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Saturday, February 17, 2007
EXCLUSIVE! Todd Portune: Message to City Council
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Hamilton County Commission President Todd Portune wants City Council to revoke their criminalization of marijuana. He claims judges tell him this is causing the jails to overcrowd.
UPDATE, 2/18: Todd Portune has sent this letter to Mayor Mallory and City Council!
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17 Feb 2007 at 09:31 am | #
Portune makes sense and I thank him for speaking up on this. If more and more people are being fed into the criminal justice system, they have to be housed somewhere. The solution isn’t a new jail. The solution is exactly what Portune talked about. Examining the populations that are being sentenced and finding alternatives. It’s not 1950. Haven’t we come far enough to differentiate a pot smoker from a armed robber? There’s no reefer madness. But if city council doesn’t turn around the trend of criminalizing everything from begging and homelessness to pot possession to spitting on the sidewalk, there will have to be a larger facility to house the increasing numbers.
The question should be: “Who greased the palms of city council members to sway them to criminalize simple possession?” Something very funny going on there. And if they passed it, they can revoke it.
17 Feb 2007 at 12:09 pm | #
I agree with Mr. Portune. The low level pot users are not a threat to society. I believe drunks do more harm then them. Cincinnati really needs to resind that law.
I also remember last election. There was really a push by Burke and the D.P. to shed light on the offices for judges that were up for election. The D.P. really brought in a few great candidates but the people chose to vote on political affiliation instead of what the judge stands for (i.e. long sentences for minor offences). People truly do not watch these offices when they come up for election. This branch of government is truly one that needs to be watched and reformed… just like those politicians that are in it for themselves (by playing the role of constant political grandstanding) and not the whole of society (just look at the jail overcrowding with non-violent offenders) and we can surely indentify with “Kick the bums out!!!!” when it comes to judges of Hamilton County.
My belief also is that Portune and Pepper have got it right when it comes to the jail issue. How do we make them work --- how will they work to truly reform those that find themselves locked in the system time and time again? Anyway, I’m for their tax ballott… I believe that we have a couple good watchdogs on this.
I wasn’t able to make it to Wednesday’s meeting. Does anyone know how DeWine voted on it? Just wondering if there is another bum that we may have to boot.
Peter Deane
17 Feb 2007 at 01:21 pm | #
City council swore up and down that this new law with low limits would only be applied to drug dealers. Is this happening or not?
17 Feb 2007 at 01:42 pm | #
Here is an idea I have had brewing for a while.
Who cares if their neighbor smokes pot? Probably not many people (unless the @&#*$ is giggling loudly non-stop the whole afternoon, but that is a different issue).
How many people care if their neighbor is dealing drugs? Probably quite a close to a majority.
It’s the underground market that people see as a problem. Personally I would rather it be sold in stores or pot cafes but with federal laws the way they are that is never going to happen any time soon.
So how about a middle ground solution that cuts the legs out from the underground market?
What if we allowed the pot smokers to grow their own pot indoors?
My math is probably off on this since I don’t know how much a mild pot smoker consumes, but at the rate of 3 grams/week, and short indoor pot plants producing about 10-14 grams every 12-16 weeks my guess is that allowing people to grow 4 pot plants per adult and keep 10-14 grams of pot per adult (it has to be dried). I think this should keep the pot smokers reasonably satisfied.
Pot smokers would no longer have to use dealers to get their supply. The drug ban people can still keep their laws making it illegal to sell pot. *poof* The drug dealers are gone. They can’t kill the demand, but they can kill the market.
17 Feb 2007 at 03:17 pm | #
Todd makes more since than any official in Hamilton County.
17 Feb 2007 at 03:27 pm | #
CincySue, make no mistake, Portune is all about the jail. He’s not on a crusade agaisnt this bad policy. He gave this answer only when asked about what he was going to do about people that are in jail but shouldn’t be.
Portune makes a good point and shows that city council is full of crap and shitty policies, but he fails to address the problem in any serious way.
He’s just pointing his finger and saying “it’s not my fault and there’s nothing I can do but build a new jail so we can fill it up with more people that unPortunately we know shouldn’t be there. But hey guess what? We’re spending more money on programs for when they get released. Aren’t we wonderful? Isn’t our comprehensive plan moral?”
Portune hasn’t sent out a press release or held a press conference calling on council to change this policy and make the case why they should. He hasn’t called on the judges and said you need to stop locking up people that aren’t a threat to society because we can’t afford it and it is immoral and unconstitutional. He just changed the window dressing for giant turd of a policy.
17 Feb 2007 at 03:40 pm | #
Peter Deane, there are 3 bums that need to be voted out at the county. Don’t forget Pepper was the first member of council to push the draconian marijuana ordinance and guess which party was the majority that passed it.
CincySue was right, the question is: “Who greased the palms of city council members to sway them to criminalize simple possession?” Pepper knows the answer and all you have to do is look at his and Portunes campaign contributions and you’ll see that all our politicians are owned by a few good ole chrstian boys that will get their jail and their unjust laws rammed through despite what the public says or thinks.
Do we need a $600,000 special election right now? No!
If Todd Portune and David Pepper were really concerned with effeciancy and spending money well they would address the problem of people being locked up when they shouldn’t be.
All their going to do is continue to pass the buck and the tax!
17 Feb 2007 at 04:00 pm | #
Funnelcake, council is full of crap. Selling drugs was already illegal. There was no need to pass a law saying anybody with a joint can be locked up for a month and pay a thousand dollar fine. They were arrogant enough to say that the law would be enforced unequally. They said we’re not concerned about college kids or the average user just the drug dealers.
Once again there were already laws against drug dealers, so what they are really doing is giving the police the power to be the judge and apply the law however they see fit. Who’s getting busted? the white guy in hyde parke or the poor brother in OTR?
(I know many people who “suffer” from white male priveledge assume that the poor brother in OTR has it coming because he makes poor decisions like being poor and living in OTR while the hyde park guy made a better decision by being rich and living in a rich neighborhood.)
Of course prohibition never works and won’t stop people from using drugs. We need to control it, tax it and make it safe instead of creating a “white market” for gangs. Like we did with alcohol.
The war on drugs creates another big business, The prison industrial complex. It’s a war on the poor and we lock up 2.2 million people, more than any other nation. The costs of this racist war is more than just the money, it costs the nation its soul and an ubtold number of lives.
What a boost for our farmers and the environment legalization would be, not to mention the hemp market, but you’ll never hear about that from the corporate repulicrats that we call the Hamilton County Democratic party.
Democrats 2007! More of the same!!!
17 Feb 2007 at 05:00 pm | #
Local Cincinnati politician’s party affiliations mean nothing. They in no way represent national party philosophy so whether Democrat, Republican (Charterite) they’re all peas in the same sorry unprincipled pod that just tack on a party for whatever is their purpose du jour. You can tell that by so many switcheroos. The Greens are different but could never have an effect in this part of the country.
Jailocrat - All of your responses are excellent. But there’s a bigger worry than whether or not money is wasted in Cincinnati on a jail. We hope it’s not. But where will you put everybody as the national trend toward criminalizing everybody and anybody to keep the prison industrial complex fed ,continues to spiral out of control. It’s terrifying. And the newest target population--children--is the most frightening. I predict that with the passage of the bankrupcy law, next, debtor’s prisons will be rolled into the mix.. Men (or women) that can’t make their child support--not dodging it, but without funds--are being sentenced. Fines for traffic and other tickets so large that paying them is impossible, so it goes to warrant. And of course the recreational drug user as well as the addict. Overcharging and oversentencing--a person in the heat of the moment making a threat is now charged with terroristic acts. People that have served their time required to live in such narrow parameters that they have to violate the conditions just to survive. Back in jail again! And of course all forms of poverty crimes--begging, trespassing to find a place to sleep, and being mentally ill. All of these non-violent, low level violators are desirable, controllable target groups.
This is the real problem. Prisons as a business, privatization, deregulation all combine in a grand scheme to make any and all of us (with the exception of the rich) potential lifers. What’s to be done, Jailocrat?????
17 Feb 2007 at 05:26 pm | #
CincySue, I would argue that national party affiliation means nothing either. The local Green party hasn’t been very effective yet, but they’re on the right track because they’re representing the right issues, so never say never. I think they will get someone on council much sooner than you think.
We have been conditioned to think we need to remain in a two party prison and grass roots movements do take time. You understand the problems well and that’s the first step towards creating solutions. If we stop voting for the 2 and a half parties that continue to push these failed policies then we can elect people that represent our voices.
We must demand better policies and end the corrupt campaign financing of our elections. Then regular people will get some representation instead of just the same special interests that win elections everytime despite which party wins.
We must challenge the system and fight for justice every election. And just because you vote, don’t let that stop you from really doing something that matters. Organize with people that agree with you (like the greens etc), agitate and never give up the good fight.
“You can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” Get Up, Stand Up!
17 Feb 2007 at 05:49 pm | #
Cincysue is basically correct. There is an ever-increasing number of actions being called crimes, and the police are given the power to decide whom they shall arrest and whom they shall ignore. But feeding the prison industry is only one goal. The other is to make all of us wary of criticizing either the police or the politicians.
To answer funnelcake—no, the law is NOT being applied only to drug dealers. If the person searched has a single joint, he goes to jail. If he is white and in Hdye Park, he isn’t searched in the first place.
17 Feb 2007 at 06:15 pm | #
There was a report recently on how many people are arrested nationwide each year for marijuana—over 780,000 in 2005. Of these, 88% were charged only with possession.
While this does not directly answer your question, I have heard first-hand stories that the answer in Cincinnnati is no—they are sending people to prison for possession of very small amounts. Also, the police report that the average amount of someone charged under the new law is seven grams. Since the law is used for amounts up to 100 grams and a real dealer probably has a lot more than 7 grams on him, this means that many people are being arrested for having just a couple grams. Finally, the police stated that over 2,330 people had been arrested under the new law in the first 6 months. I don’t think that all of those are drug dealers.
The report on national arrest data also states that it costs a billion dollars per year to house those prisoners in federal and state jails. The costs for putting them in county jails is NOT included.
17 Feb 2007 at 06:31 pm | #
By the way, I was there when Portune said this. It was at one of the lunchtime seminars at Christ Church Cathedral downtown on Thursday, February 15th.
I certainly disagree with Mr. Deane’s assessment of the jail situation (see the rest of his comment), but the vote will probably happen at a special meeting at 9:00 am on Thursday the 22nd. The public can attend, but this is not a hearing about the jail so I don’t know if there will be an opportunity to speak.
At the Wednesday meeting Mr. DeWine was concerned about the rush to build a new jail and said the county was not seriously considering the option of renovating the Queensgate facility. I also had talked with him personally a couple of weeks before the meeting and he said that the commissioners should respect the decision of the voters. I don’t think he agreed with the majority of the voters, but he said they did clearly speak.
Why bother calling it a democracy if the politicians only listen if they agree with what the voters say?
17 Feb 2007 at 08:19 pm | #
Well said Mr. Patton! Of course there is a much greater cost than just the buildings, cops, judges, administrators, and paper pushers etc. There is the costs to the people who endure this “special” treatment.
Sorry poor people but here’s a record, there goes that scholarship and that career. Keep living in your poor neighborhood where you’re more likely to get pulled over and searched. More laws, police, crimes and jails. Here comes 3 strikes and the personal responsibility smurfs.
“It looks like somebody made a bad decision, I guess you need to take responsibility”.
Hold council responsible for the costs of their draconian policy against the poor people that live in OTR. 3CDC is gentrifying OTR and council is doing their bidding. Mr. Portune don’t force that jail on our people. Mr. President show some moral leadership and deal with the judges.
He says he has a “responsibility” to build that jail and apparently only that.
17 Feb 2007 at 08:41 pm | #
Democracy???
That’s a good one!!!
Mr. Patton, there will be an opPortunity to speak, but who will be listening? I think the Jailocrats will show the courage of their convictions and there’s going to be a lot more convictions in Hamilton County.
Sorry people in jail that shouldn’t be there!
Sorry taxpayers!!!
17 Feb 2007 at 09:03 pm | #
"By the way, I was there when Portune said this. It was at one of the lunchtime seminars at Christ Church Cathedral downtown”
At the same forum, years ago, I first learned that Portune is the only Sinincincinnati politician who comes close to “getting it.”
Here’s what “getting it” means, and it would be helpful if we could agree on this:
Drugs are NOT causing the violence. The War on Drugs is causing the violence.
Persons such as Jailocrat, who says: “We need to control it, tax it and make it safe instead of creating a “white market” for gangs. Like we did with alcohol.”
don’t “get it.”
Humans have a tendency to compulsively, nervously overcomplicate life.
Here is what “getting it” means:
1. War on Drugs bad.
2. Stop War on Drugs.
17 Feb 2007 at 09:52 pm | #
David E Gallaher, I don’t think you “get it”. If we legalized it we could control it, tax it and make it safe instead of creating a “white market” for gangs like we did with alcohol.
I’m against the war on drugs and think it’s bad too."Get it”?
If Portune “gets it” that it’s the war on drugs that is the problem, do you think building a new jail is the solution to stopping the war on drugs?
18 Feb 2007 at 01:16 am | #
Doesn’t the city have to pay the county to house inmates who have violated THIER local ordinances? Same with the townships, rightt?
anybody know the answer?
18 Feb 2007 at 01:39 am | #
OK. No one is biting on the ‘grow your own’ plan. How about something I read that another city has done. They created an open air drug market in an open field where people won’t get busted for buying or selling.
Scan for guns as people go in. Anybody causes any trouble they get kicked out & can’t buy or sell there again.
Pot alone is not the problem. It’s the crime that goes along with the illegal market. Give them a legal option they won’t get punished for and it goes away.
18 Feb 2007 at 10:28 am | #
This is called “saving face”. If Portune really was concerned about this utterly ridiculous ordinance, then hopefully he will give more than lip service. During campaign season, he can tell his base “I tried”, when in reality he has done nothing.
As far as the “War on Drugs”. There’s no such thing. It’s actually the “War on the Poor” and it works by criminalize behaviors associated with them. Period. If you look at the history of drugs in America, you’d see that when middle and upper class whites used drugs, it was never an issue. It wasn’t until poor minorities started using drugs that they became illegal.
18 Feb 2007 at 12:08 pm | #
Thanks Funnelcake! I was wondering when someone was going to get to the common sense factor.
Once the various criminal aspects take hold, then starts the increasing decline of a community, or a particular area where the open air dealing is taking place.
Tumbledown, boarded up properties are a magnet for the criminality. That’s one reason why the Court system is clogged with Weed Ticket cases. The dealers stash their inventory in mailboxes, behind one of the loose boards covering up the windows, a broken floorboard on the porch steps, anywhere there’s a relatively safe spot. In one neighborhood, volunteers hauled off several old refrigerators off a vacant, boarded up property. Yeah, the ‘frigs were used to store inventory & cash. If the police don’t have Right of Entry orders signed by the property owner/manager, they really can’t enter onto the property to investigate.
The dealers don’t carry much money these days either. Most have already been thru the system & they know. They pass the info onto other individuals on the street. These street dealers can easily stomach a day in jail with fines & costs remitted.
If you look, there’s a very large percentage of cases that do not cost the drug dealers a dime. It falls on the taxpayers for the jail bunk & Court time. So, I’m having a time trying to figure out how this business is making “the poor” poorer.
Now, these street drug dealers have communication technology that does everything but tie the laces on their Timberlands. (So much for being “poor”.) The shift is now to delivery service for weed, crack, heroin & other street drugs. Call or text your order to your sales rep, arrange pick up or delivery.
For you folks who think Hyde Park & the surrounding areas get a free pass, you’re partially right. Dealers have been providing to the door service for years & years. That’s why no one’s being busted.
It might not be the most prudent law on the books, but I think we have to look at other aspects as to why it’s in place.
18 Feb 2007 at 01:49 pm | #
The e-mail below was sent to Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory and every Member of Council:
Dear Mayor and Members of Council:
As we wrestle with the ongoing issue of Hamilton County’s Corrections and rehabilitation problems I respectfully ask that you revisit legislation previously adopted that criminalizes possession of marijuana resulting in mandatory sentences and instead either repeal the legislation, or rewrite it in a way that results in less incarceration and more treatment. As we have examined the issue of jail overcrowding I have been approached by numerous members of the county judiciary who have complained that the legislation was unnecessary; inappropriate and a major contributor to current overcrowding.
When I lobbied individual Members against adoption of the ordinance the response given by supporters of the ordinance was that the intent was to get addicted users the treatment they needed. Instead, according to many of our judges, it has worked to clog our system and jail even more. There are so many studies that indicate that America’s War on Drugs is a failure that I don’t need to repeat them here. Substance abuse is primarily a medical and a treatment issue because at its core it involves addictions and addictive behavior. It becomes a disease that is physically debilitating and destructive in many ways. People need help. Our focus with users should be on that and not on punitive measures.
You have tough jobs and we are all working hard to make our community a better place. As we move forward, however, and examine changes in practice that will work long term to ease overcrowding and provide a system that better matches individuals with appropriate responses, and as we encourage our judiciary to consider more and more alternatives, and to make those alternatives available in greater quantity, I respectfully ask the city to revisit this, and [perhaps other legislation], that may be having the unintended, or inappropriate effect, of placing non-violent individuals in jail as opposed to in places that are better suited to changing their behaviors in a positive way.
For example, we need to look at probation and the whole issue of violating people on probation and provide options other than incarceration. We have too many people in jail who have not committed a crime but who have violated terms of probation that were probably impossible to meet in the first place.
And so on.
Part of my job in managing this issue involves advancing the various elements that make up the entirety of the issue and appropriate response. Part of that involves working to determine what we may need to build, or consolidate, in addressing our facility needs. It involves identifying what programs or services we need to offer. And it involves speaking out on those issues where experience teaches us different approaches are in order. This is one such area.
To change behaviors and change lives for the better, and to create a system that contains appropriate options and choices along the way that will make a difference, will require all of us to be willing to explore alternatives. Experience tells us that there is not “one size fits all” approach to crime and behavior. It is a complex series of events and approaches. In the field of substance abuse and addictive behaviors this is especially so.
This is the time for our community and our generation to stand up and do the right thing across the board. It is going to involve elements of new build. But it must also involve a sea change in attitude and approach if we will be able to make the attitudinal changes in our approach to the many faces and issues of criminal behavior that will ultimately make a difference in Hamilton County and change the trends. Only by doing the latter will this be the last time we need to consider upsizing our correctional facilities.
Thank you for your consideration of this item. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Todd Portune
President, Hamilton County Commission
18 Feb 2007 at 04:30 pm | #
Good job Mr. Portune!
Now, how about sending letters to the judges that as you have said are also part of the overcrowding problem?
Tell them that the citizens want them to quit locking up people that shouldn’t be in jail. A letter to the prosecutor and Sherrif’s offices should also be part of a real comprehensive approach to dealing with this problem.
Make sure you do this Mr. Portune because the citizens of Hamilton County are not willing to fund the current well known ineffeciancies and inhumane treatment of our fellow citizens.
It will not be to your advantage politically to force the citizens of Hamilton County to spend $600,000 of our taxpayer dollars on a special election to send you this message at the ballot box once again.
You have just now taken the first step towards real leadership on this most urgent matter. I hope that you take these next steps in your long journey towards bringing a real comprehensive approach to dealing with the real problems of overcrowding.
We demand real action towards reducing the wasted money and lives that are the byproduct of our current failed policies. It is not just the war on drugs that is causing people to be in jail that shouldn’t be. I suspect that you are already aware of that, so the question is what will you do about it and when will you do it?
18 Feb 2007 at 06:57 pm | #
Jailocrat said:
“David E Gallaher, I don’t think you “get it”. If we legalized it we could control it, tax it and make it safe”
I appreciate the fact you are trying to say we are on the same side, but here is where you’re shooting both of us the feet when it comes to bringing about the needed change:
Drugs don’t need “controlling.” Controlling is no different than prohibition, other than degree. If you think drugs need controlling, then you are just one more person afflicted by this mass hysteria that is the true problem.
18 Feb 2007 at 07:32 pm | #
Gallaher - Controlling is exactly the issue. And how it is sold. Somebody rips somebody off. Someone moves into somebody else’s territory. A buyer doesn’t want to purchase from the first dealer he/she comes up to… bullet’s start flying.
It needs to be controlled in the same way a shirt is controlled. It needs a controlled market place.
18 Feb 2007 at 08:31 pm | #
Some effects of these draconian drug laws are costs to society that continue long after the fine and the jail time are realized. There is also the costs of the politicians and the ignorant herd’s disregard for the human right to be free.
When a person is arrested and/or convicted, his potential to earn and contribute to our economy is reduced. He usually will be denied some employment or advancement at some times or another after the arrest. He will often not seek to advance himself nor risk anything that might bring attention to himself or his arrest. To reach one’s potential often requires an individual to take some level of risk (sometimes they are the creative persons that our society needs to be led). They often accept whatever job they can get easily because they want to blend into the woodwork. I have seen many college graduates who don’t even bother to try for a better job that would achieve their potential because they fear their arrest will be discovered. In other words, the politicos have hamstrung the economic potential that should have been enjoyed by our society.
There is often the resulting effect that makes unacceptable behavior acceptable. It is like a girl who had lost her virginity; subsequent sexual act are easier once the status of virginity is lost. Those that have a criminal record don’t see the same stigma of a second or third offense to be that bad. Black people who are poor and know how the system mistreats them, often don’t feel a strong stigma within their society when a crime is committed.
That our society, especially politicians looking for votes, can treat human freedom so insignificantly is unacceptable to those that cherish human rights and liberty. The legislators appear indifferent to some citizen’s (untermenschen) basic human right to have liberty.. Many people have given their lives for these human rights and maybe it is time that politicians should pay the same price to learn what these human rights are worth.
“The tree of liberty grow only when watered by the blood of tyrants.” Thomas Jefferson ,January 16, 1793.
Dieter Schmied
18 Feb 2007 at 10:18 pm | #
"here is where you’re shooting both of us the feet when it comes to bringing about the needed change:”
David Gallaher, I’m confused by what you have written. We do agree on the failed war on drugs. Are you saying that we shouldn’t regulate alcohol and drugs?
19 Feb 2007 at 01:46 am | #
I am more concerned about the massive number of poeple who will now have a criminal convictionon their record and won’t be able to get a job, housing, or an education because of it.
this is ridiculous use of city council’s legislative authority that only digs a hole deeper for the under priveligeded who are targeted with this ordinance/ weapon
19 Feb 2007 at 02:18 am | #
I just read the resolution creating the criminal justice committee and their charge - the answers are all right there what this BOCC wants and expects - they are specifically looking at the issues of concern (incarceration pending trials and inefficiencies of the system) and any other issue anyone could have, no matter what side of the fence you are on.
see below from the BoCC website, if it’ll take you there(??I don’t know how to link things)
http://www.hamiltoncountyohio.gov/administrator/bsi/jail/Criminal%20Justice%20Commission%20-%2001-16-07.pdf
The only thing that anyone could have a problem with this on is if they start to build a jail and allocate funds before this committee weighs in or if the jail tax does not include language that mandates that the expenditure of funds must be consistent with the findings of this committee in some way, if there is no hard and fast plan presented to the public before the tax is presented.
Portune has penned and passed a resolution - there isn’t a stronger position that can be taken on the issue - except his word. He is beyond reproach on this one - he has done what he said he will do, and more.
19 Feb 2007 at 09:20 am | #
"It needs to be controlled in the same way a shirt is controlled. It needs a controlled market place. “
Funnelcake,
Lead me to your shirt-controller! Would he be Mr. Starch?
(The reason the marketing of certain drugs is “out of control” is precisely because folks or your mentality are trying to CONTROL it.)
19 Feb 2007 at 10:08 am | #
I respectfully urge those who have suggested I write to the Judges of Hamilton County to review our separate Resolutions creating Policy Goals for the development of a Corrections and Rehabilitation Program and the Resolution creating and charging the Criminal Justice Commission [both are available at the county’s website at http://www.hamilton-co.org].
Both Resolutions mandate that the judges’ sentencing practices be reviewed; that we also evaluate the practice of pretrial and pre-arraignment incarceration; and all of the items discussed in the commentary above. More forceful than a letter, the Resolutions carry the weight of adopted policy by the Board and will govern our work, the work of the CJC, and what we do with their recommendations.
Short of people just choosing not to believe in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and an entire career of mine in following through on the things I propose to do, there is nothing else I can do at this stage to give the assurances that people want.
Under one financing plan that is being considered we are looking at a funding vehicle that will endow all funding for the programming of services required for a 30 year period which will require raising roughly $600 million for the effort and setting it up in a manner that will let the interest earnings of almost another $400 million cover all program related expenses for that 30 year period. The reason to endow the program related expenses is because it is the only way to guarantee the funding will be there in future years. If we rely on future Boards to approve general funds for these measures it will be a risky proposition given the county’s historic disdain for those kinds of services.
19 Feb 2007 at 10:20 am | #
Portune dude, you’re in Cincinnnati, even the democrats are republican. Are you crazy?
19 Feb 2007 at 10:40 am | #
There is more to the Marijuana ordinance than is being discussed here. The ordinance was put in place as a deterrent and a tool. The ordinance was put in place as a tool to clean up this drug-dealing infested city. Being caught with marijuana in Cincinnati was a simple slap on the wrist and carried the lowest penalty compared to all surrounding areas (including Kentucky and Indiana). You actually paid more for littering than being caught with marijuana. No. Marijuana isn’t a big deal, but the incredible transient customer base coming in and out of our city is. Do you not think it was a no-brainer choice to dealers and buyers where to sell or buy drugs? Do you realize the ill effect that hundreds of transients flooding into a community (daily) have on our communities? Do you see them piss on the sidewalks or in people’s yards before or after transactions? Do you watch them throw garbage out of their cars? Do you hear their horns, loud radios and arguments throughout the night? Hopefully, the ordinance has pushed some of the transient dealers (and customers) back to where they came from. Additionally, this ordinance created a valuable tool for our police officers. The ordinance included a provision that allows law enforcement to search a vehicle if the occupant is found with marijuana. Do you know how much other illegal drugs and firearms were found using this tool? Do you know how many warrants were filled with this one tool? Please, stop with the “hurting the poor” bullshit for one minute and consider the intention of the ordinance. If you really want to help those of us living in poor communities than consider our cheers when we see the police search a vehicle. Consider the smiles on our faces when a known transient gets arrested. I’m poor. I live among this. The ordinance isn’t hurting me – its helping.
19 Feb 2007 at 12:14 pm | #
In response to Blanchard (#33):
See my earlier article on the 6-month report on the marijuana law. A total of 583.17 grams of other drugs were seized during the 2,330 arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana. The report states that 37 guns were seized, but does not state how many of those were illegal. We don’t even know if the guns seized were carried on someone’s person or were found in the person’s car, home, or apartment.
19 Feb 2007 at 05:33 pm | #
Gallaher - Kind of missed my point. Most people would not consider the sale of shirts heavily controlled.
19 Feb 2007 at 07:12 pm | #
Portune needs to go back & review Ohio truth in sentencing laws & the changes that were put into place within the past year.
Judges DO their due diligence before handing down sentencing. There are more pre-sentence investigations (PSI)being conducted in past years.
Plenty of these individuals never had gainful employment to begin with. Many of the felons have quit school in the 9th & 10th grade. At 16 years old, you didn’t see them sacking groceries at Kroger’s after sitting in a classroom all day. Where were they? Where are they now? Out on the street corner. You’ll hear Judges recite their lengthy Juvenile records. It starts with small thefts & works its way up to drug dealing, burglary, weapons & strong-armed robberies.
And as long as there’s Section 8, these drug dealers will always have housing. Always. All they have to do is knock up some girl, send her off to the Welfare Office, get rent vouchers & it’s home sweet home. CMHA isn’t doing anything about routing them out. Sometime ago, a poster mentioned City West. Yeah, take a good hard look at what the weed ticket boys have done to that housing community.
Thank you, Blanchard, for spelling out what many neighborhood areas are dealing with in terms of this petty weed ticket business. My community is quick off, quick on the interstate & there’s plenty of vehicles with KY & IND plates wheeling in on a continuous basis for street drugs. The sales representatives leave a mess when their shift is over - plastic tips from tobacco products, snack food bags, soda bottles, soda cans, an occasional 40 oz., cracked flower planters from sitting in them & rocking, strong urine smells in the shrubbery, all sorts of messes & chaos.
Remember, several weeks ago during a Commissioners meeting, Portune called these inmates “Guests of the County”. Guests my foot! I’m not paying for a resort & spa facilities for criminals who are destroying our neighborhoods!
19 Feb 2007 at 07:24 pm | #
funnelcake,
Think of even the scariest drugs as shirts or funnelcakes.
That will lower your anxiety level.
Amazing as it sounds, certain drugs cause more anxiety among people who
don’t take them than among those who do.
19 Feb 2007 at 08:51 pm | #
"The sales representatives leave a mess when their shift is over - plastic tips from tobacco products, snack food bags, soda bottles, soda cans, an occasional 40 oz., cracked flower planters from sitting in them & rocking, strong urine smells in the shrubbery, all sorts of messes & chaos. “
Anon 7:12 pm,
Delicate sensibilties and sense of fung shway have we?
Have you delved deeply into the works of Jeff Foxworthy?
The Cable Guy?
For the Little Woman and me, you have described the millieu that brought us to live in the ‘hood.
20 Feb 2007 at 09:13 pm | #
funnelcake and anon 7:12 pm,
Forgive my silliness. Can’t usually help myself.
But, Anon, I wonder if you understand how ending the War on Drugs would remove the “sales representatives” from your corner of the ‘hood?
The answer has to do with economics. Economics 101.