Florida cop fired for planting dope, says he did that and more under orders. “…investigator Tim White is out of a job for swiping grass from an evidence locker and planting it at a residence to beef up the grounds for a search warrant application. Even more interesting, he says he did so on orders from a supervisor.” His supervisor’s name isn’t “Holder” by any chance, is it?
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Wow, imagine that, prohibition breeds crime, corruption and violence, if only we had some historical precedent to have learned from.
Hmm, Snarkers Handbook Entry #1, isn't it? Very lame. The same thing could be said for bank robbery or murder. 5000 years of civilization and laws haven't stopped either of those, have they now?
The difference, dear child, is that "Prohibition," 18th Am., Volstead Act, and all that -- I presume it is those to which you allude (assuming you are actually familiar with the Volstead Act itself) -- was an attempt to outlaw something which not only had been legal before, but even more than that, was a part of human culture and society so intricately a part of human nature that some have even blamed the rise of civilization itself on alcohol: you need a fixed and stable culture to grow barley or grapes and then have the resources to let the stuff turn to something better.
Your assumption is faulty as a general premise in any event. A similar, earlier push involving amendments to the Constitution successfully ended slavery; I doubt very much you would argue THAT "prohibition" was somehow a failure or argue for its legalization.
Just a few points; everything was legal before someone made anything illegal or imposed their desired control over for their own perceived benefit. Marijuana has followed man everywhere he went as a crop of significant import. Hemp fiber and medicinal herb that grows heartily and adapts readily. The war on drugs is nothing more than a burden on the people of the country, especially as it pertains to weed and how it is used to bolster the burgeoning prison industrial complex. We have more people in prison for weed alone (simple possession frequently gets trumped up to distribution because the dude had a box of sandwich bags in the kitchen drawer) than are incarcerated for all crimes in all of Europe for all crimes. Prohibition serves to support underground activity.
You know what? Legalizing marijuana would do amazing things for our society and our economy. I know many will disagree, but I can name quite a few reasons to legalize it, and other drugs. (If I were boss of the world, the threshold would be anything that grows naturally, and can be used pretty much in it's basic state - so that includes cocaine, but excludes crack.) here are some of the reasons:
1) TAX IT! Regulate it and make it accessible from pharmacies which would need to keep paperwork and charge tax. It will STILL be 10 times cheaper to the user than street prices now, so users would not object to even a 50% tax, and there is no question that it would sew up a huge revenue leak. Use some tax revenue for drug education and awareness programs.
2) MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR CHILDREN TO GET! If it is regulated kids won't be able to just stroll in and get some, like they can from the street dealers. They will certainly be able to get it through similar channels as they get alcohol now, but that's significantly harder than getting street drugs.
3) MAKE THE DEALERS AND DISTRIBUTORS GO AWAY. The drug cartels won't have any business once they are cut out. No business means no money. No money means no power. No power means less violence. Pull the rug out from the thugs. Then round them up and put them in the freed-up jail cells from:
4) FREE UP THE JAILS. Once the non-criminals are out of jail, there will be plenty of room to put the violent criminals away for LONG LONG times, and reduce recidivism.
I know there are many reasons to oppose legalization, such as health impact and so on, but when you weigh the pros and cons, it seems to me that legalization is the best answer for society in general.
As a now retired cop I agree...Its a waste of my time..In the olden days (statute of limitations) we would just take the person to jail for something else (unrelated usually some other misdemeanor) and the cannabis would blow away in the wind. When you deal with crime, this is the low end of priorities, Unless your a major league dealer OR cause say an accident while under the influence..Otherwise I don't give a shit, in Kalifornia it's just a ticket anyway..I would rather go after meth dealers, crack dealers and cocaine dealers just because of the amount of damage those drugs cause, now apparently bath salts which are bringing on the zombie apocalypse...Anything that you take that makes you wanna eat someone has got to go...Unless of course you develop a taste for liberal trolls..:)
As an intoxicating drug, it's a lot less troublesome than alcohol. I've only rarely been drunk, and have never smoked anything, even tobacco. But from what I see, and most law enforcement officers will back me up on this, weed smokers cause a LOT fewer problems than alcoholics.
In another area, pot smokers are significantly less likely to turn into aggressive spitting asspipes purely by introduction of the substance, unlike alcohol. I've had several friends and acquaintances over the decades, who used to participate in behavior any professional drinker would be proud to claim as their own, and it is with great sadness I report that not everybody is built for the sport, especially in the long run. Chemical imbalances vary and obviously, anything that impairs one from safely conducting whatever behavior they choose undertake becomes other peoples' bidniz when that behavior is likely to endanger others. But if it is no threat to others, then the government has no biz sticking their nose up it. While this rails specifically against alcohol, I mean nothing at all pertinent to the laws around it. I do drink and anybody that seeks to impose their non-drinking rule on me had better bring a mighty impressive hammer to the discussion. Regarding illicit drugs, that's different. Cocaine and crack, meth, heroin and all the other shit that is plainly destructive should be of significant concern and controlled with extreme prejudice. Also, I am completely against smuggling drugs into the country as an entirely different issue.
Agreed, I have investigated serious accidents where the driver was under the influence of pot and that was the Primary Collision factor, So if you smoke it, don't drive...
It should be decriminalized, at least. People shouldn't be prosecuted nor should their rights be affected for simple possession or use of it. There certainly is no good reason for it to need to be imported, either!
"(If I were boss of the world, the threshold would be anything that grows naturally, and can be used pretty much in it’s basic state – so that includes cocaine, but excludes crack.)"
I agree with the statement overall, Karmaa, but cocaine is a highly refined substance, which DOES do a lot of damage. How about we limit it to the chewing of the leaves, like the native do where it grows naturally? From what I hear, it's no more addictive than coffee when used that way.
The anointing oil and the incense used in the temples are only two of the biblical references to marijuana:
Moreover, the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 23- Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even 250 shekels, and of qaneh-bosm [cannabis] 250 shekels, 24- And of cassia 500 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: 25- And thou shalt make it an oil of holy anointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. 26- And thous shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, 27- And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick ahd his vessels, and the altar of incense, 28- And the altar of burnt offerings with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. 29- And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. (Exodus 30:22-29)
* As one shekel equals approximately 16.37 grams, this means that the THC from over 9 pounds of flowering cannabis tops were extracted into a hind, about 6.5 litres of oil. The entheogenic effects of such a solution -- even when applied topically -would undoubtedly have been intense.
Bit of a condescending ass aren't you? The substances currently prohibited were not always so . The only salient difference is that the Volstead Act; while ill advised, was at least Constitutional, unlike the current nanny state BS.
Only a horse's rear would associate the right of an individual to ingest something into his/her own body with the "right" to control the body of another. You sir, appear to be the one in favor of modern day slavery to the nanny state.
Bit of a condescending ass? Only to snarky asshats.
I will confine and enhance my remarks, to prevent this getting out of hand. Your assertion that something being criminalized is part of the problem with it: quite simply, bullshit. The acknowledged fact that any law has rarely eradicated a particular type of criminal behavior is no reason for society to throw up its hands and condone it. I will agree with you to the extent that certainly, let there be debate about whether some activity should be a criminal offense or not. But the simple assertion that the law has not stopped it is irrelevant and juvenile.
You completely miss the point. It isn't the fact that prohibition is a total failure, it's the fact that it's a total scam that's the issue. You seem intent on responding to what you wish I'd posted rather than what I posted.
Let me make it simple for you: It's none of the damned government's business, what it is is a major source of income to the DNC through the enforcement and incarceration worker unions and the trail lawyers association. The only other ones to profit from this fiasco are the cartels themselves who share the DNC's goal of disarming Americans.
The self righteous built a police state that imprisons more of it's citizens per capita than any other nation on earth (land of the "free"???), and now have to live with the fact that the police state will be loyal to whomever is in power. That's how you get the "good guys" in the minds of the prohibitionists working at the behest of the Marxists to manufacture anti-second amendment propaganda. All so the self righteous can beat their chests that they "controlled" substances.
No, you are the one now "responding to what you wish I’d posted" to coin a phrase.
Reread my last two sentences above. I am not going to repeat them, and I'm not going to be pulled into an interminable vortex of idiocy just because your brain is fried and you lack reading comprehension. Got enough of that with that stupid bitch on another thread.
Thank you for not repeating the last two sentences of your previous post, as those were specfically what I had responded to.
Nowhere, I say again, nowhere, in ANY of my posts have I asserted that the law should be overturned simply because it "has not stopped it (I assume you meant the activity prohibited?)".
You have not responded in any way to what I actually posted: prohibition leads to crime, corruption and violence, it always has, it always will. And you haven't even touched the subject of my post.
I will suffer you no more.
Crestburg, go figure.
It is truly sad whenever any public servant takes shortcuts to make their jobs easier. This should be investigated fully, and those implicated, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - and NOT given jobs on some network Court TV panel to discuss future cases.
I don't doubt that the guy is telling the truth, but you don't deal with corruption by bending to the corruption, That's what IAD's are for. Report the bad cop, and DOCUMENT everything to cover your butt.
This reminds me of when I was a kid. The first thing I would do if I got caught was to blame my big sister. "But SHEEEEEEEEEEE told me to!!" That was not just my family, apparently: http://tinyurl.com/7mt8ueg
There always has to be a couple around to screw it up for everyone. Saw an episode of Dragnet once, Sgt. Friday said that Chief Parker (LAPD) once said we are always gonna have bad cops, cause we have to recruit from the human race....Just like bad politicians, bad nurses (oh oh) and bad garbageman.
Maybe he figured it was okay since the A.G. Can get away with it, why couldn't he, plus like Holder, His supervisor told him to do it. Only Police Departments don't have executive privilege.
Chicago-South! That is a microcosm of the Chicago PD if ever there was one.