The real reason I supported decriminalizing recreational marijuana in South Dakota had nothing to do with me wanting to suck on a bong all day, my main argument besides the extra tax revenue which can be used for infrastructure and education is that it would save taxpayers millions each year in costs associated with justice and incarceration for possessing and ingesting a plant.
The real fight that our Governor has launched has very little to do with saving the kids but protecting the massive private prison contractors;
The largest private prison corporations, Core Civic and GEO Group, collectively manage over half of the private prison contracts in the United States with combined revenues of $3.5 billion as of 2015.
It is estimated that around 1 million people in this country are incarcerated for minor drug/non-violent offenses, and all that farting around with arresting pot heads is costing us;
The costs of this national obsession, in both money and time, are astonishing. Each year, enforcing laws on possession costs more than $3.6 billion, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Don’t be fooled by Noem’s message that she is trying to protect your children, this is about big money and big business. I have argued one of the main reasons employers are struggling right now to find workers is because many of these workers that are qualified can’t pass background checks due to felony drug convictions for minor possession.
I will say this, if Rec becomes legal in South Dakota (I give the Feds under 5 years to decriminalize it) I am not suggesting anyone who hasn’t tried it before to take up the hobby. Believe it or not, Mary Jane is popular because it works (gets you high) and has very few side effects. In other words, it is kind of harmless. But the major benefit from decriminalization, whether you use or not, is that it will save taxpayers a boat load of money, and the private prison contractors are not very happy about it (and neither are the lawyers).
Yep.
Excellent commentary. The US has the most prisoners in the world (per capita) because of Jail services contractor quotas and pot (mostly). Worse than North Korea. Pot would be less popular and profitable for dealers were it legal. Potentially, it’s a cheaper choice for methadone when it comes to habitual hard drugs. How many people need it because prescription drugs are to expensive? Noem is wrong about this.
“I wonder if Noem has ever inhaled?”….
If there are issues, lawyers will sue the producers and sellers out of business at no cost to the taxpayers
Not a fan of time-wasting recreational marijuana use–
but voted for legalization here. South Dakota’s “highest in nation” drug arrests, harsh felony drug laws, and high drug incarceration rates are excessive.
https://www.alternet.org/2019/05/these-are-the-five-states-where-youre-most-likely-to-get-arrested-for-drugs-and-the-five-least-likely-too/
https://www.alternet.org/2019/10/why-south-dakota-has-the-worst-drug-laws-in-america/
Some of you are forgetting most important dynamic, and maybe someone could elaborate on this fact:
“WE” The People own the land of which our Prison Systems sit on, meaning, ‘we’ profit from placing people within our penal system of fines, penalties, sanctions, and prison systems.
TRACTS 2 & 3 S1/2 NW1/4 (EX THAT PT TRACT 3 W OF RR & EX RY & EX LOTS PE1, PE2 & PE3) (SOUTH DAKOTA PENITENTIARY) 9-101-49 SIOUX FALLS CITY UNPLATTED
Owner Address:
SD BUILDING FINANCE CORP
330 S POPLAR STE 102
PIERRE, SD 57501
Parcel ID:
53544
IF “WE” the people purchased these lands, and created a business entity called “South Dakota Building Finance Corporation” to operate, profit from, and house those individuals who abuse our laws, what will happen if you decriminalize a drug or plant that has made millions of dollars for the “people”?
Will the “Tax Dollars” collected from legalizing Marijuana physically produce more revenue for the “PEOPLE” than it does keeping it illegal?
Think like a business, and what is the best answer you can come up with?