3 ms·

They're only in there for drug possession? These people are clearly productive members of society, let them out...

• acoyfellow 14y ago
  This was my first thought. The amount of money we waste on these types of criminals (the non-violent drug offenders) is simply horrible to stomach.
  • cgag 14y ago
    Well that and the lives destroyed.
• logn 14y ago
  In addition to letting them out they should never have to put drug convictions on a job application. At least in the software world I see no reason this is relevant. One could argue it demonstrates poor potential for a nurse/doctor/etc, which could be exceptions.
  • jmspring 14y ago
    While I am in the middle of the road regarding the "war on drugs". I don't think one can simply say "putting a conviction on an application" shouldn't be required, there are gray areas. When I first moved to the town I live in pot (and other recreational substances) were considered not a big deal. A university town, a liberal town, keep it loose and free. Funny thing has happened in the last 20+ years. Meth and heroin have taken over, property crimes have gone through the roof, violent crimes are also on the uptick -- a friend was recently woken up to two meth heads turning on the light in his bedroom while his wife and two daughters were at home. He managed to detain one and one ran off. Drug crimes aren't as benign as they once were. You have gangs often running the local sales, dealers and users are now commiting additional crimes to feed their habits. When you look into things at the street level, it's a bit ugly. When you consider places like Amsterdam with their cafes. Even there, they are considering closing off the cafes to the tourists, though for differing reasons than the local issues I sited. All I am saying, I guess, is that the shades of grey need to be accounted for. If I were an employer who was wanting to give a full time position (and access to my workplace) to an individual, I would want to know their background. If they had run-ins with the law it wouldn't be a disqualifier, but it would be an avenue for additional consideration.