The legalization of marijuana, or the decriminalization of any drug for that matter, is the third rail of American liberalism. Any politician or public figure that touches it, or any self-respecting Democrat that wants their other views to be taken seriously, can't go near it without their hair standing on end. They can't touch the issue without being jolted from the public arena at the speed of light. Such a stance is soft on crime, is indicative of irresponsibility and points to a lack of values or a failed appreciation of American cultural mores. [continues 684 words]
Rabbi Yitzchak Fried, the longtime Lower East Side activist who was arrested last year for selling marijuana he said was for medical purposes, was given five years' probation and a $5000 fine at a hearing Monday in Brooklyn State Supreme Court. Nearly two dozen supporters of Rabbi Fried sat in the courtroom under a broken clock as he spoke, minutes before Judge Plummer E. Lott delivered the sentence. "I am remorseful," said Fried, who pleaded guilty earlier this year and was facing up to three years in prison. "I feel I won't do it again, though I will fight for the principles within the law that I believe in. My family has been very devastated by this situation." [continues 718 words]
Toward the end of a recent hearing in Brooklyn Supreme Court, Judge Plummer E. Lott asked Rabbi Yitzchak Fried, who like so many other drug defendants in New York was waiving his right to trial and pleading guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence, if he had any questions about the charges against him. The Brooklyn district attorney's office had charged Fried with selling a total of more than seven ounces of marijuana to a police informant on five occasions in Borough Park. Under the plea, Fried would not serve more than three years in prison. [continues 1880 words]
THE HERBALIST--The Unbroke Activist: lifelong Activist Kenneth Toglia Faces Jail Time for selling Medical Marijuana Arrested for Giving Marijuana to the Sick, Kenneth Toglia Still Sows Seeds of Hope When the cops arrested him this time, Kenneth Toglia was sitting down. It happened Wednesday, November 8, at a meeting of the New York Medical Marijuana Patients Cooperative, the buyers' club Toglia operates to sell marijuana to patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, MS, and glaucoma. The police tagged him with felony possession, a charge soon dropped to a misdemeanor. [continues 1150 words]
New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said last week he wants to move quickly to reform the harrowing Rockefeller drug laws. Silver told the Voice he plans to support legislation in the next session that would return discretion to judges, alleviate the mandatory minimums that now send possessors of small amounts of drugs to jail for 15 years or more, and offer a rehab alternative for the higher-level offenders who are now sent straight to jail. [continues 1195 words]
