Bill C-15 Senate 11/25/09 Craig Jones, John Howard Society

Craig Jones is Executive Director of The John Howard Society of Canada. http://www.JohnHoward.ca

The Senate Committee is studying Bill C-15 (mandatory prison sentences that would apply to low level cannabis offenses (i.e. growing 6 plants) for the first time in Canadian history.

For *transcripts* of these hearings visit:
http://www.cannabisfacts.ca/SenateCtteeMtgs_BillC-15.html

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Bill C-15
• Senate
• Craig Jones
• John Howard Society
• mandatory minimum
• marijuana
• cannabis

[Ghostlietrio]

He offers no real alternative to this except to say it's not working. These people are committing a crime, just what does he think should happen? He can't say. If anything his opinions are only that opinions, if he claims the results are evidence he is stating a falsehood. There must be viable alternatives to compare, yet he provides none. Pathetic

[CannabisFactsForCdns]

What do YOU think should happen?

[corovanmoro]

That guy knows what he's talking about. Thanks for the upload.

[drugsense]

Missing from the video is Jones discussion of the written material he submitted and was asked to provide after the presentation, including the recommendations of various experts on drug policy reform and alternatives to mandatory minimum sentences.

[cdiddyna]

John Howard Society are a bunch of enabling losers..oh its not your fault you raped somebody its societys fault...I HATE YOU ENABLING LOSERS

[fliszt27]

What Ghostlietrio is arguing makes no sense. He says that it is better to do something that CREATES more of a drug trafficking problem owing to the arguments of Jones rather than doing nothing.

Jones is right. Doing nothing is better than mandatory minimum sentences. What needs to happen though is to address the causes of needing to be involved in the drug trafficking market. Poverty, addiction.

[fliszt27]

@Ghostlietrio It's very simple. There should be more supports for these people to eliminate their needs to traffic. You can prevent crime by giving these individuals the resources they need to leave the drug trafficing market. They commit crimes for a reason. They are poor and addicted. Thus, treat their poverty and addiction. Eliminate recidivism. 

[TheCraigjones]

@Ghostlietrio -- still waiting for a quote from me dismissing victims as "inconsequential."

Ghostlietrio is in the business of evidence-free assertion.

[nomoredrugwar]

Sounds like you already have it.

[Ghostlietrio]

I suggest if there is no willingness to rehab even after sentence completion then they are to remain behind bars.

Consider an animal who is hurt or dangerous to themselves and others, is at least humanely dealt with. We are at least offering to house, feed, train, give them professional counseling or psychiatric care, while keeping them out of the gangs.

Those in the facility who are gang mongering are segregated in individual cells, any signs of gang activity they are isolated. 4 their safety

[Ghostlietrio]

He has also openly admitted that victims are inconsequential and not part of his equation. He even went so far as to say that the criminals are his only concern.

I agree drinking and other intoxicants are equally damaging, which is why I recommend they all be treated the same. Treated while behind bars, do the full term of a sentence no credit for remand, no parole considerations until after full term and must be accompanied by demonstrated rehab, ie job training, health/medicine treatments

[Ghostlietrio]

These facilities have not been researched nor the methods as even Jones admits they don't exist. So if there is no comparative variance, then his extrapolations are just opinions and he is trying to use society as a huge petri dish to examine them in.

Those visitors who cannot be treated or won't need to be kept safe and treated for their lives. My family has Alzheimers. I expect when I'm old to be kept safe too should I get it. Why should inmates, prisoners etc be any different?

[Ghostlietrio]

I believe our justice system needs to learn a little from our past and a wee bit from the now.

I have debated with Jones about this. I recommended having better facilities, run by the professionals he so touts, where the visitors (prisoners) are helped to learn, grow and develope, whle keeping society safe. Those that don't want to learn or grow, stay put but are put in another facility that will ensure they do no further harm to themselves or society. These are not asylums, but get well-ums.