cannabisnews.com: Winner: Pot Smokers





Winner: Pot Smokers
Posted by FoM on November 17, 2000 at 19:10:35 PT
Political Commentary
Source: Willamette Week 
Regardless of who ends up sitting in the Oval Office come January, the national War on Drugs will march forward. But here in Oregon, at least, police will find the spoils much less rewarding. Thanks in part to the work of its Marijuana Task Force, the Portland Police Bureau last year seized more than $6.6 million worth of drugs, cash and other loot. Much of the property was returned--but some was sold, bringing $727,000 to local drug-enforcement efforts. 
But now that funding source is about to dry up, because Measure 3 changed the rules governing the way law enforcement funds the drug war. Previously, local police could seize cash and sell property that was merely suspected of being linked to a crime. Now, a criminal conviction will be required before the goods can be unloaded, meaning the $2 million derived annually from forfeiture statewide will be reduced. More importantly, 75 percent of the proceeds are to go to drug-treatment programs, not law enforcement. The upshot of this is that the Marijuana Task Force, as well as other special drug units, will probably bite the dust if Measure 3 cannot be overturned in court, says John Bradley, a Multnomah County senior deputy district attorney. If the goal of the measure was to put a huge crimp in the drug war, "that will be achieved," he says. Willamette Week, November 15, 2000 currently at: http://www.wweek.com/html/leada.htmlNewsHawk: CRRHhttp://www.crrh.org/Source: Willamette Week (OR) Address: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205 Fax: (503) 243-1115 Contact: mzusman wweek.com Website: http://www.wweek.com/ Related Articles:Election 2000: Drug Policy Reform Initiatives http://www.lindesmith.org/election2000/Drug Reform Initiatives Receive Voter Support http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7607.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #4 posted by Dave in Florida on November 18, 2000 at 08:18:43 PT
"the will of the people"
>The upshot of this is that the Marijuana Task Force, as well as other special drug units, will probably bite the dust if Measure 3 cannot be overturned in court, says John Bradley, a Multnomah County senior deputy district attorney. If the goal of the measure was to put a huge crimp in the drug war, "that will be achieved," he says.Vice president Al Gore said yesterday that he wants all the votes recounted so that "the will of the people will be heard". I agree 100%, what the voters vote for should count, but why is it when it is a MJ question they want to "overturn" the will of the people. Friggin Hipocrites When are these idiots going to learn that "the will of the people" means just that.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by dddd on November 18, 2000 at 01:26:23 PT
cops & drugs
 I think perhaps the inner circle of cops,are using FreedomFighters bong to smoke some of the many varieties of prime bud they've confiscated. Everyone knows that wayward cops have the best drugs and paraphenalia. Observer makes some excellent observations about the way that forfeiture reforms are made null and void with federal collusion.It reminds me of the concept,in which we imagine the tables are turned,and the drug warriors have to answer for such evil shenanigans. If you ever want to define the term;"conspiracy",there are numerous prime examples amongst the drug war empire......dddd
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on November 17, 2000 at 21:19:23 PT
I know what observer is talking abt
Some of you may know that I got raided last week,The goon squad took 300$ bong and $60 pipe and did not enter these stuff as evidence. 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by observer on November 17, 2000 at 20:28:34 PT
Forced to Give Feds A Cut, Prosecutor Bitter
The upshot of this is that the Marijuana Task Force, as well as other special drug units, will probably bite the dust if Measure 3 cannot be overturned in court, says John Bradley, a Multnomah County senior deputy district attorney. If the goal of the measure was to put a huge crimp in the drug war, "that will be achieved," he says. Oh, boo-hoo. Sniff, sniff. That's so very sad. Too bad it's not true. In states with similar measures, made law by the state governments (requiring that seized proceeds be given to schools, for example), the local gestapo has a trick around the law, to be able to keep stealing from the people. It's called "federalizing" the "seizure". Here's how it works. Instead of the police stealing what they like of yours, and keeping it all for themselves, they circumvent and evade the state laws by calling up their buds down the road, the (Federal) DEA, and have one of their guys sign the necessary pro-forma papers (all nice and Nazi-legal, you see), and then the local police does what they intenjded to do, steal your stuff. But in this case, the Feds (DEA) get a small cut of the loot; they are (on paper) considered to have "federally" "seized" your stuff; they then turn around and give back to the locals the lion's share of the stolen swag. (Hey baby, now that theft ring is what I call 'organized crime'!)I have a stinking suspicion this is what we'll see in Oregon, too. This slime-ball drug-warrior DA (basically a thief with a suit and slick veneer of anti-constitutional Nazi laws that he and his "judge" partner use as fig leaves to cover naked theft) knows all this (i.e. the federalizing trick), of course. All the fuss is about having to toss a few bones to the Feds, versus getting to keep all the stolen property for themselves, as they do now. Rotten, thieving (yet with pretext of legal righteousness), corrupt to the core; demonstrably lying with nearly every statement he makes here, this DA is, sadly, nothing out of the ordinary in America today. (I'm sure he's a good father and loving husband.) Plea bargains are another method of compelling self-incrimination. If an accused person will confess to a crime, perhaps even a crime that was not committed, other charges are dropped. Mandatory sentencing laws expedite the plea bargain process. Mandatory sentences give prosecutors, rather than judges, the power to determine what level of punishment shall be administered upon conviction for a criminal act. One act can violate multiple drug laws ranging from misdemeanors to felonies. "Mandatory" punishment for that one act is optionally determined by the prosecutor who draws the indictment. If a prosecutor threatens a person with long imprisonment unless the person confesses to a lesser crime, such a confession is coerced. Yet in the name of drugs, courts refuse to recognize the coercion. Plea bargains also neatly erase the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of trials. If an accused person can receive graver charges and greater punishment upon demanding a trial, a trial is no longer a right. Through plea bargains, drug warriors have gained a power similar to one seized by the Gestapo. Drug warriors cannot choose from a range of punishments as broad as that available to the Gestapo. But within perimeters of the permissible range, drug police and prosecutors have broad power to administer punishments.Prosecutors perceive those perimeters as broad indeed, illustrated by a case in which drug war principles leaked over to banking regulation. A banker agreed to a plea bargain involving a $10,000 fine. Subsequently the prosecutor took a job with the Treasury Department and imposed a $1,035,000 Treasury Department civil fine on the basis of that guilty plea. The banker contended the subsequent fine was imposed because the prosecutor wanted a harsher punishment than the court would approve. Because the plea bargain negotiations promised no further punishment, the civil fine was rescinded; but if there is no plea bargain, police authorities can now enhance judicial punishment. Another parallel to that Nazi practice occurs when prosecutors refuse to return cash or other assets seized from defendants who are later found innocent by a jury. A New Jersey prosecutor asked why he should have to "peel off a roll of $20 bills to a crack dealer that a jury won't convict." Drug squads can now make decisions of guilt and punishment without being subject to court review, just as German courts lacked jurisdiction over "political" actions by the Gestapo.(Richard L Miller, Drug Warriors and their Prey, 1996, pgs.54-55)http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425 
Forfeiture Endangers American Rights
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: