Fema Employment - Should Marijuana possession and use be decriminalized on the Federal level?

Should Marijuana possession and use be decriminalized on the Federal level?

I currently live in the state of New Jersey, a few miles from the state of New York. If an 18 year old kid gets caught with the possession of Marijuana on his person, he is tried as a lawbreaker. Then that kid has a black mark on him for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, a kid in New York does not get the same black mark placed upon him. Marijuana possession is the equivilent of a parking ticket in New York. State drug laws vary from state to state, though because of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, all are illegal. Should the penalty for being caught be decriminalized and set up on the Federal level? I already feel bad for the kids who get their lives ruined because they are caught smoking it. Even if they stop though, in states like NJ, a charge like that can ruin someone's chances at a good job. PS: No, I'm not writing this because I got nailed. I just had watched a documentary narriated by Woody Harrelson that got the gears spinning in my 30 year old head!

Public Comments

oh man, this question describes my life up to this point! I got busted for marijuana possession and DUI in Michigan, when I was 18 years old. It was just a couple weeks after I graduated. I served one month in jail after I violated my probation. I'm 23 years old now, and both charges still haunt me. I can't join the Air Force or the Navy, which was always my ambition. I can't recieve financial aid for college. I can't get a commercial drivers license. I can't join any volunteer organization like Americorps or Peace Corps. The War on Drugs=War on People. I'm still paying for a mistake I made when I was a teenager.
Yes, it should be decriminalized, and even allowed for sale in our country to adults. It still is a dangerous drug, but people should have the right to use it in the privacy of their homes. I wouldn't use it if it were legal, but I don't want to deny others the ability to use it legally. It would be a great crop for farmers to grow, not just for the marijuana, but it can be made into rope and other products, hemp. Our govt could regulate and tax it which would be a new source of revenue.
Let's see: 1)Overcrowded prisons being run by our tax dollars. Violent criminals having early release. 2)Pot has rarely (if ever) led to someone being hurt (unlike alcohol). DECRIMINALIZE POT NOW
I feel it should be the same in all states, no matter what. I feel they should legalize it, with restrictions of course, because it's a natural herb just like rosemary and peppermint. It comes from the earth. All the other drugs that people take are "man" made and have to be altered, but Marijuana is from the earth! But since it's illegal, be consistent.
Yes, these laws should be changed at the fed level! You should have to be a certain age just like in the use of alcohol. Its not only for recreational use, but for medicinal purposes too. I hate the stories on th news of people who have legal prescriptions for the stuff and are harassed by police and DEA. There is so much bad drugs out there they could be pursuing, but choose instead to spend their time on making these miserable people only more so, all because of fed laws.
I agree with the other posts; I'm sorry that someone can't join the armed forces or get a volunteer job because of having smoked pot in the past. And responsible adults should be allowed to use marijuana to ease their woes (much as my mom drinks wine for that purpose). In addition, we watch COPS (guilty pleasure) and I'm astonished at how much effort the police have to put into stopping people with pot in their cars. Their are significantly bigger problems in the world from which the police should be able to spend time protecting us.
Dude I am so high right now.
whew whew whe hang on dude let me finish this whew whew whew bong hit yea dude just kidding yes it de criminilized
It is an absolute disgrace that any free country tells its citizens what they can and can't put into their body. Marijuana should be completely legal, and at the very least decriminalized.
The 'war on drugs' has done little to reduce the spread of drugs onto the streets but has done much to increase the social and societal costs of drugs. Our government, and therefore the American people, spend more on the imprisonment and prosecution of low level drug offenders (pot) than it does trying to prevent the drugs from coming over the borders. Most studies have shown that the use of pot is not addictive, nor is it any more harmful than tobacco use. It is arguable that marijuana use is actually less harmful because most often it is smoked in smaller quantities and less frequently than tobacco. Alcohol is more harmful to the human body and kills more people per year than marijuana and in light of that there is no good reason for marijuana to remain illegal.