Reports about the disproportionate impact of the legal marijuana industry on minority and low-income neighborhoods and families deserve a closer look, according to Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, who so far has focused his opposition to the legalization ballot question on its health impacts.
Source: SHERIFF CONCERNED BY REPORTS ON MARIJUANA’S IMPACTS IN COLORADO — Sheriff Steve Tompkins
Tompkins, who was appointed sheriff in 2013, said he supported the 2008 ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, but believes the dangers of full legalization outweigh any criminal justice benefits from incarcerating fewer people on minor drug crimes.
OH NO! here we go. Lets be fair to the Sheriff here and walk through his comments carefully..
The article begins by referencing this politico article http://www.votestevetompkins.com/news1/2016/6/7/sheriff-concerned-by-reports-on-marijuanas-impacts-in-colorado
including this
A separate report published by the Colorado Department of Public Health earlier this year found that juvenile arrests for marijuana-related crimes such as possession rose 5 percent since legalization took effect in that state, driven wholly by a spike in arrests of black and Latino teens. While white juvenile arrests declined 8 percent between 2012 and 2014, black juvenile arrests increased 58 percent and Latino juvenile arrests climbed 29 percent.
The politico article is about the complaints of residents in and near an industrial zone newly approved and zoned for cannabis growing. It goes on to explain how this new industry experiences some pushback from locals.
Now to Mr. Tompkins credit he did not lean heavily on the Colorado Department of Public Health report much but its obvious that there is not much to lean on there anyway. It claims a small 5 percent increase in cannabis possession arrests after legalization. That should raise suspicion alone because the very law itself is designed to decriminalize possession but forget about that because black and brown arrests went up dramatically as white arrests went down. This does not speak to cannabis as a public health issue these numbers point to continued racial disparities in policing!
Tompkins, a leading voice for criminal justice reform in Massachusetts, said he is reticent to discuss how law enforcement in other states operate without knowing all the facts, but has read the reports and is concerned.
“If that is in fact the case, then that speaks to the larger picture of not only the use of marijuana being able to harm one physically, but also if this does break down with black and Latino and low income individuals being singled out that has to be looked at,” Tompkins told the News Service.
“a leading voice for criminal justice reform in Massachusetts”
Thats right. This so called leader on criminal justice in the Commonwealth is a cannabis prohibitionist. It really explains a lot about the vacuum of local leadership and the lack of progress in criminal justice reforms to date.
No communities have suffered more under cannabis prohibition and the drug war than black and latino communities. Legalization aims at relieving this suffering. Continued prohibition of cannabis and other drugs supports crime, violence, mass incarceration and unhealthy communities that have gotten us here. A legalized system is proactive and meets peoples needs in a more therapeutic way. Ending the drug war would require a new culture around cannabis and drugs in general though. People like Sheriff Tompkins have been and continue to be agents of the drug war, carrying the flag for a corrupt and immoral drug war culture.
The article rebuts his statements with activist response..
Jim Borghesani, the spokesman for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, said Massachusetts and Colorado criminal laws concerning juvenile possession are markedly different, making the comparison a difficult one.
“I’m sure that Sheriff Tomkins is aware that juvenile possession in Massachusetts is a civil offense, unlike Colorado’s criminal offense, so his statement is perplexing. Equally perplexing is his lack of comment on the historic racial arrest disparity under the current prohibition system, which we seek to change,” Borghesani said.
He also touted the local control, through zoning, allowed for by the ballot question.
“Our initiative provides significant local control over the location, hours and manner of marijuana businesses, and provides an opt-out measure for communities. Results show that legalization is working in Colorado and it will work in Massachusetts,” Borghesani said.
Sheriff Tompkins wants people to elect him Sheriff but he doesn’t know much about cannabis, the most common illegal drug in America and believes that its better to continue to criminalize cannabis use than to legalize and regulate it. He seems to have the anti-cannabis talking points down pretty good though.
In March, the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association came out in opposition to the ballot question to legalize marijuana for anyone aged 21 and older. At the time, the sheriffs focused on the health implications of making marijuana more accessible to people.
The whole “cannabis is bad for your health idea” is becoming almost laughable in most circles but we don’t all come to truth at the same time.
Tompkins, who was appointed sheriff in 2013, said he supported the 2008 ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, but believes the dangers of full legalization outweigh any criminal justice benefits from incarcerating fewer people on minor drug crimes.
He and others want to keep cannabis illegal so as to still be able to wield it as a tool in their law enforcement careers and industry. He recognized the need for some changes in our cannabis policy and voted to decriminalize an ounce or less in 2008 but thats all he feels comfortable with voters having legal access to now. How much wine or beer should i have tonight Sheriff? How many Aspirin?
He is saying that he would rather lock people up for weed than legalize and cites health concerns and racial disparities?!? He fears the health and social effects of not criminalizing cannabis? He also like so many others may not yet be able to admit that he was completely wrong on cannabis. His entire thought process around cannabis has been corrupted by his career. He can not see it as the medicine it is. So he has no problem denying voters that medicine and even taking their rights away for doing so. He doesn’t know much about the fastest growing American industry and wants to deny voters access to that entire economy and market while they are shut out by more progressive and economically aggressive communities.
“I do not want to see all of these folks in jail if there’s another way for them to provide for themselves, but I really have to go back to the health issues,” Tompkins said.
This sounds crazy of course so he tried to help himself out by
Elaborating, Tompkins said, “I’m concerned with the ability to seriously manipulate the THC levels, and when you do that just about anything can go off the rails. If you can now put these things in gummy bears and brownies and the levels are jacked up to an outrageous percentage, god knows what can happen.”
Ahhh the children. Yes the children like candies… He is concerned with the the levels of a specific active ingredient in cannabis but doesn’t seem to know much else about cannabis. Anything can go off the rails? What is a dangerous THC level Sheriff? Good luck researching that answer. It can’t kill you so maybe we should be looking for things that can kill us and criminalize those? Beer? Coffee? Salt? Sugar? Tobacco? High buildings? Fast cars? Alarmist much Sheriff?
He acts and speaks as if incorporating cannabis into food is something new and untested or unknown! And of course invokes God for dramatic and moral effect.
We understand that a substantial amount of his professional and career income come from the apparatus responsible for The New Jim Crow. Sheriff Tompkins is not just for the continued criminalization of our communities through old, racist, immoral, ignorant, corrupt drug policies but is also for the continued denial and disenfranchisement of african-americans and all others here in the commonwealth to a legal local cannabis industry as well. Encouraging monopolies to develop by other more enlightened, knowledgeable, progressive and economically aggressive communities.
http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2016/Massachusetts_sheriffs_opposed_to_marijuana_legalization/id-c642436b077c4ee2a6eed1dedbf8b416
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins and the state’s 13 other county sheriffs said Monday that the referendum would destigmatize drug use and make it easier for young people to get their hands on the drug.
He doesn’t want to destigmatize drug use he wants to continue to stigmatize drug use, despite the fact that such an approach has been proven to fail repeatedly. The drug war is what first stigmatized drug use. They were long vicious campaigns of lies aimed at making people scared of drugs. Reefer Madness refers to just one aspect of this campaign. It has lead to the mass incarceration problem we have now…
This is the attitude of a leading voice on criminal justice reform in MA? Someone please help us..
Cannabis is Medicine
On the question of cannabis legalization Sheriff Steve Tompkins wants to “error on the side of caution” and continue to criminalize people for possession of cannabis. That is a safe answer in todays politically conservative environment but it is not brave. It is not insightful, or even genuine. It is not an answer that serves our communities but actually serves the communities that need the least help.
Alcohol, Tobacco, Law Enforcement, Big Pharma and Prisons industries. These are the organizations and industries that benefit from our continued drug war. Sheriff Tompkins seems to be representing them when it comes to cannabis. He is corrupted by propaganda and has no problem continuing with criminalizing people for cannabis use because he does not recognize it as medicine. So he has no problem denying voters their medicine and even taking their rights away for possessing it. Cannabis use is religious. He does not recognize it as a sacramental or support true religious freedom because he still subscribes to the lies of the drug war.
He can ignore cannabis as a possible treatment for cancer and so many other maladies.. and he can deny all the thousands of otherwise law abiding voters that have taken it upon themselves to change the corrupt drug laws regarding cannabis. Yes voters are changing the policies towards cannabis NOT politicians. Politicians have not met the need of the public regarding cannabis. They have continued to support long disproven drug war dogma steeped in racism. It is the same political ignorance and cowardice that has marked the nations similar failings on race and justice that continues to call for cannabis prohibition.
No Justice, No Peace
Lets just kick the can of justice down the road?
Is this position supported by social justice groups? NO. Sheriff Tompkins doesn’t seem to understand or realize that his insistence on continued cannabis prohibition is morally corrupt. If he wants to represent and lead voters of the Commonwealth then I suggest he research cannabis properly before campaigning against the rights of voters to use cannabis in their personal lives and professional industries. It is time for a change and a break from the corrupt ways of the past. Cannabis prohibition is an immoral position for a modern politician. And BostonCannabis.Info is watching!
