cannabisnews.com: Pot Non-Problem





Pot Non-Problem
Posted by FoM on June 29, 2000 at 12:46:57 PT
Opinion By Gary Storck
Source: Leader-Telegram
This is in response to the Monday, June 26, Associated Press article, "Wausau-area patrol tops state in drug arrests."While the article cites the generic "drug arrests," the war against some substances is statistically a war against marijuana users. No doubt, the bulk of arrests and drug seizures were for small amounts of marijuana.
The article quotes an officer as saying, "The secret is going beyond the traffic stop," and talks about three men arrested for possessing paraphernalia and a couple bags of pot who were stopped "for not having a working trunk latch."Is using minor traffic violations as an excuse to stop motorists in order to attempt to coerce them into giving up their Fourth Amendment rights and consenting to a search that turns up small personal-use quantities a good use of police resources?Does this make our highways safer, or is it just an easy way to inflate arrest statistics in order to make the State Patrol look like they are doing their job? When I'm on the highway, I am more concerned about the speeding semi-trailer bearing down on my tail, or the drunk weaving all over the road, or obtaining assistance if my car breaks down, than whether a fellow motorist has a little bit of pot in his pocket.Targeting motorists traveling our state highways for possessing small amounts of marijuana is counterproductive. It does not make our highways safer. It only causes people to distrust officers, who should be following their mandate, "to serve and protect," instead of singling out pot users for arrest and prosecution.Unfortunately, being able to count on law officers to "serve and protect" instead of "target, coerce and arrest" is another casualty of an ongoing drug war where the Constitution and the Bill of Rights have become superfluous.Gary StorckDrug Policy Forum Of Wisconsinhttp://www.drugsense.org/dpfwi/E-mail: leadertelegram cvol.netPublished: Thursday June 29, 2000Copyright: Leader-TelegramMentioned Article:Wausau Area Troopers Tops In Drug Arrests And Seizureshttp://mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n882/a09.htmlCannabisNews Cannabis Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by CD1 on June 29, 2000 at 14:59:45 PT
MONEY MATTERS
As Gary pointed out, law officers no longer are compelled to serve and protect, but are actively looking for any excuse to search a home or vehicle. And despite what they may say, it has little to do with "saving the children" or protecting the community from the "menace of drugs." It has to do with money. Since 1986, several laws such as the Federal Forfeiture Act, have made it quite profitable for local law enforcement agencies to obtain funds to update their equipment. They also get Federal Grants for aggressive drug arrests. This is why so much effort is put into the "war on drugs", and not on other crimes such as murder, rape, and robbery. It just isn't profitable. I am not saying that these Law Enforcement officers are lining their pockets. In a way, I can't blame them. I suppose it is very difficult to keep equipment updated with local funds. I blame Federal elected officials and their beaurocratic cronies who want to keep the war on drugs going. This is the group that pockets are getting full with our tax dollars.I would not be surprise if Wasau area law enforcement agency are also have the top level of federal funding. 
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