Man gets life term for selling marijuana

[VermontDem2004]

A 30-year-old man got a reduced sentenced of life imprisonment at the Regional Trial Court for selling 869.1 grams of dried marijuana leaves to an undercover police officer in Panacan, Davao City last February. Serapio Alay, a resident of Carmen, Davao del Norte availed the lower conviction after he admitted peddling the P1,500 worth illegal drugs wrapped in a newspaper to PO1 Anthony Alpiz around 1:30 p.m. last February 7, 2003.

In a five-page judgment, Judge Adoracion Avisado of RTC Branch 9 also directed Alay to pay P3 million to the government as penalty to his R.A. 9165 (Comprehensive Drugs Act of 2002) case.

Aside from Alay’s admission of guilt, Avisado also used the poverty and lowly education status of the accused as mitigating circumstances to downgrade the supposed supreme penalty of death.

Alpiz, a member of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was utilized by the prosecution panel as one of their primary witnesses in the case.

In his testimony, Alpiz said a civilian informant went to their office and told them that Alay was looking for buyers of his dried marijuana leaves at Petron depot in Panacan.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/news/story.php?id=11343

[tedoll78]

1. Ridiculous.

Absolutely sickening. Way overboard.

And while I can understand punishing dealers, if I were a judge and someone was brought into my courtroom for possession in the privacy of their own home, I'd sentence him/her to a literal slap on the wrist. Could you imagine the defendant's reaction to that?

[Abe Linkman]

8. Let's legalize freedom, not punish those who wish to exercise freedom.

"I can understand punishing dealers"

Why would you want to punish a dealer OR a user? Please, no knee-jerk responses without a full explanation (don't give me the "poisoning our children bit", unless you include McDonalds, TV, Nintendo, mean-spirited parents, and all the rest).

[tedoll78]

13. I'd like to see it regulated.

That's all. I was being vague. Regulated on the same level of tobacco, perhaps.

We can use the same logic that we use against drugs to ban other substances.

"______ is dangerous when consumed. Therefore, we must totally prohibit _____."

Fill-in the blanks. Cheeseburgers, little white powdery doughnuts, alcohol, valium, etc etc.

[sexybomber]

2. what scares me...

is that they were originally going to sentence him to death.

[Mari333]

3. My son, thank goodness, got his sentence

reduced from possession of 2 joints, to disorderly conduct...as long as he doesnt get caught doing anything for a year...
He is 20, and with the draconian laws about pot in the minds and on the books in the USA, we were all terrified...thank god for a GOOD lawyer, and thank god my son has a clean record otherwise..
It was terrifying to even imagine what they could have done to him.
I packed him off to live on his own, and get out of this small town where many of the cops are brownshirts and know who everyone is.
My son is in a medium size city now, and going to college, and has his own apartment...I told him.."Move to Canada, if you want to smoke that stuff, for gods sake, dont do it in the US.."

[tedoll78]

4. So sad.

We trumpet ourselves as the greatest bastion of freedom, but then we pull this kind of b.s.

[ChompySnack]

6. Not the US

This is in the Phillipines

[LiberalFighter]

16. Watch out for the Souder Law

I hope that means that the disorderly conduct is not considered a drug offense. If so, then not eligible for college financial aid.

[dArKeR]

5. My friend was smoking a joint in front of a police station and the

police started laughing. They made him pay a US100 fine. (which we're all sure the Chief kept.)

There is so much crime in the Philippines! From child prostitution, in front the Arroyo's Palace, to drugs, guns, child begging mafia rings...

Did you know Philippines has larges gun factories.

Everyone in the Government is corrupt! What a joke!

Alay is the sacrificial pig to Bush and the DEA. Who's sinned on this one?



http://darkerxdarker.tripod.com/

[GabysPoppy]

7. Reduced from what?

Was he going to be decapitated?

[sujan]

9. this is retarded

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

10. Marijuana 'leaves', not even BUD!

ie: you would have to smoke 10 grams just to get high.

(Unless the author did not appreciate the difference)

Bill

[Wonder]

11. and sex offenders they let out on good behavior!

that is if they can convict them at all. interesting message all in all.

[havocmom]

12. meanwhile, Poindexter is running loose in DC

advocating who knows what sort of morally bankrupt hair brained scheme this week...

[SyracuseDemocrat]

14. Absolutely disgusting

A pothead gets a life sentence while a rapist can get out in 5 years, and murderers can get out in 25 years in NY.

[w4rma]

15. These laws are ridiculously punative (n/t)

[MaverickX]

17. I support drug laws but...

This is just crazy.