Marijuana.com

Dennis

You of all people should know that just because something is legal, it doesn't make it moral, ethical or right.

 

Buzzby

I'm not clear as to why you think busts where they merely confiscate contraband are less moral than busts where they confiscate contraband and also place people under arrest.

I fail to see how a police officer enforcing the law using the proper protocols can be considered to be acting immorally. The laws may be wrong-headed, but the officers are simply doing the job that We The People hired them to do.

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1tokeovertheline

Buzzby, I have to agree with him. I don't think these officers of the law should be enforcing the law. Do you really think that fits their job description?

Buzzby

That tastes deeply illogical to me. Their jobs, by definition, are to enforce the laws that are currently on the books. If they don't feel they can do that then they shouldn't be LEOs. If they quit being LEOs or don't become LEOs in the first place, someone will be hired who will do the job. If they remain LEOs and don't enforce the law they're oath-breakers and corrupt LEOs.


Absolutely. Societies require laws. Without them, society slips into chaos. If LEOs take it upon themselves to decide which laws to enforce and which ones to ignore we cease to be a nation of laws and become a nation ruled by the whims of individuals.

SnowMinion

I agree, but they need to enforce consistently. It isn't a matter of what they are enforcing and what they aren't, it is a matter of HOW they are enforcing the laws.

 

Tolerance4all

Yes, they are doing their jobs. However, it is immoral and cowardly for them to go only half way. They know they are persecuting sick people. They know that the laws against medical Cannabis are on shaky ground. The polls show that the majority are in favor of medical Cannabis. They are afraid of the negative publicity. They are afraid of losing in a jury trial. Yet they see no problem in harassing sick people. Stress is the number one cause of illness. It has to be extremely harmful to some one already ill to go through the stress of a swat style bust. Then they leave them with no medicine. It is tantamount to torture. What is it they are trying to achieve by this partial enforcement of the law? How do they expect to get sick people to give up the medicine that makes life barable(sp?) for them? Again IMO these are immoral and cowardly acts. One last question. Is it in the best interest of the law to keep it out of the judicial process? I don't believe thats the way the system is supposed to work. The way they are waging this campaign, their conduct during the raid never comes under the scrutiny of a judge. Convenient!

Little Nicky

Buzzby's right. These people need to thank god that they don't have to get a lawyer to get them out of jail or defend them in a court battle. The cops took the weed (which is AGAINST federal law) and let the medpot patients go. Some people might say that they were extremely generous to let them slide. They could have taken them to court and WON under federal statutes.

Little Nicky

Ed Rosenthal lost in a jury trial.

Buzzby

Gimme a break! It's just a matter of practical politics. They would much prefer to throw these medical marijuana terrorists in jail but their superiors have directed them to avoid the associated bad press.


They have no chance of losing in a jury trial. The law is quite explicit about the nature of possession, cultivation, and distribution crimes. At the beginning of a trial the jurors swear to follow the judges instructions as to the nature of the laws. If they don't, the judge will declare a mistrial and possibly charge them with perjury. The only reason they avoid trials is the bad publicity. Even though they'd win the trial it wouldn't be worth it.


So sick people should be allowed to rob banks because apprehending and trying them would be "stressful"?


NEWSFLASH: There is other marijuana in the world.


If they in any way violate standard protocols they can be sued by the people who were raided or brought up on criminal charges. "Police brutality! Police brutality!"

Dennis

By your own admission, law enforcement officers have become politicians. They lobby government with zeal to keep anti-marijuana laws on the books and probably wouldn't mind if the law said police were allowed to summarily execute marijuana consumers on the spot with a bullet through the brain. But I suppose they would just be doing their job. Wonderful logic.

Law Enforcement has become it's own powerful lobby to form the laws the way they see fit and have ignored the will of the people. Yeah, I guess if they just enforced the law it would be okay, but they do a lot more than just enforce the law to the detriment of the citizens of this country. Why do you think that no one respects law enforcement anymore?

Don't get me wrong, I use and work with law enforcement in my business all the time. But even law enforcement officers have an obligation to stand up to the law that's wrong and refuse to enforce it. Afterall, they are citizens too.