been busy eliminating those freedoms so they won't hate us so much.
- pizpot, on 04/23/2008, -3/+21Unfortunately, with privatised prisons lobbying (bribing/sharing profits) the fed/state governments, this problem can only get worse. If a businessman could make sneezing illegal, and profit from your punishment, he would. Only democratic process and change can fix this, oh oh.
- PeppermintPig, on 04/23/2008, -2/+18Though saving tax dollars is certainly not the best or first argument that should be made against the current policy. Tends to appeal to certain conservatives, though.
- Kewlduderules, on 04/23/2008, -3/+18One of the main reasons we have a higher inmate population has to do with private corporate prisons and/or coporate contracts with gov't prisons. When looked at this way, they make money off the gov't by charging outrageous dollars for the private prisons and contract out incredibly cheap inmate labor. Both govt and corporations are in cahoots to ensure this capital investment. Lots of money to be made here for the powers that be.
- carms, on 04/23/2008, -6/+20This is old news, but check out Prison Nation and American Drug War to see why we have so many people behind bars, and how poorly run our prisons are.
- pintomp3, on 04/23/2008, -3/+17they have no interest in saving tax dollars. the problem is we have privatized things that shouldn't be privatized. much of the prison industrial complex is outsourced to private companies including construction, health care, and security. this creates a profit motive for increasing the prison population. much like the military industrial complex and our health care industry, the motive for profits runs counter to the public interest. it is unlikely to change because these companies have extremely powerful lobbies. end the lobbies, special interest groups, and political action commities and their influence on our government dries up.
- inactive, on 04/23/2008, -3/+17The prison industrial complex-- It's big business with lots of profits and the market is expanding. Who can compete with slave labor?
- orlyfactor, on 04/23/2008, -7/+20Yes!! We're #1 in something besides obesity for once! Woo hoo!
- kemp34, on 04/23/2008, -3/+16This is NOT capitalism it is crony corporatism bordering on fascism. In true free market capitalism, there is no place for a PIC and definitely no place for a "war on drugs". Our law has been co-opted by interested parties.
- Smiths, on 04/23/2008, -1/+14Your sarcasm suggests that the US is only slightly better than China. Is that really where you want to be on this issue?
"We're still better than China on prisons!" - inactive, on 04/23/2008, -8/+21Drug laws allow us to imprison young minorities without appearing to be targeting young minorities, though. ;-)
- Spuy767, on 04/23/2008, -3/+15You can thank anti-drug legislation.
- PeppermintPig, on 04/23/2008, -0/+12Why are people digging you down? It's true. It's just as bad for Obama to suggest a rehab program as it is for a Judge to send someone to a religiously motivated organization such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Certain organizations take on these 'misfits' of society, receiving tax dollars to do so while satisfying their personal agendas. It's completely immoral.
- Abomonog, on 04/23/2008, -2/+12Actually you are wrong. If you get caught using marijuana with in a thousand yards of a school in most states it is a felony. Only about 10% of people in prison for marijuana is for sales. Most today are in prison for violating the No Drug Zone laws. And most of those because weed was found in their homes, which happened to reside in the no drug zone. Violating the drug zone laws also nets a larger mandatory sentence than selling too. 5-10 years VS. 1-5 for your typical sale. Violating drug zone laws also nets 2 strikes if your state is on the 3 strike program (because you commit both a federal and state felony).
Yeah, no one gets put in prison for smoking marijuana. No one that matters anyway. Sheesh! - inactive, on 04/23/2008, -3/+13You wanted a nanny state so, you got one.
- jezsik, on 04/23/2008, -2/+12Right, so long as there's somewhere worse-off than us, everything is OK. Sheeeesh.
- Evie1851, on 04/23/2008, -3/+12I agree. I read a book about the "war on drugs" a few years ago, and it was SHOCKING to learn how much money we spend on non violent criminals, or- pot heads lol. The number of people put in jail for possession/selling of marijuana is staggering.
- aidave, on 04/23/2008, -4/+13Actually it's because you have a slew of stupid and immoral laws, putting way too many innocent people in jail.
- enclaved, on 04/23/2008, -6/+15Free at last, free at last. Thank god almighty we're free at last!
- Abomonog, on 04/23/2008, -3/+11www.marijuana.com
Go there and find the links to the official prison stats and you'll see that over half of our prisoners are in prison for nonviolent drug offenses alone and that 80% of these are in for marijuana offenses. Its marijuana alone that keeps the prison system running. I just came on your cornflakes dude. - nickallen74, on 04/23/2008, -4/+12This is obviously because in America, prisons profit from the government based on number of prisoners. The more prisoners they have the more money they make. It's capitalism.
- danarama, on 04/23/2008, -0/+7This isn't about comparing the usa to everyone else. It's a matter of fact. Why not bring the Chinese and Iranian or Russian prisons INTO the general conversation about the prison system instead of turning it into another immature comparison? accomplishes nothing, means nothing.
- moomeep, on 04/23/2008, -4/+11nice police state you got yourselves there... :( this is just sad.
- inactive, on 04/23/2008, -6/+13We're still trailing China in the number of executions annually, though. We've got a lot of catching up to do. I suggest we start by eliminating the appeals process for violent three-strikers.
- noumuon, on 04/23/2008, -1/+8"Go there and find the links to the official prison stats"
- inactive, on 04/23/2008, -5/+12Well, and Obama has a thing in his "Poverty Plan" where he says that felons need on-the-job experience so they can transition into a normal life when they get released. That's politispeak for, "Hey, why don't we give corporations more access to slave labor?" Because anyone who stopped to think about it should realize that a company isn't going to hire a con if there's anyone else who'll do the job. This isn't about preparing felons for a new life. It's about putting felons to work. Soon we'll have the Johnson and Johnson San Quentin facility, "Leading the nation in productivity!"
- w3weasel, on 04/23/2008, -1/+8Yay for prohibition!!!
WE'RE NUMBER 1!! - pauldy, on 04/23/2008, -2/+8That's because we can't seem to get the idiots out of office whose answer to any problem is to create a social program for it.
- roodammy44, on 04/23/2008, -1/+7Privatised prisons???
WTF??
No wonder so many of you americans are in jail. Because it's profitable.
Why doesn't the US govt privatise police and fire services too and just let the dystopia follow - sodade, on 04/23/2008, -1/+7@captric - stop talking out of your ass. I have met many a pot dealer and NONE of them want anything to do with minors. The people who sell to kids are generally the older brother type.
- Abomonog, on 04/23/2008, -2/+8The first to see reality! You've earned a digg there.
- Tuto, on 04/23/2008, -2/+8Well if you had any clue about how society's work you would know that there is a connection between crime and the environment the criminals live in. Naturally this doesn't mean that you have to view criminals as victims especially in individual cases, but like in everything there is a big picture and so many people not being able to see it is disturbing.
- ManoWar, on 04/23/2008, -1/+7China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison. (That number excludes hundreds of thousands of people held in administrative detention, most of them in China’s extrajudicial system of re-education through labor, which often singles out political activists who have not committed crimes.)
They do not report their prisons. Most estimates on there Prison'/labor camps/re-education camps are near 14 million - k1dN1c, on 04/23/2008, -0/+6these scum-bags get thrown in jail for trying to meet up w/ young people for sex or sending pictures of themselves to people they believe to be children..
pedophiles have the highest recidivism rates and most will openly admit a willingness to go back to that lifestyle even after getting released from jail.. at best they belong in a cage. they are ruining children's lives and i am glad we have concerned private citizens who are willing to aid LE by profiling these predators. - kemp34, on 04/23/2008, -2/+7Tyranny encapsulated in foolishness.
- smacksaw, on 04/23/2008, -3/+8Read Starship Troopers or look at Singapore.
Corporal punishment for adults. Give them a lash and move on. Save prison for serious criminals and get satisfaction from seeing people punished. Save the money that would have imprisoned them and use it to correct their behaviour with positive social programmes like remedial ethics courses. - nickallen74, on 04/23/2008, -3/+8I live in Europe (Germany) and our crime rates are much lower (especially murders). And we throw about 6 times less people (as a percentage of the population) in prison than America does. Something doesn't add up! I would much rather live here...
- TheFinaleofSeem, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5Why don't you have a seat right over there?
The people who get busted are the ones who are planning to meet up with the "little girl" and have sex with them. - oldgal, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5Don't leave out the lawyers who profit from increasing the number of laws.
- SpaceMonkeyZero, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5Getting nervous?
- abuelos84, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5"Minorities are, however, more likely to use other drugs like heroine and cocaine, drugs for which you should be incarcerated for using as they are not only harmful, but tend to make a person more apt to commit violent crimes."
Should be incarcerated????
so your response to a sick person (adiction is a health issue that then MAY cause a penal issue) is jail? - inactive, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5"You even talk about it and it's seen as racist"
That's the nail.
If I made the argument I just made in my classroom, I'd get fired and sued. It's going to take a long while before we can actually get to address these issues or even study them. It's the return of the pendulum. Hell I'm supposedly jewish and I sometimes find myself being offended at things that aren't at all directed at jewish people. So I can only imagine what it would be like to grow up in house with people who lived through segregation... -
Show 51 - 100 of 446 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is