cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Still Drug of Choice Marijuana Still Drug of Choice Posted by CN Staff on May 12, 2008 at 06:05:22 PT By Mike Ford, The Delphos Herald Source: Delphos Herald Delphos, OH -- Throughout the counter-culture era, “Cheech and Chong” had “ganga” burning “up in smoke” as a war-weary nation laughed on.No longer solely associated with sandals and tie-dyed T-shirts, marijuana has transcended all social demographics. Adults and teens alike smoke it in “bongs” and fire up “blunts.” Local police say the country’s most popular narcotic is abused by those of various income brackets and social status. “Marijuana is fairly widespread in Delphos. I’ve always called it the ‘universal solvent’ because certain drugs seem to stay with certain demographics but marijuana transcends age, gender, race, profession, cultural background and so on,” Delphos Police Sgt. Kyle Fittro said.Having also served with the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force, Fittro has seen the drug locally trafficked.“We worked trafficking cases on about 20 or 22 different individuals in Delphos and about half of them were trafficking marijuana. Most of the others were trafficking crack,” he said. “The largest marijuana seizure I’ve seen in Delphos was last summer when I stopped a vehicle containing 5 1/2 pounds of it. The chief is now driving it — that big purple thing with chrome rims.”Fittro expects to see an increase in local marijuana-related arrests because the department has a new K-9 officer. He says police plan to use “Egus” aggressively to sniff out “weed.” The 2-year-old’s snout is heavily relied on at both local high schools.“The school searches are very effective because kids have no idea when we’re coming. We started doing this in 2002 and kids thought they were getting away with it. I think the amount we found was insignificant but we got their attention and the schools are taking a very tough stand. They don’t want drugs on their campuses,” said an area undercover agent.Jefferson High School Principal John Edinger knows there are some “potheads” in the student body but reports marijuana is not smoked in his boys room.“We have never found anything inside our building. The dogs have hit on cars for residue but police admit the dogs do mess up just to get their treats. There have been three times in my five years that the dogs found paraphernalia and we have had kids come to school smelling like it, especially on Mondays, and I send them home. Once, I had a kid admit smoking it before he entered the building; that was one of just five times I’ve had to discipline a student for it,” he said.Edinger stresses the district has a zero-tolerance policy regarding all illegal substances, as does St. John’s Schools.High School Principal Don Huysman says police dogs have not found anything other than stale food in the parking lot. He performs locker checks any time he gets suspicious.“You have to be very careful in this day and age. It’s very difficult; you can’t go just on rumor but I do locker checks periodically throughout the year to see if I smell anything. I don’t go looking for it but I will look if I have suspicions,” he said.Police often find items such as rolling papers and “roach” clips in users’ possession. According to the Ohio Revised Code, having paraphernalia is an arrestable offense. If a possessed amount of marijuana is less than 100 grams, the amount is not arrestable, but if it’s a ‘doobie’, the rolling paper will cause an arrest because it’s paraphernalia. This leaves many scratching their heads.Van Wert County Assistant Prosecutor Martin Burchfield says small amounts of the drug itself carried heavier penalties until the statute changed. The penalty for paraphernalia remains unchanged, thus the discrepancy.Task Force Investigator Dan Howard says laws are designed to target traffickers and dealers. Therefore, $5 and $10 quantities do not land users in the “clink” for the amount itself.“All trafficking is a felony regardless of quantity. Possession is where we often have problems because they have to have at least half a pound to be charged with a felony and most of the people we deal with are buying ‘nickel’ bags and ‘dime’ bags, which is misdemeanor weight,” he said.The area’s marijuana originates in Mexico and is unpleasantly packed for cross-continental highway trafficking, according to Delphos Police Chief Dave Wagner.“Marijuana from Mexico gets mixed with cow dung to get it in to those tight square blocks. Users have no idea what is actually in that marijuana,” he said.Wagner also indicates various pesticides may be used in the growing process. He also says the potency has changed due to increased THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the drug’s key chemical.“The THC content of marijuana has increased so incredibly compared to what it was in the 60s and 70s. Any of today’s parents who grew up getting high need to understand that marijuana is not the same as it was back then,” he said.Many nationwide groups advocate legalization, pointing to legalized “medical marijuana” in California. One lawmaker doesn’t expect similar passage in Ohio.“I think legalization is pretty unlikely. There are any number of things that are illegal but aren’t as bad as other things that are illegal. The farther down the line you go, the more likely you are to develop the social ills we have now such as alcoholism, health problems with tobacco use, gambling addiction and these sorts of things, which taxpayers end up paying for. My view is that if we legalize marijuana, it will cost us a lot more money to rehabilitate people and deal with all of the problems it will cause,” said Ohio Fourth District Representative Matt Huffman (R-Lima).Though he admits there would be benefits with regulation, such as the absence of fecal matter, Huffman believes legalizing the narcotic would take the country in the wrong direction.“If you legalize prostitution, there would be some health benefits for people who pay for those services; there are all those kinds of arguments but the problem is the cost it would add for taking care of the extra problems,” he said.Despite the sometimes-passionate arguments surrounding the issue, Fittro says it is complicated and progress seems lacking.“The modern war on drugs has been waged for a long time now and I’ve come to the conclusion that what we’re doing is not working. I liken it to garbage collection. People put out their trash and it gets picked up every week but there’s always more. The same is true with drugs; we’re not getting rid of the ‘trash.’ We’re just keeping it from piling up, so we’re more of a suppressive agent than anything else,” he said. “I don’t know what the answer is. People talk about treatment options and legalization; they talk about radically increasing the penalties to where they’re just outrageous but nobody really seems to have the answer.“I just know that what we’re doing isn’t fixing the problem and I don’t know if it even can be fixed because as long as there is money to be made from it, it will continue. Greed is the motivating factor.”Source: Delphos Herald (OH)Author: Mike Ford, The Delphos HeraldPublished: Monday, May 12, 2008Copyright: 2008 Delphos HeraldWebsite: http://www.delphosherald.com/Contact: http://www.delphosherald.com/contact/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #12 posted by ekim on May 14, 2008 at 08:07:00 PT Ohio hear what Leap has to say about Prohibition http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Events May 29 08 Ohio State University Peter Christ Columbus Ohio Presentation to the general student body. 100 Stillman Hall May 29 08 Ohio State University Peter Christ Columbus Ohio Speaker available to talk to students on the oval. May 29 08 Ohio State University Peter Christ Columbus Ohio Sociology 511-Youth and Crime class http://http://www.leap.cc [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Robbie on May 13, 2008 at 04:49:57 PT "Greed is the motivating factor." Actually, desire to smoke/eat the herb is the motivating factor. That's where the greed is generated.Can these people look any more stupid? [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by afterburner on May 13, 2008 at 01:32:02 PT Deconstructing DEA: Marijuana Grow House SHOW TITLE: DEA. EPISODE: Marijuana Grow House. CATEGORY: Reality. SYNOPSIS: DEA Group 14 takes part in a citywide operation to shutdown dope houses near local schools. CHANNEL: [SPIKE TV].Last week's show was the series finale. Thank God for the cessation. I have watched it several times and deconstructed the message. Of the 4 houses busted, 2 were crack dealers, one was a heroin dealer and only one was a "Marijuana Grow House." The indiscriminate use of the words "narcotics" and "dope" to describe all illegal drugs shows a DEA bias and need to confuse the public. In the trailer it is implied that the entire show and all the evil dealer actions and DEA heroism revolve around "marijuana." Also in the trailer, one statement quoted while showing a "marijuana grow house" and a second statement quoted over an implied marijuana raid were actually part of the first crack house bust. This misleading editing implies that "marijuana" is some kind of "drug kingpin": a later reference in the third bust to the "marijuana grow" as the "motherlode" reinforces this fantasy.Further use of charged words occurs when one agent speaking of thermal imaging, used to detect "marijuana grow houses," says "house that has a grow in it is going to 'explode' on the camera." This plays into the fears of the uninformed public that "marijuana grow houses" are dangerous: they may literally explode!The fact that all the dealers are ex-cons with weapons charges leads to viewer perception that only violent ex-cons are involved in "dope" dealing. The editing, pace and quotes from the agents implies that all "dope" dealers sell multi-drugs, prey on children and/or place children in harm's way. BTW, in the second bust, no drugs are found even though the agents had a search warrant. They seem to indicate that the slow Constitutional protections and court procedures let "drugs out on the street."In the actual "marijuana grow house" bust segment one DEA agent is quoted, "The informant says he's selling it for about $6000 a pound. ... He has a criminal history of armed robbery and felony firearm. ... Agents make a tactical decision to minimize the risk: they'll take the target down in a traffic stop."The "marijuana grow" suspect leads the DEA into the grow house to save his dog. Agents uproot plants and put them into garbage bags. They disconnect ductwork and break lights. As they leave the house a neighbor lady yells, "Thank you!" Consumers of legal pharmaceuticals, legal beverages and legal smokes, especially seniors, afraid of being robbed or mugged by young toughs, will have their adrenaline levels "spiked" and their perceptions about cannabis warped by this aggressive approach to a social problem and the black market violence caused by prohibition. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by John Tyler on May 12, 2008 at 20:32:02 PT he can't figure it out Here is this cop saying everybody loves cannabis, but he is out to oppress them because he likens them to trash that needs to be taken out. I wonder if he ever asks himself why everybody loves cannabis. He and his pals can’t seem to be able to figure it out. I will give him some help; people love cannabis because it is good. It is really, really good. It gives them understanding and insight. It’s a spiritual thing. It’s not like getting drunk and acting stupid. Maybe that’s why he can’t understand. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Storm Crow on May 12, 2008 at 09:55:17 PT Where do I begin??? " but police admit the dogs do mess up just to get their treats." "Huysman says police dogs have not found anything other than stale food in the parking lot."Some reliability! The dogs have learned to "work the system"! Their ability to detect drugs apparently includes McDs burgers(which after watching "Super-size Me" may not be all THAT far off course). Innocent people are subjected to humiliating searches because of these animals. Their time is wasted, as is their money (impound fees, lost wages, etc) and then there is the feeling of "being under suspicion". All because a dog thinks the grease spot smells good? "marijuana transcends age, gender, race, profession, cultural background and so on,” It sure does! Cannabis is/has been used by a large proportion of America- TIME TO LEGALIZE! When about 1/2 of a population does something, legal or not, it's time to deal with reality! Legalization also will solve a lot of these "greed" problems! About the manure, I lived in San Diego, port of entry for a lot of cannabis, back in the day. Had a friend who was a dealer. I can remember only one shipment of kilos with any truly noticeable "non-cannabis particulates"- they had just "kilo"ed the whole plant, roots and all, and a small amount of soil remained attached to the roots. He didn't do business with them again. Greed/laziness cost them a good customer-just like in any other business. I have heard of using Coca-cola to make it stickier and therefore a firmer kilo, but dung? I think his info may date back to old 1800s stories of hash cut with camel dung."we’re more of a suppressive agent than anything else" I think "repressive" would be closer. And he is admitting that there is an overwhelming amount of cannabis use- like trash, it is everywhere (but a lot more pleasant). I wonder if the national trend of racially inspired "selective enforcement" occurs in his area? "If a possessed amount of marijuana is less than 100 grams, the amount is not arrestable, but if it’s a ‘doobie’, the rolling paper will cause an arrest because it’s paraphernalia."Papers = paraphernalia. So all those smokers of "Bugler" and "American Spirit" are breaking the law? The tobacco companies always give more papers than possibly could be used with the amount of tobacco given. They COULD use the extra papers for pot! Does this open the tobacco companies to contributing to "drug abuse"?“I just know that what we’re doing isn’t fixing the problem and I don’t know if it even can be fixed because as long as there is money to be made from it, it will continue. Greed is the motivating factor.” I agree! Greed of the PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATIONS , greed of the POLICE- confiscating property/money, getting DARE grants, and the greed for new "toys" like assault rifles, etc, greed of the PRISON SYSTEM (especially for-profit prisons), greed of the LEGAL SYSTEM making money off an otherwise innocent (possibly ill) person's persecution, greed of the BLACK MARKET DEALERS who charge outrageous prices (with some justification for the risk they take), the greed of the TOBACCO and LIQUOR INDUSTRIES who will lose consumers for their poisonous products!And let's throw in a little racial suppression "just for fun"! By keeping a certain segment of the population "down" and out of the market for better schooling, jobs, etc, you increase the odds for the "dominant" type to get that better schooling/job. If "John White" and "Ke'juan Brown" are both equal intellectually Who will have a shot at the really good job? Ke'juan? "One in nine black men aged 20 to 34 are serving time, as are 1 in 36 adult Hispanic men." (from the "Racial Inequality" article here at CN) "Are serving time" that means in prison now- not counting those who have gotten out! What are the odds that Ke'juan will get to job-holding age without a record? John simply has a better chance of getting the job due to racially slanted drug prohibition. It's ugly, it's racist and it is happening. Hurst's greed was a major factor in illegalization- hemp fiber challenged his timber industry! That, combined with Anslinger's racial prejudice, was the driving factor of cannabis prohibition. It all comes down to the money and greed! (End of rant!) [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by dongenero on May 12, 2008 at 09:54:30 PT mixed with cattle dung......... by any other name is bull sh!t. We know who is mixed with cattle dung in this case! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by dongenero on May 12, 2008 at 09:52:47 PT get your story straight, Wagner So, has the quality gone up? Or is it crummy mexican brickweed mixed with pesticides and cattle dung?How ridiculous!When it comes to marijuana prohibitionists, all sense of reason has gone out the window. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 12, 2008 at 09:45:53 PT Hope Thanks. I see what you are saying. Such strange ideas in this day and age baffle me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Hope on May 12, 2008 at 09:40:01 PT FoM I think he's saying that cattle dung is actually mixed into the finished product to make it compactable. Which is ridiculous. Not saying it couldn't happen, since it's so unregulated... but he's implying it's common. I think his statement of what he claims to know, in this case, is a load of dung in itself. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 12, 2008 at 08:37:12 PT Hope I didn't get what he was saying. It's fertilizer but why would that even be mentioned? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Hope on May 12, 2008 at 08:33:33 PT Well, that's a new one, to me... "Marijuana from Mexico gets mixed with cow dung to get it in to those tight square blocks." [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by ripit on May 12, 2008 at 07:32:00 PT: how does that work? since when has bshit had the power to bind up weed other than when it comes out of leos mouth? i seen them spout lies before but that one takes the cake! wow!as for the cost of rehabilating ppl i suppose thats true theres goin to be a lot of cops out there needin work and retraining.and yes i'm very suprized to see him admit its true that they are pretty greedy! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment