I’ve shared some very interesting commentary and opinions on the Drug War from folks such as John Stossel, Mona Charen, Gary Johnson, Pat Robertson, Cory Booker, and Richard Branson.
And I’ve shared some horror stories about “asset forfeiture,” an odious procedure that allows the government to steal private property without any finding of guilt.
- The DEA trying to confiscate a commercial building because a tenant sold some marijuana.
- The government seeking to steal a hotel because some guests sold some marijuana.
- The feds grabbing cash from innocent bystanders in legal cases.
- A local government trying to steal a man’s car because someone else drove it while intoxicated.
But sometimes an anecdote is the best way of exposing the silliness of the War on Drugs.
Here are some surreal tidbits from a Yahoo Sports report.
Bonnie Jonas-Boggioni, 65, and her husband were driving home to Plano, Texas from Columbus after attending her mother-in-law’s funeral when a pair of black police SUV’s stopped the couple a few miles outside of Memphis. “Knowing I wasn’t speeding, I couldn’t imagine why,” Jonas-Boggioni told the Columbus Dispatch. “They were very serious. They had the body armor and the guns.”
What was the supposed “probable cause” that led the police to make this stop? Ummm…..
On the back of Jonas-Boggioni’s car was a Buckeye leaf decal, similar to the one players’ have on their helmets, and cops mistakenly thought it was marijuana leaf. Yes, really. “What are you doing with a marijuana sticker on your bumper?” one of the cops asked Jonas-Boggioni. After trying to explain that the sticker was not a marijuana leaf and that she and her husband were not trafficking drugs cross-country, the police advised Jonas-Boggioni to remove the sticker as to not cause any more confusion.
As a fan of SEC football, I certainly agree that there’s something wrong with supporting the Ohio State Buckeyes. But bad judgement shouldn’t be against the law, much less a cause for a legal encounter with the government.
Particularly when the cops are showing their lack of knowledge.
Tennessee police apparently aren’t botany experts. If they were, they’d know a marijuana leaf has seven leaflets (see above picture) and a narrow shape as compared to the Buckeye leaf, which is fat and has five leaflets. …As for Jonas-Boggioni, she acknowledged the cop’s wishes, but got back in her car without removing the sticker. “I didn’t take it off,” Jonas-Boggioni told the paper. “This little old lady is no drug dealer.”
But that doesn’t mean other little old ladies aren’t drug dealers.
Click here is you want to read about a grandmother’s encounter with the Drug War.
Now ask yourself why we should be paying higher taxes to support this failed effort.
And remember that you can do something about it, as shown by some good people in Montana.
Personally, I think that drugs should be legal. The only real victims of drug use are the users. Not society as a whole. An interesting fact is that some of the political leaders in the U.S. have admitted to using these drugs. However, they hypocritically want to punish people who do the same thing.
[…] the way, this isn’t the first time cops have seized okra bushes. Or looked foolish because of an inability to identify marijuana […]
[…] the way, this isn’t the first time cops have seized okra bushes. Or looked foolish because of an inability to identify marijuana […]
[…] the way, this isn’t the first time cops have seized okra bushes. Or looked foolish because of an inability to identify marijuana […]
[…] every enforcement action leads to grotesque abuse of human rights. Sometimes the Drug War merely exposes the stupidity of […]
[…] every enforcement action leads to grotesque abuse of human rights. Sometimes the Drug War merely exposes the stupidity of […]
As Winston Churchill said, “The only thing that man learns from history is that man does not learn from history.”
Alcohol prohibition tells you everything you need to know about the effectiveness of drug prohibition, yet I seem to remember reading that the alcohol prohibition lobby eventually transformed themselves into the drug prohibition lobby. Seems that you just can’t keep a bad idea down…
[…] Or sometimes the Drug War merely exposes government stupidity. […]
[…] bunch of supposed victories in the Drug […]
[…] all, that politicians used the Drug War as an excuse to enact reprehensible and costly laws on asset forfeiture and money laundering. One foolish policy leads to a couple of other misguided policies. […]
[…] this raid was about marijuana, but I don’t want to miss an opportunity to say that it’s time to end the foolish Drug War. People who abuse drugs may be stupid, but they’re not infringing on my rights. But the War on […]
[…] was about marijuana, but I don’t want to miss an opportunity to say that it’s time to end the foolish Drug War. People who abuse drugs may be stupid, but they’re not infringing on my rights. But the War […]
Let’s not forget property destruction in the name of the drug war as well. A friend of mine got flippant at a sobriety checkpoint so the cops did an invasive search of his BMW. They cut the seats and tore the car apart, totalling it while finding nothing. His insurance paid for the car but cannot recoup the cost from the law enforcement perpetrators.
This has gone way too far.
[…] via Another Great Victory in the Drug War « International Liberty. […]
Even if it was a marijuana leaf, that is still not probably cause to pull a car over! I know many cops but sometimes they are just ridiculously stupid. They are also arrogant bullies that will abuse the law.
I have on multiple occasions had police officers ask me to inspect my car. Once I refused, they tell me they can do so anyway, without my permission. They always get all tough-guy and bossy about it too! I just laugh and tell them I’m a Libertarian and I understand my rights. I follow that up with advising them to call their supervisor as I’m preparing to call my lawyer. They fold every time.
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All the best,
Maite