According the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report police arrested over 826,000 marijuana consumers last year. The War on Cannabis is a war on ourselves. These are our friends, family, and loved ones we are arresting.
George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Newt Gingrigh, Al Gore, and most college students have smoked marijuana. Should they all have been incarcerated?
We once believed in limited government. Now we try and incarcerate our way to utopia. I am embarrased by these arrest numbers. But I was once part of the problem.
I prosecuted many POM cases. I never believed that these laws were keeping us safer. I just treated it as part of my job. I told myself that I did not write the laws, I only enforced them. I was merely an agent for my boss, the elected DA. I dismissed and deferred many pot cases when I had the discretion. But I also saw many cannabis consumers in jail for violating probation or because they could not make bail.
One day this policy will change. We will end the fear based rhetoric and embrace freedom. The organized criminals will be put out of business by corporations selling pot. Law abiding cannabis consumers will continue to lead productive lives without fear of arrest.
Until then, if you get high, don’t get caught, or call me if you do.
Labels: DEA, Marijuana, War On Drugs