09-02-2019, 02:31 PM
California predictably effed up the legalization of marijuana. They taxed the legal product to the point that many still buy illegally as it's cheaper. Many of the weed shops are run by criminal street gangs as it's a cash only business and an excellent way to launder money. The government also, as you correctly pointed out, made criminal sanctions for those who don't abide by the new laws weak to the point that they are routinely ignored. I have several friends who are parole agents and they cannot violate people and send them back to prison for anything less than a new, felony, offense. This effectively destroys parole as a felony conviction for an ex-prisoner is 99.99% of the time going to result in a commitment to state prison anyways. I could honestly go on for hours about this but I'll spare all of us.
Lastly, the constant softening of the criminal justice system is already having a noticeable effect on the streets. It will take a while for this to be statistically noted and when it first is law enforcement, parole and probation will be blamed instead of the soft on crime legislature and governor. It's going to take about a decade to even start to reverse all the damage that's being done now.
Lastly, the constant softening of the criminal justice system is already having a noticeable effect on the streets. It will take a while for this to be statistically noted and when it first is law enforcement, parole and probation will be blamed instead of the soft on crime legislature and governor. It's going to take about a decade to even start to reverse all the damage that's being done now.
