cannabisnews.com: Smoked Out: What Do Cops Really Think of Marijuana Smoked Out: What Do Cops Really Think of Marijuana Posted by FoM on May 04, 2000 at 07:47:37 PT By Lucas Miller Source: Slate Magazine About a week ago, I stopped by my girlfriend's apartment to pick her up for dinner. Her roommate, a nice girl from Long Island who works in advertising, was uncharacteristically unhappy to see me at the door. She gestured me inside but shot a tense look at the friend with whom she had been watching television. I figured that it was just because I was interrupting their lazy Sunday afternoon. My girlfriend was still picking out her clothes for the evening, so I plopped down on the couch with the other two and starting watching television. Soon the doorbell rang and the roommate jumped up, a look of horror on her face. "Who's that?" I asked with friendly curiosity. "Uh, we ordered Chinese food." She said to me. Then to her friend, "Come on, let's go eat it on the roof." Off they went. It was a chilly day, but good detective that I am, I tend to believe everything people tell me. What I should have known but didn't guess is that they had just received a little package from one of the many marijuana delivery services that bring pot directly to New Yorkers' doors. This is far from the first party I've spoiled. I was once told that my presence at a gathering ruined it, since the guest of honor couldn't get high while I was there. At other times, I've been forced to act as a sort of unofficial review board for complaints about my profession. And the most frequent gripe I've heard—well, up until the cops who shot Amadou Diallo were acquitted—– is that someone's buddy, sweetheart, or uncle got locked up for smoking a little harmless marijuana. What pot users may find interesting, if not entirely satisfying, is that the opinions of cops vary almost as much as those of civilians when it comes to drugs and particularly marijuana. Some cops are staunch law-and-order types who believe that laws are made by the legislature and interpreted by the courts, not the police, and that no law is too small and no violation too trivial to take seriously. Other cops believe that the use of drugs, including marijuana, is tied directly to the use of more drugs and the commission of other crimes. Some narcotics officers are embarrassed that they must spend time pursuing violators of laws about which society is ambivalent and whose consequences are so light. And there are those, like myself, who see the virtue of enforcing quality of life laws but can't help but feel bad putting a guy in handcuffs for smoking pot. My father is a jazz musician, and he and I sometimes joke about the popular image of jazzmen spending a lot of time stoned. Viper, my father told me, was old-time slang for pot smoker; tea referred to pot. Legend has it that Louis Armstrong was a big viper. One day not long ago, my father was telling me that once he'd quit smoking cigarettes, he never smoked again for fear that he'd fall off the wagon entirely. Same for smoking pot, he added. Wait a moment, I thought. My dad smoked pot? I thought we were talking about other musicians. Can I put a guy through the system for something my own father has done? Well, yes, I can. It's not that I think that you, smoking a little marijuana in the privacy of your own living room, are committing a wrong against society that must be righted. In fact, in New York State, possession of small amounts of marijuana in your home is a "violation," which is less serious than a misdemeanor and not legally a crime. It is on the order of urinating in public or drinking from an open beer in public. Since you're at home, invisible to anyone outside, and since violations are not grounds for a search warrant, you are almost definitely going to get away with it. Buying that pot on a street corner is a different story. The possession of marijuana in public in New York as well as in most states is a misdemeanor; if we catch you, we are supposed to arrest you. Police do have some discretion when it comes to making arrests for minor infractions, but aggressive enforcement of quality-of-life violations has simply become the normal way we do business. And I believe this is the way we should do business. One of the lessons we have learned in the last few years is that narcotics enforcement is an effective way to drive down almost all kinds of crime. We've also seen that successful drug enforcement targets buyers as well as dealers. Given the proliferation of marijuana dealers and users in public spaces such as Washington Square Park a few years ago, aggressive enforcement doesn't seem so out of line. And this is where most marijuana enforcement is being conducted—not in anyone's living room. Moreover, although pot smokers are usually peaceable citizens, their dealers can be dangerous criminals. In 1993, a detective working in Manhattan South Narcotics named Luis Lopez was shot through the heart by dealers while making a marijuana buy. He left a family behind. He was 36. Now, I don't go in for the idea that everyone who buys illegal drugs gets a little of the blood of the policemen killed by dealers on their hands. But Luis' death makes me see marijuana as more sinister, a little less harmless. That said, I won't be hauling my girlfriend's roommate off anytime soon. My department, like many, frowns on off-duty arrests for all but the most serious crimes. Were I to interrupt my dinner dates to make arrests for unlawful possession of marijuana, I would probably get laughed out of my office. But nor could I sit idle while Ms. Roommate toked up. A cop is a cop 24 hours a day, and even when I'm off duty, I find it difficult to observe drug use nonchalantly. That's why, as my girlfriend dressed and her roommate consumed her "Chinese food" on the roof, I found myself hitting the redial button on their phone pad, trying to get the number of the delivery service. Lucas Miller is a Detective with the New York City Police DepartmentPosted Wednesday, May 3, 2000 ©2000 Microsoft Corporation CannabisNews Articles On Police News Items:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/police.shtmlhttp://google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&num=10&q=police+site:cannabisnews.com Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #15 posted by Jose Melendez on February 27, 2002 at 09:42:03 PT: A little thing called TRUTH A little thing called DUI Five Pounder, Have you ever heard of a little thing called a DUI? Well guess what? It doesn't just apply to alcohol but other drugs as well. You say your not a dangerous criminal but your using a mind altering substance behind a 5000 pound weapon. Your every bit as bad as someone who blows someone away with a gun you dirtbag.Your argument would be persuasive, if it was true. But there have been at least three very recent studies with thousands of participants; proving that your assumptions about marijuana consumption and driving are FALSE. The studies show that experienced marijuana users are actually slightly safer behind the wheel - because they recognize their levels of "impairment", UNLIKE ALCOHOL USERS. As for dirtbags with guns, they are too often let off easy on DUI's, because they also have badges. Do you want to see references, or would you prefer to rant ignorantly, pretending you know the truth, but stubbornly looking the other way when evidence contrary to your beliefs is presented?"All who maintain that the Sun is immovable, and that it is the Earth which moves, sufficiently show that the Scriptural and Scientific Account of Natural Things seldom agree." - Matthew Tindal (A Deist, writing in 1730) Arrest Prohibition [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by true blue on February 27, 2002 at 06:58:13 PT: A little thing called DUI Five Pounder, Have you ever heard of a little thing called a DUI? Well guess what? It doesn't just apply to alcohol but other drugs as well. You say your not a dangerous criminal but your using a mind altering substance behind a 5000 pound weapon. Your every bit as bad as someone who blows someone away with a gun you dirtbag. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Refer on July 12, 2000 at 20:08:24 PT cops Okay, Mr. Policeman, You wanna know which way that guy ran? **** you. Have I ever seen this guy in your picture, the killer? **** you. You wanna know where my neighbor is? **** you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by lehder on July 12, 2000 at 20:01:03 PT eat shit, cop. eom [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Miss Manners on May 06, 2000 at 20:39:52 PT Phone Protocol Avoidance of an admitted "party spoiler' is not an indication of intent to use drugs.The product of a warrantless search of a private telephone record based on the above described probable cause is likely inadmissable evidence.Miss Manners hopes that the next time she is hassled by the fuzz they are as ignorant as this fellow. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by JeffMo on May 05, 2000 at 00:43:47 PT: Unbelievable I guess a lot of people have voiced similar sentiments, but I notice a high degree of neo-Orwellian doublespeak in this article. Big Brother is alive and well, and this "public servant" (ha!) appears to think that using labels like quality-of-life violations" or "successful drug enforcement" somehow sanitizes his misanthropic viewpoints.Oh, and one more thing, absent this ludicrous War on Some Drugs, Luis Lopez would still be alive, along with the numerous innocent victims of overzealous or mistaken cops, many of whom also "left a family behind." [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by fivepounder on May 04, 2000 at 16:01:03 PT This pathetic article I'm an ex New Yorker, I always smoked where ever I went. I drove a cab in NY and would toke right in the car and guess what? I am not a dangerous criminal. For this New York City oinker, I say the same thing I would say to anyone who profits from enforcing cannibis prohibition. "Go do something productive for society instead of making a career from oppressing fellow Americans with these insane laws. Go get a job where you can do something positive and stop telling people how to run their lives." I am completely sick of these moralistic axxhxxe [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by MikeEEEEE on May 04, 2000 at 15:54:56 PT An open minded cop??? This guy has the "We must get the dealers!" mentality he was tought by years of propaganda. He and everyone must understand that bad laws and prohibition are the cause, and these laws label people crimmials. These bad laws have a negative side effect, people try to escape the enforcement of these laws resulting in guns, etc. The same negative side effects resulted from Alcohol prohibition, lets not forget that blunder and this one too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Dan Hillman on May 04, 2000 at 12:57:36 PT The Business of Killing People for Cannabis >"...dealers can be dangerous criminals...aggressive enforcement of quality-of-life violations has simply become the normal way we do business. And I believe this is the way we should do business..." This way of "doing business" (interesting choice of words) apparently makes it entirely OK to walk up to just anyone, attempt to entrap them into selling pot, and then simply shoot them down if they become offended by the entrapment attempt. Wonder if Dorismunds father, who was also a professional musician, would agree? [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by freedom fighter on May 04, 2000 at 11:59:55 PT This piece is a racist who does not know what he is saying..Quality of life to him is his buddy getting shot so he can say "But Luis' death makes me see marijuana as more sinister, a little less harmless."Why does he not realize that if Marj. were to be legal his buddy would live? But no, he says,"Quality of life law" HELLO Who made you my brother's keeper? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by CongressmanSuet on May 04, 2000 at 11:10:36 PT: Observer, you took the words right out of my mouth A man that says he believes one thing, and acts in another manner is a loser sheep, who needs to keep on his ego-trip in order to have an ego. Business as usual, no matter what the circumstances. My condolences to the probably quite pathetic girlfriend. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Anonymous on May 04, 2000 at 09:57:46 PT Yeah.. and... Back in the 70's, my first experience with weed was with a sheriff who got his weed from work. 'Nuff said. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Alexandre Oeming on May 04, 2000 at 09:45:54 PT: No excuses All i see in this editorial is a cop making excuses for enforcing laws that he admits he doesn't believe in. He sees MJ in a less-innocent light due to dealers that happen to be violent in defending their black market interests. He, like any other prohibitionist, then incorrectly attributes these experiences to the MJ and its consumers rather than to the prohibition policies that are directly responsible for creating the black market that is then being defended by those who participate within its fairly uncontrolled parameters. Apparently, then, this cop "really thinks" there are better uses of cop time and resources than going after MJ consumers, but he just enforces the laws, or "just follows orders" from his superiors and therefore is "washed clean" of the dirty practices that prohibition encompasses. I'm sorry, but i don't buy it. A prohibitionist under the guise of a "cop" still smells as nasty to me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Peace on May 04, 2000 at 09:44:25 PT: Weird I dunno. I guess in some ways this is a good article, but it still makes me feel weird. What did he do when he hit redial? I mean, who would he have suspected? Would he really have turned someone in? And what's this about arrests not being made in peoples' homes? Read the news man....people are being killed in their own homes by mistake because of pot. Weirdness. That's all I can say about this article. P.S. Ya, cops definitely ruin parties. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by observer on May 04, 2000 at 09:38:36 PT Police: Prison for Daddy the Viper Policeman: "Wait a moment, I thought. My dad smoked pot? I thought we were talking about other musicians. Can I put a guy through the system for something my own father has done? . . . The possession of marijuana in public in New York as well as in most states is a misdemeanor; if we catch you, we are supposed to arrest you. Police do have some discretion when it comes to making arrests for minor infractions, but aggressive enforcement of quality-of-life violations has simply become the normal way we do business. And I believe this is the way we should do business."There you have it ... a man who'd arrest his own father for possesing cannabis. Note the usual party line on "dealers" to justify his (self-serving, power-tripping, police-union, we-don't-make-the-laws-just-enforce-them) attitudes: "their dealers can be dangerous criminals". Yeah, so can undercover narcs, shooting people for just saying no. Or being in a house mistaken for a drug house by police. Or just sleeping in bed, drugless people are often murdered by no-knock-narcs... Yet the transaction described there, the norm for cannabis transactions, was no more violent than having chinese food delivered (Officer Friendly's Reefer Madness scary dealer tales aside).And there are those, like myself, who see the virtue of enforcing quality of life laws but can't help but feel bad putting a guy in handcuffs for smoking pot.That's so touching. Isn't the nice policeman loving and compassionate? I'm sure some SS Officers had the same feeling about the Jewish people they likewise stole from, beat, incarcerated, worked to death, and gassed. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: