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Well the drug cartels and mess in Miami in the 80s was very, very bad and it led to these kinds of laws. Good documentary on it, Cocaine Cowboys if you're ever interested. Earlier up thread, another poster said the intent was understandable when this came about but has morphed into this perversion of the law. I concur.
As do I. The point that seems to be constantly overlooked is that the cartels were not created by drugs, but by prohibition. Exactly like the roaring 20's, with all the crime that alcohol prohibition caused.
No, they haven't been silent. Try reading the link.
Civil asset forfeiture has been going on for decades. Obviously the ACLU have done nothing to stop it because it continues to this day. Perhaps they have been bought off.
Well the drug cartels and mess in Miami in the 80s was very, very bad and it led to these kinds of laws. Good documentary on it, Cocaine Cowboys if you're ever interested. Earlier up thread, another poster said the intent was understandable when this came about but has morphed into this perversion of the law. I concur.
Very few are going to get upset if someone is stopped with $500,000 worth of cocaine and with a finding of guilt the police keep the car that the guy was transporting the drugs in.
The problem is the authorities not returning property even when no one is found guilty of anything.
As do I. The point that seems to be constantly overlooked is that the cartels were not created by drugs, but by prohibition. Exactly like the roaring 20's, with all the crime that alcohol prohibition caused.
I'm trying to understand why it would be desirable to have things like meth, cocaine, and heroine legal. Prohibition or not, crime to obtain funds to obtain said drugs would still continue. Cartels? No but they do not have the same impact they once did (like in Miami in the 80s) now that police departments and the Federal gov't have better tools and funding to fight them. I just cannot see a valid argument for legalizing these addictive and destructive drugs.
Very few are going to get upset if someone is stopped with $500,000 worth of cocaine and with a finding of guilt the police keep the car that the guy was transporting the drugs in.
The problem is the authorities not returning property even when no one is found guilty of anything.
It is actually worse than that. In Oklahoma all it takes is one plant growing somewhere on your property and it's a felony. The law allows forfeiture of the house because of another felony: "Maintaining a dwelling where drugs are kept or stored". Unless the house has such a large mortgage on it that it isn't worth their time, that one plant just cost you your house.
In that case you're guilty, so no way to get the property back. Many prohibitionists applaud this type of barbaric behavior.
Very few are going to get upset if someone is stopped with $500,000 worth of cocaine and with a finding of guilt the police keep the car that the guy was transporting the drugs in.
The problem is the authorities not returning property even when no one is found guilty of anything.
True. I think it's the erroneous (in my opinion) application of the law. Seizing funds/cash (and saying just having the cash is evidence of a crime) and subsequently not charging with a crime. This is wrong no matter who you are.
I'm trying to understand why it would be desirable to have things like meth, cocaine, and heroine legal. Prohibition or not, crime to obtain funds to obtain said drugs would still continue. Cartels? No but they do not have the same impact they once did (like in Miami in the 80s) now that police departments and the Federal gov't have better tools and funding to fight them. I just cannot see a valid argument for legalizing these addictive and destructive drugs.
Actually there are a lot of arguments to favor legalization of drugs. Here are just a few basic ones:
1) Prohibition does not work. People wind up getting the drugs anyway.
2) Since the drugs are coming from the street, people OD from them, which rarely happens if they are clean, legal, regulated drugs.
3) As long as they are illegal, they are funding the cartels, which are responsible for more deaths than the drugs themselves.
4) Look at the results of other countries that have decriminalized/legalized, like Portugal. The overall results are favorable.
It's terrifying the kind of power we have ceded to LE in this country. They can get away with virtually anything and not be held accountable.
This unwarranted confiscation of personal property is just another example of the egregious misuse of power LE is routinely allowed to get away with. They need to be reigned in.
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