this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
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[–] [email protected] 304 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Meanwhile, Trump’s a free man, goose stepping around in his fucking lift shoes, with 91 Federal charges against him. This country is so backwards.

[–] [email protected] 128 points 10 months ago (16 children)

Kind of makes you want to stop obeying laws, doesn’t it?

[–] [email protected] 61 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I once mentioned to my father that most people are likely felons without realizing it because everyone will have violated a whole slew of laws they are unaware of or that are obscure/unenforced. He, being a conservative, became angry with me.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I can probably come up with a dozen felonies and goodness knows how many misdemeanors I’ve committed in my life, and I’m definitely not a menace to society.

None of these are violent or sexual in nature.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago

I’m a commoner and I haven’t lobbied any lawmakers, so the law still applies to me

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[–] [email protected] 67 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Don't forget he pardoned supreme liar and felon Roger Stone who went on to plotting assassinations.

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[–] [email protected] 125 points 10 months ago (3 children)

It's a flower that makes people happy and hungry. God fucking damn it. There is no fucking reason to destroy people's lives over this.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

Reminds me of the Ballarat Bandit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-gBErW4aoY

To put it short, he was a guy who led federal officers on a chase through the desert. They didn't know who he was, but he was stealing from travelers passing through. It wasn't far from some US government facilities, and this being not long after 9/11, they're super worried he's a terrorist.

Spoiler: he was a Canadian who started growing weed to help his wife's medical issues. He apparently made some primo bud and started selling it. Naturally, he got caught and was thrown in jail. When he got out, he moved out to the desert and tried to survive on his own.

Jail changed him. He became more paranoid and detached from his family, friends, and society. He wasn't the least bit dangerous until they threw him in prison.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 10 months ago

There's one very good reason, according to authoritarians: slave labor. 'Murica.

[–] [email protected] 122 points 10 months ago (7 children)

I don’t understand how 40 years of prison for a non-violent crime isn’t considered to be both “cruel” and “unusual”. It is objectively cruel. I certainly hope that it is also unusual. I certainly hope that there aren’t many more like him, imprisoned for decades for what amounts to personal-use levels of pot. 5.5 lbs of pot when you include the stem and roots isn’t that much and certainly sounds like a personal supply to me.

[–] [email protected] 66 points 10 months ago (2 children)

These people are kept in jail to be used in labor. It’s not about being cruel. It’s about making money in the cheapest way possible. Since Alabama is a hellhole with no workforce they turn to modern day slavery.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Oh it's both. It's definitely both, the cruelty and the slave labor, which is cruel in and of itself as well.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago (10 children)

It is the most cruel people in the world that hide behind a law book and the pretense of being fair and worse even: past cases.

But since you first have to study for a decade, then kiss ass for a decade or two before even beginning to qualify for 'JUDGE' it is not more as normal you will have lost ALL BONDS WITH REGULAR SOCIETY.

If you think 15$+tax+tip is fine for a glass of wine with lunch on a daily basis; you are NOTTTTTTT qualified to speak for the benefit of society : in contrary!

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[–] [email protected] 119 points 10 months ago (9 children)

Fuck Alabama and its bullshit ass laws

[–] [email protected] 21 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Alabama actually has medical cannabis now, maybe soon?

[–] [email protected] 23 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

Alabama has plenty of problems outside of being able to smoke weed or not

For example choosing to imprison older people to what is effectively a life sentence for a non violent charge

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[–] [email protected] 116 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (9 children)

Life sentence for growing some pot. Meanwhile the Jan 6th insurrectionists are getting maybe 2 years, or if you're a card carrying proud boy terrorist you might be looking at up to 20 years.

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[–] [email protected] 102 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Try to overthrow the government- 18 months. Grow plants- life sentence.

America (for the time being), fuck yeah!

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[–] [email protected] 78 points 10 months ago (2 children)

This stuff just makes my blood boil. Those 3 assholes on the parole board are complete sociopaths. There's absolutely no justice here.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Someday we'll learn that these types of positions are only ever occupied by sociopaths, psychopaths, sadists, and those full of hate. Then we'll realize that the institutions they are part of were designed by the same type of people. Then hopefully finally we'll realize that every state institution was designed by this same group that believes they know the right way for everything and feel entitled to force their ways on everyone else.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

It's actually a requirement I think.

In WA during lockdown, they requested compassionate release of someone who was paralyzed on half his body and confined to a chair. The DOC decided that he was a threat to society and needed to be kept in the COVID greenhouse.

[–] [email protected] 59 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

That law provides several different levels of trafficking, and Hotchkiss was convicted under the lowest level – having between 2.2 lbs and 100lbs. That weight includes all parts of the plant, root and stem and all.

40 years, jesus fucking CHRIST.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 10 months ago (5 children)

I'm 6400km tall if you include the earth under my feet

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Who, actually, believes society is better off for caging this man??

[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (2 children)

no one. but a great many people like that it happened

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago

An old pot grower's adage goes something like: if the sentencing minimum is for between 1-99 plants, you might as well grow 99.

People like Bud serve as the real life example for this kind of saying sadly.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 10 months ago

usa fucking sucksssss especially the south

[–] [email protected] 42 points 10 months ago

shitty country to live in

[–] [email protected] 41 points 10 months ago

The United States is a fascist hellhole.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Alabama has an incredible climate for growing outdoor Cannabis, too...

It should literally be everywhere there.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 10 months ago

Dude should try to overthrow the government and attack some police officers, he'll be back home in 2 to 5 years

[–] [email protected] 25 points 10 months ago

Remember come election time who is responsible for this. Just like actions, elections have consequences.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 10 months ago (4 children)

The age of consent in Alabama is 16.

Let's not act like we were expecting much from alabama.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 10 months ago (7 children)

It's 16 in Minnesota and 17 in New York, but 18 in North Dakota. Let's not act like a higher age of consent is directly tied to progressive policies.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Didn't return your grocery cart? Straight to jail.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago

Thats what you get when you dare to do gardening

[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (2 children)

What could the parole board's justification for denial possibly be? I don't see any risk from this guy, unless there's something more nefarious than 2.2 lbm of pot going on.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Pretty messed up. Let this poor guy go. On the bright side, does free healthcare and free room and board?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago

Free healthcare in that the prison doctor or nurse will refuse to diagnose him with anything until he's on his death bed and then give him comfort release so they don't have to take care of him?

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (7 children)

Remember these headlines any time someone makes excuses for the lack of action by the Federal Government, even when we give Democrats Congress and the presidency.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

I hope you don’t consider the 50-50 split Senate to be one of the times we “gave Democrats Congress and the presidency”. Do you think they were going to find 10 Republicans and overcome the filibuster for that legislation?

The last time the Democrats had control that gave them a realistic chance of doing something like this, marijuana legalization didn’t even have majority support in the US. Even among Democrats it was pretty divided.

The time before that, Bill Clinton was president and was under fire for admitting he had ever tried marijuana in his life, and had to claim he “didn’t inhale”.

And those were all the times in my life that the Democrats had any sort of majority in Congress and a Dem president.

You make it sound like there have been these chances over and over. But there isn’t even one single time you can look back at and say “right here, you had all the opportunity in the world and we asked you to do it, and you didn’t do it”.

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