cannabisnews.com: Officials Say Pot's Still a Priority 





Officials Say Pot's Still a Priority 
Posted by CN Staff on November 17, 2005 at 07:55:47 PT
By Vanessa McCray, Record-Eagle Staff Writer
Source: Record-Eagle 
Traverse City -- Sixty-three percent of the voters in the last city election think medical marijuana use should be Traverse City's "lowest law enforcement priority," but no one should light up soon.   City police and Grand Traverse County's prosecutor said charges will continue to be brought against those who use the drug for medical purposes.
On Nov. 8, city voters passed a proposal 1,594 to 925 that didn't legalize marijuana but called for its medical use to be the "lowest law enforcement priority."   "We will continue to charge according to state law...," Prosecutor Alan Schneider said. "I have to, I have no choice."   State law prohibits possession and use of marijuana, and police officers have "a duty to enforce and uphold all laws" of the state, city attorney W. Peter Doren wrote in a legal opinion dated Monday.   Doren also said voters and the city commission can't "establish priorities" for city departments.    That authority rests only with the city manager, he wrote.   Proposal advocate Laura Barber still thinks the vote will encourage law enforcement to "use proper discretion" when it comes to charging patients.   "They are sworn to uphold the law," she said. "That is their job, and we aren't asking them to do anything but their job."   The success of the proposal makes a "philosophical" but not legal statement, city commissioner Scott Hardy said. He agreed the city needs to enforce state marijuana laws but said the vote shows city residents are "sympathetic" to patients who use marijuana to control pain and symptoms.   "What they wanted was a statement by the citizens of this community that we understand the difference between the medical and recreational use of marijuana," Hardy said.   Source: Traverse City Record-Eagle (MI)Author: Vanessa McCray, Record-Eagle Staff WriterPublished: November 17, 2005Copyright: 2005 The Traverse City Record-EagleContact: letters record-eagle.comWebsite: http://www.record-eagle.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Michigan Careshttp://www.michigancares.org/City OKs Marijuana Proposalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21283.shtmlTraverse City Voters To Weigh in on Measure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21263.shtml Medical Use Supporters Gear Up for Fall Fighthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21094.shtml 
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Comment #6 posted by Richard Zuckerman on November 21, 2005 at 11:48:20 PT:
THEN DON'T FUND THE POLICE!!
If the police will not abide by the wishes of the people, then cut down their budget!! Please type into any search engine the words ARE COPS CONSTITUTIONAL?, then download and read the Web article by a Law Professor with last name Roots? Personally I do not feel dependent upon police. From my experiences, police have been more of a hindrance than a help. I'm suing liar cops at the time of this writing, asking the New Jersey State appellate courts to ESTABLISH A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR RETALIATION UNDER THE STATE CONSTITUTION, in docket number A-4461-04T1. HAVE THE COLORADO STATE COURTS ESTABLISHED A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR RETALIATION UNDER THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION? Or do they have the old lockstep approach to interpreting the State Constitution? Why have a State Constitution if they are going to construe it as a mere extension of the federal Constitution? What's the use of that? I believe we can do O.K. without police. Perhaps Denver should put together a RESOLUTION calling for the decriminalization of "Marijuana", then have it properly served upon the Colorado State legislature, to push for a statewide decriminalization effort. Make sure to mention www.prohibitioncosts.org. Mr. Goreman might concur with this suggestion.Among the first few provisions of most if not every State Constitution mentions that the people are sovereign, the government is there to serve the people, and the people have the authority to alter or reform the government when the public good requires it. HOW ABOUT FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES AS A REASON TO ALTER OR REFORM GOVERNMENT FOR THE DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA, FOR THE REASONS EXPRESSED IN WWW.PROHIBITIONCOSTS.ORG? Every juror should use this State Constitutional provision to decide the law as well as the facts, no matter what the trial judge says about following the jury charge!!!! The United States Supreme Court has refused to take a case on jury nullification since the case in 1895 entitled Sparf and Hansen v. United States!! Why should we follow the trial judge's instructions of law if the trial judge is going to LIE to us? And cops lie! Government lies! Bush lied and many people died!! When are people going to awaken from their deepening fiscal depletion and vote for Libertarian Party and Green Party candidates? Since the beginning of my voting days in 1980, I have seen a steady deterioration of the way of life for Americans. I have seen America being infiltrated by illegal aliens, with impunity. Outsourcing of our jobs from "Free Trade Agreements"! BEWARE OF THE COUNCIL OF FOREIGN RELATIONS' PLAN TO ELIMINATE THE INTERNATIONAL BORDERS OF US-CANADA AND US-MEXICO, ACCORDING TO WWW.STOPTHEFTAA.ORG, WHICH WOULD PROBABLY REPEAL OUR STATE AND FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONS, WHICH MEANS GOODBYE INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS! Power hungry, greedy, politicians following the NAZI Corporations! That's right! The pharmaceutical cartel is connected to the NAZIS. Read from www.john-loftus.com about the Bush Family financing of Adolph Hitler during WWII for 40% of Hitler's steel and shipments of Standard Oil of New Jersey during an Oil Embargo, with one of the Dulles brothers hiding these assets when Congress delivered a subpoena!! Yeah, the same Dulles brother who sat on the Warren Commission WHITEWASH of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Or was it the other Dulles brother, who was also dirty!! Yes. We CAN live with small police force. We must first take individual responsibility by training in martial arts and the use of firearms, not that difficult with practice! 10 U.S.C. Section 311 defines the "unorganized militia" as every able bodied person between 17 and 45 years of age! The "well-regulated" militia referred to in the Second Amendment meant a well trained militia!! They should begin such training in middle school!!!Richard Paul Zuckerman, Post Office Box 159, Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840-0159, richardzuckerman2002 yahoo.com. 
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Comment #5 posted by boballen1313 on November 19, 2005 at 19:02:31 PT:
LAZY COPS CANT BUST REAL CRIMS
"Oh, my back is so sore today,Chief, I got a priority one drug bust this afternoon!" 
"I just dont have time to fill out the paperwork on the meth lab and circus of car thieves!" "Can't you see I am overworked here!""Bush wants the potheads done!" And the potheads get first bloody priority cuz some lazy cop has a hangover from the strip club the night before. AMERICA
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on November 18, 2005 at 04:27:26 PT
Money, Money, Money
Federal Money. If state and local officials decide not to pursue marijuana "offenders"...I'm pretty sure some of Uncle Sam's deepest pockets zip shut. Like the Federal Highways program. If they don't punish and harass people over marijuana...including taking their driver's license for six months, they will be cut off from receiving Federal funds in some areas. Given the choice between persecuting the marijuana user and losing mega-funds...they'd rather punish the marijuana user.The Feds are keeping a nasty house, a house where the servants abuse what are supposed to be the masters of the house...the voting public. Somehow, the citizens, the multitudes of the basically voiceless, have got to get some clean-up work done on the Federal level. Everyone in public office that doesn't listen to the will of the people, the voting citizen, should be fired.
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Comment #3 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on November 18, 2005 at 01:08:47 PT
Priorities
There was a poll on one of the CNN talk shows where they asked something like "Has the idea of a representative democracy become just a fraud perpetuated on the middle class?"... 96% voted YES, methinks the natives are restless!--"We will continue to charge according to state law...," Prosecutor Alan Schneider said. "I have to, I have no choice."--Yes. Yes, you do. It's called discretion. You can choose what to do with the cases the police bring to you. You can choose to offer a plea bargain or prosecute the full case. You have plenty of leeway when it comes to this issue, but you don't want the voters to know that, because you don't agree with them on this one. And I'm getting really sick of hearing people use the "I'm Just Following Orders" excuse, because they're usually picking and choosing which orders to follow.
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on November 17, 2005 at 18:22:42 PT:
Who is working for who?
This is what elections are for. Who appoints who to what? It's our way or the highway copper. We pay your wages. Enforce the laws we want enforced or get a job pumping gas or whatever else you are qualified to do. Boy this crackles my crisps. When public SERVENTS tell their bosses, i.e. the people how they want to do the job and not how they are told to do it I'd say, "hit the bricks wise guy".
Someone in charge along the line is an elected official. This one needs to walk the chalk plenty pronto. If he says the law says so and so change the law in the meantime change him. I'm tired of this!!!!!
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Comment #1 posted by Richard Zuckerman on November 17, 2005 at 08:30:20 PT:
IF YOU THINK POT ARRESTS ARE BAD....
PLEASE CALL CONGRESS NOW, INSTANTER, STAT, TO OPPOSE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE PATRIOT ACT, BECAUSE THEY ARE SCHEDULED TO VOTE ON IT BY THE END OF THIS WEEK, THE PATRIOT ACT HAS LARGELY BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN WEEDING OUT TERRORISTS, COSTS A PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF TAX MONEY AND OUR PRECIOUS INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS?IN ADDITION, ASK CONGRESS TO SUPPORT "THE INDUSTRIAL HEMP FARMING ACT OF 2005"; THE HOUSE BILL ENTITLED :
[2] "STATES' RIGHTS TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACT"? 
[3] THE HOUSE BILL WHICH WOULD BAN MERCURY AMALGAM DENTAL FILLINGS, H.R. 4011? 
[4] THE "BIOSHIELD BILL" WHICH WOULD GIVE THE U.S. SENATE BILL WHICH WOULD GIVE IMMUNITY FROM LAWSUITS TO PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES IF THEIR VACCINES AND MEDICATIONS JUST HAPPEN TO CAUSE MEDICAL PROBLEMS? 
[5] "F.A.I.R.", THE U.S. SENATE BILL WHICH WOULD SUBSTANTIALLY CURTAIL DAMAGES FROM HEALTH PROBLEMS CAUSED BY ASBESTOS?
[6] TO ATTEND THE PRESS CONFERENCE THIS FRIDAY TO SPONSOR THE DRAFT LEGISLATION BY WWW.GUNOWNERS.ORG WHICH WOULD DECENTRALIZE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S FAULTY PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM PRESENTLY TEACHING GUN CONTROL AND LAUDING THE UNITED NATIONS?
[7] TO OPPOSE THE "FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS" WHICH ARE PART OF THE PLAN BY THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS TO ELIMINATE INTERNATIONAL BORDERS BETWEEN MEXICO-U.S. AND CANADA-U.S. BY THE YEAR 2010, SEE, E.G., www.stoptheFTAA.org, which would repeal the United States Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights, and every State Constitution, and leave us with the United Nations "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" as the only source of individual freedoms, which do not include a trial by jury, a Right to defend yourself with a firearm, a Right against incriminating yourself, a Right against unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant, a right against quartering soldiers in your house during peace time, a right to talk about abortion. See, e.g., www.jpfo.org; www.nra.org? "Nothing doth more hurt in a State than that cunning men pass for wise." Sir Francis Bacon.Richard Paul Zuckerman, Post Office Box 159, Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840-0159, richardzuckerman2002 yahoo.com.
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