cannabisnews.com: Glitch Blamed for Rise in Pot-Possession Reports
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Glitch Blamed for Rise in Pot-Possession Reports
Posted by CN Staff on August 04, 2011 at 13:26:32 PT
By Jessie Van Berkel, Seattle Times Staff Reporter
Source: Seattle Times
Washington State -- A glitch in the Seattle police computer system last year routed nearly three times as many pot-possession reports to City Attorney Pete Holmes as the year before.The jump wasn't a matter of a changed focus by the department, said Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a spokesman for the Seattle Police Department (SPD). Police are continuing to make pot their lowest priority, Whitcomb said. And the department says its officers made no arrests last year in which marijuana possession was the only charge.
Holmes campaigned for city attorney on the promise of not prosecuting marijuana-possession cases. Of the nearly 300 reports Holmes' office received in 2010, the office filed only one case, which "accidentally got through," according to the office's annual report, presented to the City Council Public Safety Committee on Wednesday.The Police Department's old paper system relied on officer discretion, Whitcomb said, while the new one passes all the reports along, resulting in a stack-up of marijuana-possession reports. SPD is trying to fix the computer system, he said.Fewer than 130 reports made it to the City Attorney's Office in both 2008 and 2009, with more than 70 cases filed each of those years by Holmes' predecessor, Tom Carr."It's almost an artificial jump, as far as there's no SPD drive to look for marijuana cases. We have plenty of things to keep us busy," Whitcomb said.Holmes said his office had been working with police to reconcile the data, but had been unable to agree on numbers before the city attorney's annual report was published. He said he doesn't think the police are arresting three times as many people for marijuana possession, but some officers may not agree with the city attorney's position not to prosecute marijuana-possession cases."There may be some push-back from individual officers, but that doesn't explain all the numbers," Holmes said.Seattle voters in 2003 passed Initiative 75, which made marijuana intended for adult personal use the city's lowest law-enforcement priority."[Marijuana possession] is not something we look for, but when we find it, it is still technically a law violation," Whitcomb said.Holmes also emphasized that although he has declined to prosecute marijuana-possession cases, it remains a state and federal crime."We don't want a banner across the city saying 'marijuana is legal here,' because it isn't," Holmes said. "We don't want people blowing smoke in officers' faces."There were 75 reports of marijuana possession to the city attorney in the first half of this year, Holmes said. That puts police on track for a drop in reported cases from 2010.Staff reporter Lynn Thompson contributed to this report.Source: Seattle Times (WA)Author: Jessie Van Berkel, Seattle Times Staff ReporterPublished: August 4, 2011Copyright: 2011 The Seattle Times CompanyContact: opinion seatimes.comWebsite: http://www.seattletimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/oBr7fvxDCannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #7 posted by Vincent on August 05, 2011 at 18:25:55 PT:
DEA
"Wouldn't you just love to see Mickey Leonhart's smug-mug in line at the unemployment office. We can, we will!
Better yet! See her in the defendant's chair in a court of law? Now that would be an America I could warm up to"!Amen to that!
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Comment #6 posted by runruff on August 05, 2011 at 06:59:44 PT
DEA: Demonic Extortion Agents!
The DEA will go down fighting tooth and nail. I know several agents very well. Have known them for years. If you knew them you would be protesting in the street, I guarantee it! They will never see a court of law convicting them of treason, theft, murder, rape,dealing drugs or extortion. The public seems totally unaware that the DEA are our tax payer supported homegrown terrorist.Wouldn't you just love to see Mickey Leonhart's smug-mug in line at the unemployment office. We can, we will!Better yet! See her in the defendant's chair in a court of law? Now that would be an America I could warm up to!
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Comment #5 posted by Paint with light on August 05, 2011 at 00:01:43 PT
link in coment # 3
So much of this sounds familiar. I proposed much of this here in my posts starting several years ago.SK: ".....they tried to change our "regulation" initiative to a "legalization" initiative. We know "legalization" doesn't test at all as high as "regulation", so we're going to go back and make sure they give us "regulation"."CC: Why is the wine regulation model the best one suited for regulating cannabis in California?SK: First and foremost, wine is something that people understand that can be used in moderation and doesn't automatically lead to violence or impairment." "We have no limit on how much pot is legal. It's all legal. There's is a 12-plant limit on growing indoors, but that is it – and no criminal penalties for cultivation, period.""We don't want anyone coming around measuring dried amounts. It's all legal under our system -– or regulated, as we like to call it. The only way you can screw up is if you sell marijuana and don't pay the regular sales tax, like you do on anything else that you sell. Unlike Prop 19, we don't invent any new laws or any new taxes. Sales tax is already in place so there is no need to introduce a new tax."Slowly the world is catching up.Legal like alcohol......the only way "legal" will finally happen. 
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on August 04, 2011 at 23:18:50 PT
Nice Florida update
News in Florida: Very nice news.Federal Judge Throws Out Florida's Drug Law"A federal judge ruled July 27 that Florida's drug law was unconstitutional, leaving thousands of criminal cases up in the air. US District Court Judge Mary Scriven of Orlando threw out the Florida Drug Abuse Prevention and Control law on the grounds that it violates due process because it does not require prosecutors to prove a person knew he or she possessed illegal drugs."""cont.http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2011/jul/29/federal_judge_throws_out_florida
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Comment #3 posted by The GCW on August 04, 2011 at 22:49:47 PT
Nice California update
California news...Activist Steve Kubby Wants to Regulate Marijuana Like Wine in CaliforniaInterview:http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2011/08/03/Activist-Steve-Kubby-Wants-Regulate-Marijuana-Wine-California"The Regulate Marijuana Like Wine Act of 2012"Dated Aug. 3, 2011
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Comment #2 posted by Paint with light on August 04, 2011 at 21:42:09 PT
OT but worth your time
I thought several of these Ganja Gizmos were interesting.Several Gizmos have more than one page.If any are offensive to you go to the next one.http://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/cannabis-inspired-creationsLegal like alcohol.
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Comment #1 posted by Vincent on August 04, 2011 at 13:45:04 PT:
Respect
Holmes said: "We don't want people blowing smoke in officers' faces".Y'know something? I actually agree. Respecting other people's rights should be a cornerstone of our society. Now, if only the cops saw it that way.
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