In a case decided yesterday, Kentucky v. King, the US Supreme Court has ruled that cops who smell marijuana coming from your home can break down your door and arrest you, just as long as they knock first and claim to have heard you destroying evidence.
They don’t need a warrant or probable cause, either. Today in America, police can now randomly patrol neighborhoods and apartment complexes sniffing around for pot. When they smell it, they can knock on your door and then break it down, claiming they heard noises from within.
The 4th Amendment to the US Constitution plainly states:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Writing for the Supreme Court in a 1980 case called Payton v. New York, Justice Stevens reiterated:
In terms that apply equally to seizures of property and to seizures of persons, the Fourth Amendment has drawn a firm line at the entrance to the house. Absent exigent circumstances, that threshold may not reasonably be crossed without a warrant.
The smell of a burning flower and the sound of “scurrying” are now the “exigent circumstances” needed to “reasonably” cross that “firm line” without a warrant.
(Los Angeles Times) Ruling in a Kentucky case Monday, the justices said that officers who smell marijuana and loudly knock on the door may break in if they hear sounds that suggest the residents are scurrying to hide the drugs.
Residents who “attempt to destroy evidence have only themselves to blame” when police burst in, said Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. for an 8-1 majority.
In her dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she feared the ruling gave police an easy way to ignore 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. She said the amendment’s “core requirement” is that officers have probable cause and a search warrant before they break into a house.
“How ‘secure’ do our homes remain if police, armed with no warrant, can pound on doors at will and …forcibly enter?” Ginsburg asked.
The Supreme Court ruled in Kentucky vs. King that the officers’ conduct “was entirely lawful,” and they were justified in breaking in to prevent the destruction of the evidence.
Note to self and advice to others: When you’re smoking pot in your home and the cops come a-knockin’, be very, very quiet. I’m only half-kidding, for as Justice Alito writes:
When law enforcement officers who are not armed with a warrant knock on a door, they do no more than any private citizen might do. And whether the person who knocks on the door and requests the opportunity to speak is a police officer or a private citizen, the occupant has no obligation to open the door or to speak. Cf. Florida v. Royer, 460 U. S. 491, 497-498 (1983). (“[H]e may decline to listen to the questions at all and may go on his way”). When the police knock on a door but the occupants choose not to respond or to speak, “the investigation will have reached a conspicuously low point,” and the occupants “will have the kind of warning that even the most elaborate security system cannot provide.”
If you make noise when the cops knock, police can interpret that as you attempting to hide or destroy evidence (drugs), which creates the “exigent circumstance” needed to break down your door. Which leads me to ask, what does hiding or destroying cannabis sound like? I suppose the sounds of garbage disposals, trash compactors, and flushing toilets would be obvious answers. In King’s case, “scurrying” was enough; I guess cops could argue that he was running to the window throw out a baggie. Of course this all depends on taking the police at their word when they testify that they heard the “scurrying”.
In the King case, the cops weren’t even looking for King. They were conducting a sting operation on a street-level crack dealer. When he ran upstairs to his apartment on the right, the police followed, but they lost him. As they reached the apartment on the right, they smelled marijuana from King’s apartment on the left. The police knocked loudly on the apartment on the left. They then heard “scurrying”, so they broke down the door and caught King with marijuana and cocaine.
The smell of marijuana burning does give police indication there is a crime taking place behind that door – the possession of at least a joint or a bowl of marijuana. In Kentucky, such a first offense would be a crime worthy of a misdemeanor with a max of one year in jail and a $500 fine. It would take more than eight ounces on a first offense for felony charges. The police, not knowing King or having any probable cause to go after King, essential beat down his door on the “exigent circumstance” he may be destroying evidence of a misdemeanor. Is it “reasonable” to violate a man’s 4th Amendment rights over a potential misdemeanor?
At NORML, we often get demands from legalization supporters to “sue the government” to end the improper and unconstitutional prohibition of cannabis. It has been tried and tried again, including our own NORML v. DEA suit, and certainly there are many more suits to be tried. But given this 8-1 decision and the current makeup of the Supreme Court that promises a solid 5-4 majority of Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and Kennedy against any meaningful reforms, it seems clear to me that the path to legalization does not lead through the judiciary. This is a federal court system that has twisted precedent and the intent of the Constitution in the name of eradicating marijuana by recently deciding:
- that intrastate personal non-commercial medical use of marijuana is controlled by interstate commerce (Raich v. Gonzales);
- that police can sneak up onto your driveway on your private property and secretly place a GPS tracking device on your car to follow you to grow shops (USA v. Juan Pineda-Moreno);
- that merely being in possession of a firearm while growing marijuana is a crime (USA v. Somkhit Thongsy);
- that an 18-year-old student standing on a public sidewalk can be expelled by his high school for holding a sign with the word “bong” on it (Frederick v. Morse);
- that religions using Schedule I ayahuasca or Schedule I peyote as a holy sacrament should have a First Amendment exception to drug law prosecution (Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal), but religions that use Schedule I cannabis made the mistake of choosing too popular an illegal holy sacrament (USA v. Quaintence);
- and that police who’ve stopped your vehicle may run a drug-sniffing dog around your car even without any probable cause to believe the driver is involved with drugs in any way (Illinois v. Caballes).
So long as the law says marijuana is contraband and its possession and cultivation a crime, the federal courts will always find a way to rule to maintain marijuana prohibition. The solution lies in Congress (depressing as that may be) and changing the law.
UPDATE: NORML Legal Intern Kellen Russoniello examines this SCOTUS decision and muses about some undiscussed aspects of the decision that need greater light cast upon them
Ray of Hope in Kentucky v. King
Although the 8-1 decision of the Supreme Court in Kentucky v. King strikes many as a full-on frontal assault to the Fourth Amendment, the decision is more nuanced than has been popularly portrayed and there is still a small chance that the decision is not as bad as many think. This is not to say that the decision does not create grave concerns, but there is a way to limit the holding of this case in future litigation.
The question answered in Kentucky v. King was whether the knocking and announcement of police presence at a home, when the police decided not to get a warrant, created the exigent circumstances needed to enter the home without a warrant. If it had, then the police entry would not have been justified because they had created the emergency. Although some, including Justice Ginsberg, have answered this in the positive, the majority determined that the police did not create an exigency by announcing their presence, however aggressively this was conducted. Although in a causal sense the vociferous announcement of the police created the supposed exigency by causing King, who assumedly was just sitting in his living room, to move, either destroy the evidence or just answer the door, the court ruled that in legal sense the police did not create the emergency. Knocking on a citizen’s door without a warrant and announcing police presence is a reasonable mode of operation, according to the majority. Because the police acted reasonably before the existence of the supposed exigency, their actions of kicking the door in after they heard what sounded like destroying evidence was also reasonable and justified by the destruction of evidence exception to the warrant requirement. (Of course, this raises other questions including: When does police conduct become the cause of exigent circumstances in the eyes of the law?)
Although this decision is subject to criticism, the real question in this case went unanswered. Both the Kentucky Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court assumed when undertaking this analysis that exigent circumstances actually existed. This means that both courts took it as given that the movement heard inside the house after the police made their presence known was sufficient to justify a warrantless entry based on the suspicion that evidence was being destroyed.
The question thus remains: Does the shuffling heard inside the house constitute an exigent circumstance justifying warrantless entry into the home? This will be decided on remand to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Defenders of the Fourth Amendment must be prepared to argue that the sound of movement inside a home is not enough to justify the existence of exigent circumstances. This is where the real issue regarding personal freedom in the home lies.
When the courts officially proclaim that scurrying or noise made inside a home constitutes exigent circumstances, then we will truly know that the judiciary has traded the gavel for the battering ram. For now, there remains a shred of hope.
wtf vote ron paul
This is madness. We really have become a totalitarian police state..
thats a crock…but, that’s also our gov’t. we r suppose 2 be safe in our homes. that was the only place we were safe…looks like incense sales r gonna increase
It amazes me that the Supreme Court could reach this decision! 8-to-1, even!
I am stunned!
The police all over America have just been given the right to kick in any door at any time for any reason. And all thanks to prohibition laws.
It will take generations to overturn this unjust decision.
Why? Why can’t the people see just how evil this system is that we live under? To brake down a door because you smell the scared tree of life burning and arrest the people inside is insane. Cannabis is not a DRUG, man makes drugs while God makes herbs and this plant is “for he healing of the nations”. They do not want peace! war is all this system knows and we continue to be used as pawns in war games killing each other over fossil fuels that we do not even need anymore. hemp can meet all the worlds energy needs while restoring the planet and also curing cancer. It can’t be the land of the free if it is the worlds leading jailer! These are the facts! 4peace2b the drug wars must ends! Kwame
Of course. Just another way for the government to control us. Taking away yet another right. And they would have to break my door down,but they would never find anything. Ha, I have four Pit Bulls that like to eat weed. Lol Stay Strong Stoners!!!! We will win the war!
Lets get thousands of people to get marijuana smelling incense or something, and see how many times we can get cops to break down doors to find nothing but a quiet family on the other side. All this over a beautiful flower.
This is being donr for one simple reason, to make the government sanctioned, taxable, and corporate distribution of marijuana possible.
maybe someone should manufacture marijuana scented incents. i’m sure cops will get called and “scurrying” will be heard only to make the cops looked stupid. maybe then people can have the 4th amendment back. if it were me i would have the most expensive thing i could find in front of the door so the city can pay up. unfortunately the tax payers would be paying up but maybe this could increase public support once they see their hard earned money being spent on something unconstitutional. NORML maybe you should make this happen…a lot
[Editor’s note: Why not end cannabis prohibition instead of trying to defeat an already defeated and failed government policy with tricks and subterfuge?]
editor: is jury nullification tricks and subterfuge? pot flavored incense to make the cops look stupid is no more than street level jury nullification… only problem is that when the jack booted thugs have their egos bruised they tend to retreat to their tasers and 40’s ..
I think it should be up to the people what laws should pass and our right should always be left alone what can we do when its the people with money and high up that is making the laws
Fuk the police!
This is a sad,sad day in America.
Of course this all depends on taking the police at their word when they testify that they heard the “scurrying”.
Hell, we have to take them at their word that they even smelled anything to begin with. A police officer can lie with impunity about what he saw, or smelled, or heard. This is painfully easy — see a shaggy guy come out of a smoke shop or grow supply store, follow him home, “smell” marijuana outside his door, and “hear” him trying to destroy evidence after knocking. Whether you find anything in the place or not, you’re covered.
This is so terrible, are we not safe anywhere? Police can and will just say they heard “noises” as an excuse to break anyones door down now.
Where I live the police do what ever they want and write warrents later. This is just another way to take our freedoms away. We as a people must understand its not about pot its about money and power we must be very careful or we might break a law!!! If you stand up and say anything they dont like, they will find a law your breaking. No one wants to belive that is happening in america but its been happening for years and the war on drugs is just the tool they need ,spread the marijuana and spread the wealth.
This cant be truer. I got popped for having, Brevard county sheriff OPENED our door, said they heard us within and smelled a strong odor, that is all they needed to come in take everything, even our freedom, most of all OUR RIGHTS as AMERICANS. I am an honorable veteran who served proudly for this country, in return to live in a state where there are no boundaries other than those set forth by the local sheriff, and his deputies are at free will to harass the innocent. It is a mark of shame on our Flag, Florida lawmakers would rather have pill labs than have a weed grow in you back yard!
Sincerely from a concerned American Veteran,
God Bless and best luck to all those struggling to have freedom at the hands of injustice.
LCPL Frampton, USMC
Land of the Free my Ass..What the hell..we outnumber the government… so why do we accept this? We are no longer the land of the free.. with more its own citizens imprisoned we have traded the ability to say that for a more newer and fresh saying.. The “land of the Imprisoned”. Want to see how controlled you are.. just tell the government your going to put a window in your house and tell them that because this a free country that they cant do nothing about it… and then do it and see where it gets you.. A FREAKING WINDOW?!?! Why does the government even need to know about this.. The very same government, by the way, that claims Marijuana does have medical benefits now after years of lies, and it still keeps it classified as a schedule 1 drug! Whats the definition of a schedule 1 drug you ask? Ohh!.. its really complicated..we peasants probably would never understand…but I’ll try to explain it… see in order to qualify as a schedule 1 drug… it just cant have any medicinal value is all.
Marijuana should be legalized not just for medicinal value but just for our rights as citizens of the US (this so-called free county) the right to decide what we want to do with some herb that grows out of the ground! Anything less is not freedom.
fuck the police
You bastards justices destroyed the 4th amendment and everything it stands for. 8-1 are you kidding me?? You might as well have struck down the entire thing as unconstitutional, and given the police a copy of my house keys. I’m going to law school so i can you kick your asses legally u facists
they only need a smell now? do people even care anymore?
we are in a police state and people aren’t outraged.
we have MAJORITY support for marijuana legalization but everybody is too fricken lazy to vote or at least make a big stink about it.
it’s rulings like this that make me want to give up on this country.
it’s depressing to see people take it up the ass just because it is easier than fighting…
at this rate, i’m going to have cancer at 55 and have no other choice but to pay $90,000 for chemo just because some greedy, powerful people want to bathe in liquid gold. all because we’ve become a nation of cowards…
This is unbelievable. This is a violation of the constitution!!!!!!! I cannot stand this country anymore. One day I’m just going to move to Canada.
i am a concerned citizen about a manner of this sort. even if it’s not about marijuana. about 10 years ago there was a program to turn in your gun so you would not be armed, and today, they can enter at will with force, armed and ready weapons pointing at your unarmed person. for any false reason thay can say. well my friends, that does not sound like the american way of life. it sounds like police state, and military rule if you ask me. Our parents and grand parent and so on did not die for our country for america to turn out half communist and socialistic uninvolment. while the other half pretends not to notice because of fear of whats going on around them. americas the promised land, promise to keep you safe. shame on you americans.
When will the government realize its less harmful than alcohol a.d they could legalize and tax it an create copioius amount of jobs as well as tax $ to balance our budget I sure this argument is old as Moses but its so logical come on
Could it get any worse?!
America…where are you now?
Between this and “Citizen’s United,” the future is not looking bright for any of us – smoker’s or not.
There is no political solution for our troubled evolution. Have no faith in constitution. There is no bloody revolution.
I’m shocked … shocked I tell you, that our Supreme Court would shred the US Constitution & Bill of Rights to this extent. Not really.
The Reich-Wing Authoritarians that took over Washington DC so many years ago have fully devolved into unabashed jack-booted Fascists, in a three branches of Federal Government. There’s this latest from our “Protectors of the Constitution”, there’s the recent reauthorization of the most outrageous portions of the Orwellian-named US Patriot Act by a bipartisan Congress, and of course there’s the Obama regime — trying their utmost to out-goose-step the “easier to be a dictator” GW Bush regime.
This country is headed toward either a full-on Fascist Police State or else full-scale anti-fascist rebellion. The RWA enablers in all three branches of government have violated their oaths of office to protect the Constitution — and all three branches of government are guilty of high crimes and treason. If push comes to shove, I have no doubt that there will be enough good hemp rope available to hang the lot of them — Fascist bastards!
I’m shocked … shocked I tell you, that our Supreme Court would shred the US Constitution & Bill of Rights to this extent. Not really.
The Reich-Wing Authoritarians that took over Washington DC so many years ago have fully devolved into unabashed jack-booted Fascists, in ALL three branches of Federal Government. There’s this latest from our “Protectors of the Constitution”, there’s the recent reauthorization of the most outrageous portions of the Orwellian-named US Patriot Act by a bipartisan Congress, and of course there’s the Obama regime — trying their utmost to out-goose-step the “easier to be a dictator” GW Bush regime.
This country is headed toward either a full-on Fascist Police State or else full-scale anti-fascist rebellion. The RWA enablers in all three branches of government have violated their oaths of office to protect the Constitution — and all three branches of government are guilty of high crimes and treason. If push comes to shove, I have no doubt that there will be enough good hemp rope available to hang the lot of them — Fascist bastards!
This is just wrong in so many ways! Listen to what this news story is “really” saying! The cops are so paranoid that now they can punish you if they “think” they smell a skunk, and also “dance” around the constitution because they are cops? I would quit my job if I was told to do something that I knew was blatantly wrong…have they no scruples!
This is obscene!
Holy Balls, am I actually reading this? This is something directly out of a dystopian future novel like 1984.
At least it’s good to live in a state where med pot is legal, even if state police searched patients, they would just leave with nothing happening and the patients keeping their cannabis. So everyone move to these states.
This is a sad story. The Supreme Court, like many of the lower courts and state courts, have this underlying belief that a law enforcement officer will tell the truth each and every time. For this reason, defendants in court who are trying to get their evidence supressed but who are going up against the word of the officer, will always lose. This happens all of the time, and defense attorneys are virtually helpless to stop it, especially when the judges are so hostile to the defendant from the beginning.
The more power we give law enforcement, the more they freely abuse that power. They are human beings and have faults. But I guess our Supreme Court is made up of the same stuff the rest of our goverment is. To bad. I actually had hope for them.
Wow our liberties are being stripped from us left and right. The foundation that was put in place for Judical systems and law enformenct to stay away from out rights has turned into a circus freakshow of bullshit rulings by incompetent judges. I hate the American goverment more and more everyday.
I’m getting that hopeless feeling back again. I am glad I live in Colorado and not Kentucky though. I think if any state is going to legalize marijuana it will probably be Colorado first. I can take comfort in that I guess.
They need to stop illegally using illegal drugs on animals anf quit getting dogs hooked on drugs.
Congress will never change the laws so long as one of the oldest and most well-recognized lobby organizations is only interested in “reforming” marijuana laws. 40 years of “Reform” has gotten us nowhere. Even Obama (supposed champion of decriminalizing our drug laws) has turned his back on us, and let the DEA loose to harass and arrest MMJ patients and caregivers with impunity!
Our only real hope in 2012 is Ron Paul. He has always been an ardent supporter of the Constitution. As our Constitution doesn’t allow for such things like drug prohibition, it can easily be suggested that making Cannabis legal again would be a direct result of his being elected!!!
-Oz
[Editor’s note: Ron Paul will never even win the GOP nomination. Period. Ron Paul will never be elected president. Period. Give up on this delusion and don’t waste your breath, time and money on something that will NEVER happen.
You’re totally incorrect that in 40 years of reform efforts ‘has gotten no where’. That is an idiotic thing to proclaim when people are buying millions in ‘medical’ cannabis in retail, main street environment daily, over 100 million people live in the now 16 states with medical cannabis laws and over 120 million Americans live in states and cities where cannabis has been decriminalized.
Does this single SCOTUS decision suck beyond belief? Yes. Does that mean that no progress has ever been made to reform cannabis laws? Self evidently the clear answer is no–tons of reforms have occurred since citizens started to organize and ‘petition’ their government on this grievance.]
One of the reason my Dad was in ww2 is to protect our freedom. There will come a time when we will have to take up arms against Our own counter be for its will get any better.The law will have us live in a police state. It getting that way. They will use the argument. we have to stop the drugs and this is the only way we can win.You think i am full of it. In 1975 i told friends one of the days we will be taken drug test to be able to work. They laugh at me
Stepping right along into a police state more obvious every day.
wow i would of never thought in america the courts would allow this to happen for a simple mistermeanor violation. this country is getting pretty scary. our politicians are willing to take everything away from the poor so they can give it to the rich. how did we come to this.
and they tap your phone too; me thinks it is time for the people to rise up and put an end to this war on marijuana. Time to take the war to them.If you have the chance to throw a monkey wrench into the system PLEASE DO IT
[Editor’s note: Rise up? Considering that less than .0001% of cannabis consumers are active in their own liberation, the government will crush nutjobs who think they’re going to commit ‘war’ against the feds by shooting their law enforcement officers.
Want to actually change cannabis laws? Get politically active and leave the guns and tough talking bravado to ol’ John Wayne movies.]
I guess i just need to keep up my bad cooking to keep out the smell. But in all seriousness this just shows how much of a battle there is to go in this war.
What’s next, random drug testing for everyone in the country who has a drivers license.The Supreme court has now made it manditory that anyone wishing to obtain the priviledge of having a driver’s license must undergo pre-drug testing, for Marijuana only, and must be enrolled in a random drug testing program sponsored by the Republicans and weasel Democrats.Failure to comply will result in your driving privileges being revoked, and then you must be forced to listen to Rush Limbaugh tell us how great the Reagan years were.Lets see, when I apply for a job, I don’t get the job when I piss in the bottle, and I don’t get the job when I refuse to piss in the bottle, Wow,America the Beautiful. They ship all the good jobs abroad, they have a backdoor lockout against Americans via the Drug war. I wonder if they make all that scab labor (Mexicans) take drug tests.I wonder if George Washington would submit to a drug test?Ha Ha The Republicans are coming, The Republicans are coming, grab your bongs and lets fire off a few rounds and blow some smoke in their faces…
We are screwed. 8-1? Time to consider some third world country to retire in. It’s just not safe here any longer however this will affect the poor and minority folks the most. I guess scotus had that figured out before hand though.
by ballot initiatives, for complete legalization of all cannabis, or spend years in the lawyers and politicians adversarial process bureaucracy spending all your tax dollars so they can play government following their own agenda’s. either that or get plenty of guns and ammo.
[Editor’s note: Less than half the states have direct voter initiatives…the ONLY way to practically end the federal prohibition is with a change to federal laws…not initiatives in some states.]
I don’t know how many of you are aware of this, but another 4th amendment destroying decision was passed down on the same day as this decision. The state supreme court of Indiana ruled that citizens do not have the right, under any circumstances, to resist an unlawful entry by police into their home. They justify their decision by saying that resisting can escalate the situation and result in violence. I’m sorry, but unlawful entries by police often turn violent anyways because the police enter a home unlawfully and violently. If they want to avoid violence, maybe they shouldn’t do that. The Indiana court further ruled that the only proper way to react in such a situation is to allow your rights to be violated, then go to the courts and sue for the violations. Of course, the way police arbitration works, the majority of those cases will simply be dismissed by an in-house investigation. Granted, this case has currently only been decided in one state, but if it isn’t appealed to the SCOTUS, or if SCOTUS refuses to overturn this ruling, it sets a very, very scary precedent. I know this case was a little off topic, but I think it’s important we know what kinds of abominations the government is planning for us.
[Paul Armentano responds: Yes, NORML is aware of this recent decision out of the Indiana Supreme Court, but many others visiting this page may not be. Here are some more details:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_ec169697-a19e-525f-a532-81b3df229697.html
Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home
Story
Discussion
By Dan Carden dan.carden@nwi.com, (317) 637-9078 | Posted: Friday, May 13, 2011 3:56 pm | (293)
PDF: Supreme Court ruling in Barnes v. State
INDIANAPOLIS | Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.
In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer’s entry.
“We believe … a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence,” David said. “We also find that allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties involved without preventing the arrest.”
David said a person arrested following an unlawful entry by police still can be released on bail and has plenty of opportunities to protest the illegal entry through the court system.
The court’s decision stems from a Vanderburgh County case in which police were called to investigate a husband and wife arguing outside their apartment.
When the couple went back inside their apartment, the husband told police they were not needed and blocked the doorway so they could not enter. When an officer entered anyway, the husband shoved the officer against a wall. A second officer then used a stun gun on the husband and arrested him.
Professor Ivan Bodensteiner, of Valparaiso University School of Law, said the court’s decision is consistent with the idea of preventing violence.
“It’s not surprising that they would say there’s no right to beat the hell out of the officer,” Bodensteiner said.
“(The court is saying) we would rather opt on the side of saying if the police act wrongfully in entering your house your remedy is under law, to bring a civil action against the officer.”
Justice Robert Rucker, a Gary native, and Justice Brent Dickson, a Hobart native, dissented from the ruling, saying the court’s decision runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“In my view the majority sweeps with far too broad a brush by essentially telling Indiana citizens that government agents may now enter their homes illegally — that is, without the necessity of a warrant, consent or exigent circumstances,” Rucker said. “I disagree.”
Rucker and Dickson suggested if the court had limited its permission for police entry to domestic violence situations they would have supported the ruling.
But Dickson said, “The wholesale abrogation of the historic right of a person to reasonably resist unlawful police entry into his dwelling is unwarranted and unnecessarily broad.”
This is the second major Indiana Supreme Court ruling this week involving police entry into a home.
On Tuesday, the court said police serving a warrant may enter a home without knocking if officers decide circumstances justify it. Prior to that ruling, police serving a warrant would have to obtain a judge’s permission to enter without knocking.]
I am gonna laugh when ppl start blasting the cops cause they don’t know how is breaking in their door. I have seen plenty of times where cops rush into a house and never announce that they are the Police. I think american’s should arm theirselves with guns, and when the police randomly burst in we shoot them, and say, Hey, I thought it was someone trying to rob me. I was scared and defended myself! Thats what I plan on doing.
[Editor’s note: Two wrongs do not make a right. Pretending that you’ll be free or safe because you think you’ll shoot the cops when they enter your home is foolishness because after you shoot the first cop, two dozen cops will make you look like Swiss cheese.
Want to change the country’s cannabis laws? Get involved politically at the local/state/federal levels…this will change the laws. Want judges who respect citizens more than the govt? Elect politicians that agree with cannabis law reform, who’ll then nominate judges who defer to freedom more than to narcs.
Shooting cops who enter your home will do NOTHING to advance cannabis law reform in the slightest. If anything it will harm reform as cops will point to supposedly violent, gun-toting cannabis consumers as a reason to CONTINUE prohibition–not end it.
All shooting cops will make you is dead several times over…which makes you a useless dead body, not an active voting citizen.]
to the editor… how dare you insist ron paul will never win the presidency, are you a facist too?..are you one of these assholes that think he’s a nut for being a devout constitutionalist? this is not the place for you or anyone to be trying to make political policy. each person has a right to vote for whomever they wish. you can keep your opinions to yourself thank you very much and not spread them with this site just because you are the editor
[Editor’s note: How can a 74-year old man who polls under 10% support in the GOP ever become the party’s nominee?
Answer: It will NEVER happen. Never!
Ron Paul is never going to be elected the GOP nominee. Ron Paul will never win a majority in a national election. Even if he chose to run on the Libertarian Party ticket, he would do as well as the last time he was their nominee (meaning he might poll 3% in the national vote).
Dream and be as delusional as you like…but know that anyone who supports Ron Paul as a viable presidential candidate is someone who should be making a bid on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Clearly, if Paul can’t win the GOP nomination–which he has proven time and time that he can’t–he has 0.0% chance of winning a national election.
If you don’t understand this, you don’t understand politics.
Is Ron Paul a nice guy who professes love for the US Constitution. Sure! Does he enjoy political support and funding from NORML. Sure! But that does not dismiss the clear fact that the man is NEVER going to be elected to anything beyond a Congressman from a conservative TX district. He can’t even get elected senator from TX, let alone president of the nation.]
Time to Vote all these Idiots out that are selling our freedom to comunist nations!!! We are slowly watching our comunist government take over America!
[Editor’s note: Indeed, the vote is much more powerful than a gun pointed in anger!]
If my Faith loses face – how will my service be of value. That is a thought that gives me no peace of mind. When the laws of my government conflicts with the laws of my Faith – I know which one to obey – and – there I must abide.
I thought America is home of the FREE.. doesn’t sound like anyone is free anymore with all these stupid rules and laws!
Russ adds: Something I failed to consider but someone brought it up on my Facebook. It reminds me of Ed Rosenthal’s joke about being in the service of the DEA as a ‘personal marijuana incinerator’.
To wit: isn’t the smell of burning marijuana itself evidence of the destruction of contraband?
If cops smell marijuana behind your door, you are in the act of incinerating criminal evidence, are you not?
So, how long before “we smelled marijuana and we heard them trying to destroy it” turns into “we smelled marijuana WHICH MEANS they were trying to destroy it”? How would cops know whether the burning smell is the aroma of a fresh joint or a kilo in the fireplace? In other words, cops don’t need smell+sound, they really only need smell to establish those “exigent circumstances”.
I predict an upswing in the fashioning of toilet paper tubes and dryer fabric softener sheets into personal odorless paraphernalia. Or more sales of these: http://www.smokebuddy.com/
regarding Editors note to Ozlanthos. Who would you have me support? four more years of slick tongue Obama or another neo-con like Mitt Romney?
True Ron Paul may never be elected. That doesn’t mean you should be attempting to sway supporters away from him. That’s the very reason he is unlikely to win the nomination. everyone including you want to convince the voters he’s unelectable.
I’ll tell you what, he”ll get my vote if I have to write him in.
[Editor’s note: Throw your vote away if you like…because a vote for Ron Paul is a symbolic gesture at best and a waste of one’s vote at worse.
NORML is non-partisan…not non-analytical…and pretty clearly Ron Paul is never going to win the GOP nomination and therefore never be elected president.
BTW, Paul will not win the GOP nomination because NORML has identified the obvious, it is because neither the GOP or the nation supports libertarian political candidates. Regrettably, they never have–and may never do so (based on polling, surveys and election results).]
There may be ( the law ) on the outside , but be ready bullets for from the people. Civil War all over again! One might find more than they expect when it comes to closed doors. And that goes for both sides of any door. Does this include the policemans and on up doors as well? If you want anyone to break in your house,that’s on you. As for my door, if you have to use breaking and entering their are consequences that will be met . This can and will cause death to many people over sight, smell, and sound. CLEARLY you boys have’nt thought this through. If you had people would’nt be about to die ( especially children ).
[Editor’s note: Shooting cops will lead to your death or life sentence…not cannabis law reform.
Get active politically to change the laws because believing that shooting cops who enter your home equates to freedom will only empower the government to keep maintaining another 70 years of Cannabis Prohibition.]
As We the People we are forced to concider this atrocity a threat to our lives. Lawsuits and body bags ,anybody?
Isn’t smoking cannabis by definition destroying evidence? If it is, then merely the smell of burning cannabis would create the exigent circumstances to enter a home without a warrant.
Dear Editor
You better hope Ron Paul is elected. Marc Emery told me as much during the last election and he was on the money 100%!!! Like it or not, he is the only one who will truly help us in our goal (btw, if out-right total legalization isn’t your eventual goal, you are the ones wasting your time!!!).If not, the legalization of marijuana will be the least of your worries! And about “reform”…What does it mean to have reform if the DEA is still free to bust people at random or as part of a targeted sting? Why is any such half-baked ideal of legalization such as this a laudable goal? What good is any of it if the state’s recognizance of your right to grow, sell, or consume is no longer recognized as an affirmative defense in federal court?
[Editor’s note: You and Marc Emery can wish all you like…but the hard fact is that Ron Paul is never going to be the next president of the United States of America. Period.
You can rightly complain that the country’s cannabis laws are not perfect, but, one has to recognize the HUGE and VAST improvements in cannabis laws that have happened in the last 40 years because citizens organized and peacefully sought redress from the govt.
Want more reform? Recruit more like-minded voters to join you (and groups like NORML) to improve the existing laws.]
I know of the Supreme Court cases mentioned in the article, but has there ever been an approach to sue the government regarding the scheduling of drugs as being unconstitutional? I mean marijuana is schedule I, but Marinol is a schedule III drug? By the way, didn’t the DEA outlaw all synthetic THC products? Furthermore, writing legislation saying marijuana has no accepted medical benefits without any scientific facts is unconstitutional. Furthermore, if it truly does not have any medical benefit then how can the federal government hand out marijuana to patients in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program? How did a medical marijuana law pass in Washington, DC… doesn’t Congress and the President have to sign off on that?
My point is, has there ever been an attempt to sue the government regarding the scheduling system. A victory here would only result in a revamped scheduling system, but that could open the door.
[Editor’s note: There have been numerous rescheduling lawsuits: Notably NORML vs DEA (1972-1994), Gettman, NORML, et al vs DEA (1998-present). To date, unfortunately, the courts have ruled in favor of the government, not the citizenry.]
let’s be honest– government doesn’t listen and doesn’t care. They only care about power and control– not power and control over the government or the corporations, but YOU the individual.
The only way to survive is to stay under the fascist radar and do what you do in secrecy. Everyone who comes here smokes so we all know what that’s like.
Eventually though there needs to be a line in the sand– not just with marijuana, with liberty in general.
Honestly this makes me want to go back to the 90s and listen to some “Cop Killer”– because that’s an action becoming increasingly justifiable
[Editor’s note: Killing another person, even a marauding cop, is not justified because you need or want to consume cannabis in your home.
Two wrongs do not make right.]
lol…long live the spoof lmao…Ive had vision problems since I was a yr and a half old…Im 28 now…I have problems sleeping @ nite, and deal w/ all sorts of emotional issues, I had knee surgery in 2000, and neck surgery in 2006…Our “leafy-green friend” is the only thing that alleviates ne of this…pills kill…bud doesnt. To take away our constitutional rights 2 privacy is a travesty and has been gettin worse over the yrs. In the past 20yrs, more and more ppl have began accepting the plant. Bc of this, our govt knows what they have 2 do, but they r 2 greedy and scared 2 actually allow our economy 2 flourish. Ive talked 2 all sorts of ppl, from my very own relatives to ppl that Id never even met before. This includes cops, doctors, military ppl, etc…all of them have said that if allowed, they would toke.
By continually taking away our rights like this, our government is getting further and further away from what our fore-fathers actually wanted 4 this country. It says, “FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE”…not “FOR THE GOVERNMENT, BY THE GOVERNMENT IN ORDER 2 FILL THEIR POCKETS AND OWN INSATIABLE GREED!” What happened 2 inalienable rights? I want my rights dammit…not 2 be bossed around and have ppl bustin down my door.
Fascism now controls Amerika. Nothing new in the land of the sheep and the home of the slaves.
William S. Burroughs said it best, especially the part about prohibition and the war on drugs, people not being able to mind thier own business, how the USA is nothing but a nation of finks and the American dream is a LIE.
Thanksgiving Prayer
For John Dillinger, In hope he is still alive
Thanks for the wild turkey and the Passenger Pigeons, destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts
thanks for a Continent to despoil and poison —
thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and danger —
thanks for vast herds of bison to kill and skin, leaving the carcass to rot —
thanks for bounties on wolves and coyotes —
thanks for the AMERICAN DREAM to vulgarize and falsify until the bare lies shine through —
thanks for the KKK, for nigger-killing lawmen feeling their notches, for decent church-going women with their mean, pinched, bitter, evil faces —
thanks for “Kill a Queer for Christ” stickers —
thanks for laboratory AIDS —
thanks for Prohibition and the War Against Drugs —
thanks for a country where nobody is allowed to mind his own business —
thanks for a nation of finks — yes,
thanks for all the memories… all right, let’s see your arms… you always were a headache and you always were a bore —
thanks for the last and greatest betrayal of the last and greatest of human dreams.
here is the real thing. anyone who uses marijuana on a daily basis for pain or whatever they use it for, knows not to have their place smell like pot.
the issue with this comes with the cops. Now, I am not suggesting that all cops are corrupt, but all it takes is ONE to come up to your door and claim they smelled pot. At the end of the day, its their word against yours, and their word would turn up the evidence needed to support it
The Supreme Court { question }: Are you or are you NOT capable of making sound decisions? This is whe n the captain is releaved of duty until otherwise deemed fit by The People. What they suggest is dea-th or distruction. Need for immediate shut down and reconstruction on a very grand scale for our govt. Yes, i question the Supreme Courts mentality.
I posted something about the Supreme court and I guess it wasn’r like, by who ever reads these
Why do they think that when something that’s working needs fixing? this will keep them on bottom so they can continue to screw up. Supreme? not. Any fool can make a fools decision, but to make the right one is another matter entirely.
If we are serious about our rights as activists on this issue, it is time to change our behavior. Anyone serious about legalization should give up smoking, and organize. Some plans of action would be a coordinated boycott of alcohol-possibly main stream consumption in general. A mass “turn-in” at a metropolitan police station, swamping law enforcement resources is another action. I’m sure there are several actions, but what is key is a coordinated effort among many.
I read not long ago that a medical strain was developed that did not produce a high…so next up, produce a strain that does not produce an odor, or make it smell like something common.
Of course, keep active too. We must be doing well for such desperate measures. Too bad the same effort isn’t given to stopping child molesters.
Editor – With regard to your statements about Ron Paul… are you speaking for yourself or for NORML? Please clarify.
If NORML is telling readers not to support a candidate who vocally stands for many of the same ideals as NORML, I think it’s time to discontinue my own support of NORML.
As a writer, you’re welcome to your opinions and to voice them. Just realize that to many people, the concept of Ron Paul getting a major party nomination is no more outlandish than a serious debate and consideration of cannabis legal reform and legalization. Personally I support both, while firmly believing that I’ll see neither in my lifetime.
[Editor’s note: NORML supports Ron Paul, always has, more than 25 years. That does not change the fact that the man is not going to win the GOP nomination, and of course will not win the general election. It is not possible. This is not an opinion…it is a political fact.
NORML’s not telling people who to support for president, just stating the real world political landscape so as to disabuse the delusions of people who think that a long-suffering presidential candidate who can’t get any real traction in their own party is going to become president, and therefore magically legalize cannabis when they arrive in the oval office. Even if Paul was elected–pause for laughter–a majority of Congress’ 535 member still have to pass legislation that would amend the Controlled Substance Act/change existing treaties, etc…A president can’t end almost 75-years-old of federal law and court precedents with the swipe of an executive pen.
Indeed, some reformers may well want to support a Republican candidate who supports legalizing all drugs to mention such every blue moon as a candidate–who has no chance to win–Ron Paul is indeed a declared candidate, along with Gary Johnson. Currently, with the declared candidates from both major parties, these two no doubt are the most reform oriented for those who would treat the presidency as a single issue election].
the fact that police hear only a load of buckshot being chambered .should be a deterent to being the first home invader to come through the door .who in his right mind wants to be the first in a body bag
[Editor’s note: Tough guy…you’ll be the dead one when a dozen cops machine gun you. Want to deter a cop from coming into your home to enforce Cannabis Prohibition? Please contact your elected officials to end the Prohibition right now. Does this not make more sense?
That will be better for you and your loved ones than burying you after the cops are NOT deterred by ill-placed bravado.]
[Paul Armentano also responds: Perhaps this unfortunate story will provide some needed perspective regarding the notion of violently confronting police:
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_d7d979d4-f4fb-5603-af76-0bef206f8301.html
SWAT team fired 71 shots in raid
The Pima County Regional SWAT team fired 71 shots in seven seconds at a Tucson man they say pointed a gun at officers serving a search warrant at his home.
Jose Guerena, 26, a former Marine who served in Iraq twice, was holding an AR-15 rifle when he was killed, but he never fired a shot, the Sheriff’s Department said Monday after initially saying he had fired on officers during last week’s raid.]
Very very sad
CORY!!!
Canada is quickly turning into America junior, save yourself!! Don’t bother coming here, it is just more of the same!!! In fact more prisons are in the works. Canada sucks now as a result of the Harper majority. He didn’t even get 40% of the popular vote, which means 60% of Canadians voted for someone else!
I cannot donate enough to NORML.com and NORML.ca!!!
Americans want it for free. They want it fat free, they want it stress free,they want it drug free, and now they want it debut free. Our federal goverment lacks credibillity, and is 14.3 trillion dollars in debut.Our goverment does not have two red cents to rub together! The 4TH amendment is the law and they have broken it!
Get involved politically, but don’t vote for Ron Paul. Even though he is the ONLY candidate in ANY party to stste that he believes an adult should be able to do as he pleases with his own body. Voting for a candidate that believes this is the only way one will be elected. Existing laws are unconstitutional and need to be repealed, not “improved”. The office of the president has complete control on the matter of marijuana and any drug. Congress gave the power to the executive branch with the Controlled Substances Act. There is one man who has the say of what is scheduled and what is not. The law gives that man the power to add and remove as necessary. Congress does not have to pass anything for MJ or any other drug to become legal. Same with becoming illegal. The president is that man’s boss. The president appointed that man.
I find the editor hypocritical to tell people to NOT vote for the only candidate that supports full abolishment of prohibition, while telling them they SHOULD be politically active and improve on unconstitutional statutes.
[Editor’s note: NORML does not tell people who to vote for…only stating the political reality of the day. BTW…Paul is not the only candidate in the race who favors ending Cannabis Prohibition. Former NM governor Gary Johnson (who NORML also supports, just like Paul) favors ending Prohibition of all drugs.
However, is it not important to recognize that supporting two people who’re running for president who support legalizing all drugs does not equate to either of them having much or any chance at all to win the GOP nomination, and more importantly, a national election?]
I give up. Our leaders would rather lock up half the country than to allow us to live our lives in peace with our beloved plant.
So, I’m now becoming a drunk. I just can’t stand to live with the paranoia of getting busted any more 🙁
That said, given the chance, I’ll vote against every prohib that I am aware of! Fast approaching 60, I’m no longer confident that marijuana will be legal in my lifetime; and I was so sure back in the 70’s it would be legal by 1980…
I choose freedom
I posted a comment on here earlier mentioning 2nd amendment rights and you removed it, editor.
It may have been a bit rash but guess what…
TO ME, having my liberty completely stripped away is akin to DEATH.
The second amendment exists for a reason, despite what you seem to believe with your pacifist attitude.
To believe that it isn’t justified or “right” to defend your life by killing goes AGAINST THE NATURAL order. See where that leads you.
As for your political bias against Ron Paul. Who made you a seer of the future?? Hope is a powerful tool, don’t squash it you punk.
Course you will probably just remove this comment, proving your bias, just like all the rest.
[Editor’s note: Posting violent threats to police on NORML’s webpage will get deleted every time…]
just thnkin it would be funny to come up with a strain that smells like bacon when burned.
[Editor’s note: There have been numerous rescheduling lawsuits: Notably NORML vs DEA (1972-1994), Gettman, NORML, et al vs DEA (1998-present). To date, unfortunately, the courts have ruled in favor of the government, not the citizenry.]
I see one is still pending (1998-present), is this an ongoing case? Has any foundation been set on what accepted medical use is? With Congress and the President signing a law for medical marijuana in DC, would that not be proof the Congress and the President acknowledge acceptable medical use? If so, would that be enough to prove accepted medical use?
[Editor’s note: The Congress and the president did not approve DC’s medical cannabis law (which is still not in effect). The voters of DC in 1998 passed an initiative and in 2009 the DC City Council passed a bill.
The Congress could ban medical cannabis in DC tomorrow if it chooses to do so…
Currently, and unfortunately, the official position of the federal government is still that cannabis has no accepted medical value.]
would that be considered turpiniod customization?
This is soooooo scary
Holy Smokes. Kiss your free ass good-bye. This sounds like Nazi Germany in America. I can’t believe it’s true But, It’s true.
God Bless. See you arond on the 22?
Rev.sLeezy
Don’t tread on me.
i cant tell you how maney times i heard i cop say “i smell pot” just to search my pockets AND NOT find anything SO now its a free for all?????
Make sure you refine this post, it’s an important one, not just your run-of-the-mill NORML post. This post is a commentary on a historical precedence of great importance. Scholars of later ages will wonder how the United States devolved from a Republic to a fascist tyranny. The Supreme Court decisions ennumerated in your article represent several stepping stones. Therefore, this post is worth 100x more attention to detail than any other.
Aaron Houston is right. (Just watched ‘im on Cannabis Culture.) SCOTUS live in ivory towers, and the justices are clueless about how things play out at the time of the knock and how marijuana is ubiquitous. Yo, go incognito and get out to the common people. It’s decisions of this kind that will make you go down in history as wrong.
Anyway, this decision doesn’t change anything all that much. There are statistically too few cops to stop cannabis at the current rate, which doesn’t fluctuate all that much statistically when usage does go down. There’s the pendulum effect.
Everybody is hurting for money, all levels of government. Marijuana prohibition is a huge waste of money.
As soon as NYC stops wasting money on pot, you might as well open smokeeasies and underground clubs where cannabis is allowed, members only, new members by invitation and can be blackballed.
Really, once NYC gets into line, the eastern megalopolis puts the war on cannabis on two fronts. It would ease up the pressure the Feds are putting on the western front/west coast. It won’t be long before NYC will have great choices in hashish, better than the 70s.
omg its all turning to sh**.
I see no resolve on any of this, if it continuew I see nothing short of a modern american reveloutin in the future of this country.THESE ARE THE THINGS ARE FOREFATHERS FOUGHT AGINST.Whare are all the protests whares the movment taking place, certianly not here in floridia. Will no one stand with me aginst these atrocities, are you all so willing to givwe up and die.It is past time for this stand,I do not claim to b a leader but i am not so blind i cannt read the writing on the wall.Some one pleases help me end the oppression
This is why we need to get every State possible on the Ballot for 2012.
regardless of ne of it…tryin 2 get the ppl we want in office doesnt work…most elections r predetermined neways…ppl r only allowed 2 vote as a pacifism…nowadays, pretty much nothin we say or do matters in the governments eyes…it just gives them another reason 2 discriminate against smokers and against regular ppl…the legislative branch runs this country, not the executive branch(fall-guy) or the judicial branch(sell out)…the ppl in all of those branches of our government that r like us are forced 2 stand down…our best bet would be 2 boycott congress…if its “for the ppl, by the ppl” our government can listen 4 a change
This is insane….
LOL voting for Ron Paul isn’t going to change anything, we still have the Supreme Court and all those other entities to deal with. I’m not saying don’t vote for him I’m just noticing people see m to think he is a saviour for everything. A guy doesn’t become President and destroy the Fed gov’t overnight, especially when the other politicians in office want nothing to do with his plans.
To me this is still on us the people, depending on the President to change the marijuana laws is silly…learn the system.
By the gary johnson 2012 just wish it could really happen just dosnt have the the support I like his stand on the policies though.
Wow. It’s hard not to lose faith in everything at this point.
This is complete bullshit. We can’t feel safe in our own homes? All because weed is illegal because hemp could have taken over the timber industry. This is one step away from marshall law. Soon enough big brother will be in our homes. It’s only a matter of time before we are under a facist tyranny. I smoke weed everyday. Because it makes me feel great. Weed is less damaging to your body and less dangerous to your well-being than alcohol. Weed needs to be legalized. Taxes would go down. Crime rate would drop like a rock. I think there needs to be an uprising! Who’s with me? Everyone in SC send me an e-mail if you feel like something needs to change. joeytennant13@gmail.com
Its sad that Ron Paul has no chance to become President because he is the only candidate that would lift a finger to end prohobition. It amazed me when Obama supported prohibition more than Bush. Of course, he doesn’t SAY that.
Oh, the pigs!
How difficult is it to emigrate, and which country is the best to make home?
Sorry… just trying to get a better understanding of all of this. Although the President and Congress didn’t make the law allowing medical marijuana in DC, but I thought according to the Home Rule Act that passed in 1973 mandated that all DC laws passed by City Council has to be reviewed by Congress before it can become law. I assume that since it’s become law, despite not being in effect yet, that Congress had to review it and by the law passing, it was de facto approval from Congress? Guess not.
[Editor’s note: If the DC subcommittee, headed by Darrell Issa (R-CA), woke up today wanting to get rid of DC’s nascent medical cannabis laws, he largely can. Unfortunately for the residents DC is a unwilling puppet of the US Congress.]
I think the greatest weapon in the war is propaganda. I was a brainwashed zombie for years until I watched a funny video called “The Union” then did a little basic research to confirm the facts.
But now I find myself surrounded by zombies who refuse to listen to reason. The government has spent a trillion dollars over the past three and a half generations, so now almost everyone is brainwashed to some degree. And this is the reason why so few politicians are willing to do the right thing. Why would they put their careers on the line by contradicting the great lie?
Ok has anyone petitioned the Pope? rotflmao
“Whatever you do to the least of my brethren – you do to me.”
Obviously, the 4th amendment is no longer worth the hemp paper it’s written on. RIP Bill of Rights.
109. Eddie
You’re here, we’re her, the country is here. The only thing standing in the way of total bliss is a lousy government. So! trow dem bums out – be happy.
This is an abominable decision. Whether the simplistic slogan that ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’ is appropriate to circumstances such as these is actually debatable. In other words, the question of whether it is wrong to protect your right to non-violent actions that harm no-one is valid.
But that does not alter reality, which, given the current political atmosphere, ensures that violence will certainly backfire. No genuine progress can occur until a majority of the population supports legalization. The only way to achieve majority support is through education. Political change will follow that almost immediately.
I recognize that education in this connection faces tough challenges, because this decision is just part of overall increasing government repression. People have accepted repression, because they have traded freedom for the fantasy of safety, and now they are neither safe nor free. What is sad is that the government is their only adversary with respect to either of these.
Violence against the police or other representatives of the government, though it might have a certain appeal and actually might not be wrong, will not work.
“A guy doesn’t become President and destroy the Fed gov’t overnight.
Maybe you would like to reconsider that statement i.e. Obama.
This latest Supreme Court Decision marks the day Freedom died! I can’t believe they are so wrong. The second and fourth amendemnts are the cornerstones of America’s Freedom. Expect the second amendment to fall next. Fuck the Supreme Court. People are going to smoke marijuana regardless of what the law is. One more thing….Norml does not have the right to tell you who to vote for. Even a candidate that has no chance or is ultimately going to lose has ideas that need to be heard. I am tired of having to choose been bad and worse candidates. We have the right to express our opinions. That right will be gone pretty soon also.
Mark the Supreme court decision as the day Freedom in the USA died!
Face it NORML, the people lost. Expect 50 million users in jail, then what? Who will replace all those jobs if almost the whole country is in jail?
Can you answer this for me?
[Editor’s note: The police are not going to go from an outrageous 850,000 annual cannabis arrests to 50 million. Thankfully, the govt is not that efficient and hard working.]
I have considered what Albert Jiminez (#79) wrote.
What would happen if all the non-medical pot smokers quit smoking? Would the private jails have to shut down due to a lack of inmates? Or would “they” proclaim the drug war a success and prohibit something else? If cancer was on the rise during that time I’m sure Big Pharma would be happy.
What if only those that are activists quit? If they couldn’t arrest the activists would the courts go after free speech instead?
Now boycotting seems like a promising way to go. I know not everyone would be able to do it, but as a matter of principle, I think everyone that can boycott prescription painkillers and other drugs that would not put someone at serious risk should do so. Tell your doctor you are not going to take anything until a safer cannabis choice is available.
And that brings us to Alcohol, which could be safely given up. Not another drink until weed is legal too. People would have to tell them why. Same for tobacco.
Enough people followed along…profit margins shrank…who knows?
PS…My own current boycott is to not buy another new vehicle until I have an electric choice that I like. They are coming, though I doubt I had anything to do with it:)
WHEN DOES THIS LAW TAKE EFFECT?
I hate to get political, but I hope people realize that the conservative supreme court justices were appointed by, you guessed it, conservative presidents.
If you think Ron Paul is not a conservative, think again. For those who advocate for his election, remember that: 1. Legalization will begin at the state level 2. Ron Paul’s policies generally favor big business and wealthy people, and not the majority of citizens busted for possession 3. Ron Paul has served in Texas, a state with some of the most harsh marijuana penalties in the country, and he did nothing to change them.
Ask the presidential hopefuls if they agree to the U.S. Supreme Court decision about this matter.
It is proof that the Control Substance Act of 1970 overrides any Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
What does President Obama have to say about this? Let’s ask him!
I and many other Native Americans burn white sage bundles for cleansing our homes of negativity. My ex husband came to my home one day and was shocked at the smell coming out of my house. I do not smoke pot. He, however, was a weed connoisseur. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow because he knew I was a straight arrow. I explained I was smudging sage. He laughed and said “I was about to say you were smoking some of the good stuff!” So what? Is this ANOTHER excuse to shake down Native Americans and others who might do this kind of cleansing? Because burning sage like incense smells like weed to someone? I call TYRANNY on this … HARDCORE TYRANNY. I have smelled people in their yards burning leaves and it will sometimes smell like a concert hall. Gonna taser grandma for doing yard-work now?
(PAUL)
I have traveled the world over several timeS and let me tell you that while on paper the United States of America is a democracy in reality we are the most policed citizens of any free nation.
So NORML (Paul) its been awhile since we marched; if this does not call for it….what does?
That would be epic if they made a strain that smelled like bacon. Smelling like bacon would not be “probable cause” for a cannabis search.
Eat that, fascists
Horrible things are happening and these rulings are a big part of it. People need to know. Thanks for getting out the wordl.!
Gavin, it’s so great to hear something about you. I’m right where I was last time we saw each other and I’d love to see you when you’re up this direction. Keep in touch.
I see a lot of notes about how getting people elected who support change will make things better. I however see rich people making sure none of this happens beyond a local level. I realize shooting these obvious assholes who bust in unannounced will not help it but it sure as hell might be a persons only hope of satisfaction. If it is their destination to put a person in jail for life over a plant.
These law enforcers are just as criminal for supporting such barbarian law. They should know better. I don’t see them enforcing jay walking laws if they believe them pointless. Why is this any different. Evil has a form. That form is the police.
Editor’s note: Throw your vote away if you like…because a vote for Ron Paul is a symbolic gesture at best and a waste of one’s vote at worse.
NORML is non-partisan…not non-analytical…and pretty clearly Ron Paul is never going to win the GOP nomination and therefore never be elected president.
BTW, Paul will not win the GOP nomination because NORML has identified the obvious, it is because neither the GOP or the nation supports libertarian political candidates. Regrettably, they never have–and may never do so (based on polling, surveys and election results.)
———–
Well, you still didn’t answer the guy’s question. Who would you have him support in 2012?
The people that voted for Ron Paul threw their votes away no more than the people that voted for McCain (as he lost) or Obama (who has delivered more of the same big government policies on par with Bush, Clinton, Bush II, Reagan…). Unless, of course, one was looking for more of the same from our government, in which case it was a vote well spent.
I would argue that voting for Dr. Paul isn’t a throw-away vote because:
1) By voting for one candidate, no matter how few votes he gets, you deny all other candidates the opportunity for that vote. Supporting or not supporting an issue is a candidate’s opportunity cost, in a way.
2) Similar to NORML, Ron Paul’s campaign isn’t necessarily about winning it all right at this second. It’s about continuing and growing the movement. There was a time when cannabis legalization wasn’t polling very high. Maybe some people would’ve told the pro-cannabis crowd to stop wasting their time, money and effort on something that’s never, ever going to happen. However, the truly dedicated didn’t listen to that and pushed forward despite the concept of cannabis legalization’s unpopularity.
Even you wrote earlier that about .0001% of cannabis users actively fight for their liberation. Of course, this was just another way to say that the cannabis community isn’t very active in fighting for itself. However, given that it is a fairly small proportion of cannabis users, I could ask you why you’re bothering fighting for something that is an issue that the voting public at large doesn’t care about since you have so few allies. However, we know that, in fact, steps of varying degrees have been taken in the right direction on the state level in recent years.
That’s why supporting Dr. Paul isn’t wasting time, money or effort. It’s merely a building block.
[Editor’s note: Go ahead, waste your time, $ and energy on a presidential candidate who has zero chance of getting the GOP nomination or winning a national election. Worse things have been done to try to advance cannabis law reforms…]
Are we still innocent until proven guilty?
4/20/2013
The Lincoln Memorial
Washington, D.C.
March on Washington for Cannabis Law Reform
grassroots, the people of the 50 states
get congress’s attention
get C-span and national media coverage.
That’s the next step
It is true that bi getting involve in a war with the Government would be real bad. And they will stop you real quit. Those are the facts.It will be a police state But some time you do need to throw a monkey wrench in the pile. If the Republicans when all three house con/sen/ and w-h then we are in real big trouble.You can find any one address if they own a home threw your county appraisal district on your p.c. But be for you go off and start killing I really be live bi marking your cash bills with 4 20 on them would be a very good way to show how much money is spent for cannabis.
Thats crazy if they knock down my door by god they better get me a new door. In other means this is still violation of the 4th amendmant its our natural right to have some sort of privacy. This government is messed up as it is. Anarchy! Anarchy!
Editor is right about Ron Paul. There is no way the G.O.P will nominate some one who believe like he does. So pleas don’t wast your time or money on him. When you are elect to a office you have to do what your party wants or you will not get what you want. And it is true only 1 percent of the pro cannabis folks get in vole. But i do under stand why that is. If you show your support for the legalization of ( C-S-L ) You do open your self up for all sorts of problem as i have experience. Get involve YES But be aware of what you are doing and who will be wanting to bust you you.
until we break up big banks big oil and the insurance industry we the people don’t have chance we have to get on the same page and vote people out that don’t agree with us.
There’s some real pain coming for our country. When it starts hitting America’s pocketbooks, people will be crying for new sources of revenue. So I think the strategy of legalize and tax is a sound one.
Keep your chins up. I’ve been told that alcohol prohibition was still going strong only a year before it all fell apart.
A position piece from the Heart of Anslingerville in Pennsyltucky (Central PA)
We are stuck in an Iron age approach to an increasingly futile war on drugs. Punitive laws hammer away as the public gets nailed with the bill. Million dollar sentences are handed out as fast prison bars can be manufactured. It’s our own rusty belief system that keeps us chained to the problem.
It’s a known fact that some people like to alter their consciousness. Ronald K. Siegel, Ph.D, a psychopharmacologist at UCLA calls intoxication ‘The Fourth Drive”. He says the desire to alter ones consciousness at times is not much different than the desire for food, sleep, and sex.
Somehow we’ve managed to criminalize human nature.The fourth drive is very well known to advertisers who vigorously promote legal intoxication and addiction through the regular promotion of happy hour.
To make things worse we’ve outlawed some of the safer substances thus driving people into more dangerous ones. Siegel says we should help the public make informed decisions on healthy recreational drug use and make safer alternatives available.
The federal agencies have little credibility left after decades of disinformation about marijuana. Now when a serious threat like bath salts come along the public is slow to believe the dangers which in this case are truly terrifying. What other monstrous synthetic derivatives await us after the bath salts fad wears out?
We can learn a lot from indigenous cultural plant use. In South America the natives have been safely chewing cocoa leaves for over 5000 years. Naturally grown plants like marijuana, cocoa leaves and Salvia score low in toxicity, dependence and withdrawal. Nature’s intent is altered when the substances are refined into cocaine and Marinol both of which the FDA has approved for prescription use. If PA lawmakers are successful
in passing their new bill can a Salvia pill be far behind? Big pharma is waiting.
Addictive prescription opioids have emerged as a leading killer of unsuspecting pain patients and youth alike. With fast increasing tolerance being a factor in this class of drugs, it’s not uncommon to see prescriptions for 80mg pills of Oxycontin. Meanwhile it’s entirely possible for a petite first time user to overdose on 140MG of the stuff.
Pain relieving cannabis food products which have been proven to be safe and nontoxic could replace much of the poisonous but legal opiate market that the doctors have cornered.
Shouldn’t every public official be subject to random drug testing? Especially in a society where the proponents of more dangerous drugs seek to imprison those affiliated with less dangerous ones. After all what if the drug laws were based on harm regardless of the social status of the seller! Wouldn’t we see a decidedly different demographic in the prison population?
We saw how PA state Rep. Costa got off easy for his marijuana smoking outside of a Steeler game with his campaign manager last year! You emperors of hemp prohibition are wearing no clothes! The founding fathers would be astounded by our unconstitutional, exploitative, prejudiced, nonsensical laws on hemp and cannabis.
The same lawmakers who are strictly anti marijuana in public often go off and consume in private. The GOP house minority leader in Rhode Island, Robert Watson was recently demoted after his marijuana possession arrest. He made this disparaging comment to RI chamber members before his bust, “State lawmakers had their priorities right if you are a Guatemalan gay man who likes to gamble and smoke marijuana.”
PA Cong. Shuster like most US reps. got $10,000 from the Beer Wholesalers Association in 2010. This was an effort to counter the cannabis legalization movement in that election cycle. Go to opensecrets.org and see for yourself if your congressman got the payoff. This should be a wake up call to the true nature of this debate. If you want to see who your congressman is influenced by just take a look at the donors and the ones getting the benefits. It’s all there at open secrets.
In Pennsylvania we have pitifully low taxes on beer (8 cents per gallon of alcohol) which does little to offset the overall damage alcohol does to society. Education and prevention which should be a high priority are barely on the radar with the PLCB. Their web site is devoid of any modern day educational tools like YouTube videos. Much of the PLCB’s education budget of $2.5 million a year (with a staff of 25 on board) gets handed out in $15,000 chunks to police departments and colleges with little to show for. Now lawmakers are pushing the idea of hard liquor vending machines. After all that’s the business they’re in. Does anybody see a conflict of interest shaping up with regard to the second most popular recreational drug which is cannabis?
If you check the FBI files on Supreme Court Justice William Renquist you will find that he was addicted to the powerful tranquilizer Placidyl. This went on for over a decade which culminated in a delusional week long hospital stay for his withdrawal episode.
Rehnquist was adamantly anti-drug, pro-prohibition, and unsympathetic to drug users/addicts throughout the many Supreme Court decisions he authored or joined.
As Rush Limbaugh taught us, drug warriors are really only opposed to drugs for everyone else. A combination of hypocrisy, friends in high places, and moral superiority have led to the most shameful, intolerant, hypocritical of drug laws.
If we come clean about the benefits of Medical Marijuana won’t we have more credibility when talking about the dangers of cigarettes, alcohol, opioids, meth, cocaine, and all manner of counterfit synthetic drugs?
The last four American presidents used Marijuana and none of them will talk honestly about it. What does this indicate? A total lack of political courage to reduce the injustice and incalculable harm of our current drug laws.
Great political thinkers like George P. Shultz and William F. Buckley long ago went on the record regarding their disapproval of the drug war. Many misguided conservatives who’ve been opposed to medical marijuana have an indefensible position to confront at this time in history.
With nearly half of the population in jail, on probation or parole how much longer can this go on! If we impose mandatory drug testing on all of those in authority, do we run the risk of imploding the correctional establishment entirely?
It’s time to move Medical Marijuana out of the criminal class of drugs. Delivering this revenue stream to the taxpayers instead of to the black market is way overdue. It would take the wind out of the Mexican drug war and defund a large part of the domestic crime syndicates. This is a slam dunk solution that saves money, creates new tax revenue, and brings a whole new class of jobs into the light of day.
The first eastern states to begin supplying the medical marijuana industry using modern farming techniques will reap a huge windfall. We know that Kentucky with it’s whiskey backed politicians are going to be slow to adopt medical marijuana. Will Pennsylvania miss this opportunity or can it overcome the political inertia of it’s politicians?
The Governor of PA has just emerged with news of his successful back operation for stenosis. Roughly 25% of the population ends up with some form of this affliction by the age of 50. With state sponsored insurance the Governor is able to go the traditional medicine route of cutting, drilling, and medicating their way through the discomfort only to reach risky outcomes. But millions of Americans unable to afford the high cost of traditional medicine are prevented from self medicating with Cannabis.
Medical marijuana is a far more desirable pain medication containing anti inflamatory properties than the medical community can currently supply. Plus we could be growing it at home for free. Juxtapose that fact with traditional surgical alternatives and we have a huge impact on the healthcare costs of a generation.
The latest Pennsylvania Quinnipiac polls show medical marijuana approval at 59%. We’re surrounded by states that have already sanctioned it or have decriminalized it. The constituents are out in front of our politicians in this area. It’s time to admit we were wrong before and stand up to this worn out legacy of lies and prejudice. Unfortunately the courts are unable or unwilling to admit there’s a need for change.
One solution is to expose the gifts and contributions to judges and politicians through disclosure at sites like opensecrets.org and publicintegrity.org. Judge Thomas, we know about the set of high performance tires you recieved! All will be revealed in the coming days.
In a time of increasing transparency and scientific understanding we must continually update our laws to ensure the preservation of life and liberty for all.
this isn’t about weed, this is about globalization and the domination of the entire world by an international banking machinery monster.
::sigh::
Okay… I’m calm now. Look, by rights all of these people: the Supreme Court, the Cops who did the B&E and the rest should be put to horrible painful death.
Obviously we can’t do that. Obviously we can’t be violent… but we WANT to. A lot of us are frustrated with biding our time… some of us aren’t content to wait until we are grandparents before we can stop being afraid of the cops (you know– those “protectors” that have been statistically proven to have IQs less than 100).
So what do we do? What CAN we do? We have no power any more… “write your congressman” yeah– what is this? 1988? People still believe that matters? “Hmm… my constituents don’t want this? But I could just keep lining my pockets and accumulating political capital… screw the people!”
You can say vote them out. No REAL candidate ever courts us. We thought we had a chance w/Obama, but let’s face it: he screwed us too.-
Smoke pot illegally. Hide it from the cops. That’s your option. Be a criminal that isn’t a criminal. An exemplary criminal. When they violate your rights say “yes sir” and ask for more.
The last thing you should do is think you are a private citizen who actually has rights & protections under the law– you’re neither a government agency nor are you a corporation so you don’t mean ANYTHING.
Welcome to modern serfdom.
This morning I find myself thinking that trying to get cannabis laws changed is missing the bigger picture that affect all Americans. We should instead be focused on re-claiming our Constitution and Bill of Rights which seems to have been destroyed by our current crop of leadership in this country.
It is nothing less than an all out assault on our freedoms and cannabis is just a tool for them to use in this assault. That’s the way I see it anyway.
As far as I can tell, the powers that be have no intention of changing their ways just because we want them to or just because millions of web pages expose their treachery. Real action needs to be taken. Action that will force their hand in this matter. I don’t claim to know what that action is.
What we have been doing doesn’t seem to be working. Things seem to be getting worse and this article is a perfect example! I have never been so fearful for the American way of life as I am now!
fuck this bullshit, im moving to canada.
How does this new ruling effect states that have decriminalized possession. Especially massachusettes where a judge just recently ruled it against police officers in searching vehicles/cars when they smell cannabis? If the state says there is no crime just a civil offense, does this ruling apply at all?
If I am smoking in my house with possession under the criminal limit. Can officers now sweep my house for a civil infraction? Or does this only apply to states where cannabis possession is still a criminal offense?
Time to hit the gym and lawyer up.
I know of at least two species of plants that emit an odor similar to Cannabis…One is in the Rhododendron family and is a common landscaping plant. The other is some roadside weed that is really drought tolerant.
Ironically, the sheer diversity of Cannabis Phenolics leaves many plant species to be confused with Cannabis.
Here is a news bit about a Phlox plant (yet another plant yielding wafting odors) attracting the attention of our fine experts in botany and medicine (police)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1092230/How-garden-moss-smells-like-cannabis-attracted-police-raid-pensioners–local-drug-gang.html
02.01.11 Justice Department Memo.
All marijuana is illegal, and a “core priority” of the department is to disrupt and prosecute marijuana commerce. We will enforce the Control Substance Act vigorously against individuals and organizations that participate in manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, EVEN IF SUCH ACTIVITIES ARE PERMITTED UNDER STATE LAW [emphasis added].
Is there “anyone” out there that doesn’t take this as serious as a heart attack? Does Montana take this serious? You can’t, I repeat, can’t sluff this off, and call yourself am American in good standing.
this is a bunch of B.S. They can’t say Americia home of the free. prettey soon the people of the U.S. won’t have any wrights. The cops will be able to go and bust down doors on here say the way it’s going. HOGWASH!
This is not true for states where it is decriminalized unless they are federal officers. For instance recently in the MA supreme court they ruled that cops can not search a car that smells like marijuana because there is no probable cause of a criminal activity
149. Who said America was the “land of the free?” What it better be is the “home of the brave.” Damn! I haven’t heard that phrase for a long time. You’re right – it’s HOGWASH!
WE CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN.
TOO MANY THINGS GO ON BEHIND OUR BACKS.
WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION AS CITIZENS NOW.
goddamit were the ones who live here lets fucking rape these shitty laws.
its like animal farm all over again.
FUCK THE POLICE
#53B I guess they never heard of the incident in Atlanta when the 90 year old shot at the cops with a now knock warrant. The warrant was issued due to a paid informant and some Vice cops who had to produce.
She was shot and killed as she sat in your recliner. The officers where sentenced for some charges. Also, a lady in Pittsburgh killed an FBI agent in a raid. In Georgia, most folks have a gun, come cities have laws saying you have to have a gun. More cops are going to be killed.
Not only do other plants smell similar, bongstar420, but many strains of cannabis don’t even smell like what one would think cannabis to smell like.
So what smell is probable cause, then? The stereotypical “skunky” smell? In that case I can see a lot of raids happening if a skunk is in the neighborhood.
Well American Genesist, people are either too stuck in their routines or let fear overtake them to actually attempt to do anything. Or maybe they just realize that “writing their congressman” is essentially useless. I think this whole escalation in the war on drugs is opening up a lot of eyes to people who don’t care about cannabis, but know of its safety and benefits. More and more people are starting to distrust our government, which can only be a good thing when it is turning into a fascist regime.
Greetings in the name of the most high JAH! the way to handle this is, when the oinkers come a knocking… you have a pack of fire crackers at the ready, light them up and throw them at the door,when they start banging, you yell out: YOuR NOT TAKING ME A LIFE… you will never see so many oinkers run for there life and away from your door. then it turns into a stand off, you will have plenty of time to flush your stash then. and the local news media will show up for that. then you can let oinkers in to your clean house. you tell them that you did not want the oinkers to violate your rights, and you were just playing with the fire crackers when oinker showed up. i have seen this work very well… for sure! JAH BLESS… PEACE OUT….
Wow Norml / Editor
I was sure to pass this around my Social Networking sites. The only problem is sometimes I wonder what good does it really do (I know, I just party fouled). It just seems like this news is constantly coming out of the government and sometimes it seems so psychotic to me that people, even ones who are not involved with Rx MMj, aren’t more alarmed by our freedoms being stolen from us, on what feels like an everyday basis. I sometimes think it’s because it is such an everyday occurrence and intimidating thing to fight that most Americans are so used to hearing it and not doing anything, that it just now goes in one ear and out ther other and fail to understand the impact anymore. I have no idea how to change it if this is true and I am not one to want to blog about something and not do something about it but in this case I don’t know what else to do.. I cant just walk around slapping people in the face. 🙂 At this point I just hope someone else will agree and look more closely into that psychology of it just to ensure it’s not something that should be considered when we try to raise more awareness.
You know I was pretty unfamiliar with how the ACLU is also for Marijuana Reform till today. I am sure others have done this but I have just not heard of it.. but they make a copy of the letter that their attorneys write to the head of the D.O.J. I read their letter and was pretty impressed. “It basically tells the judge to be fair like your position requires and stop being partial on your beliefs about Rx MMj, and quite trying to intimidate the states or you will have us up your ass till we find someone to replace ya”.. Well not in exact words..I may have changed a few around. :). I was glad to see this. You know what would be the coolest thing in the world and likely very effective and a strong resource for both parties, is if NORML sent a couple guys to work with the ACLU’s Medical Marijuana Division. They have a lot of resources and I would think that with a good press release, it would drum up so more money and some huge free national publicity, (I know I would donate to that group) and maybe tip the politicians who are on the edge into our direction knowing they have some powerful backup in their corner.
Sorry I know the story is about the cops rights to knock down our doors, but C’mon…I knew they were playing dirty during Operation Head Hunter when they convicted everyone including Tommy Chong, of selling paraphernalia. They pretty much said it was paraphernalia (your guilty) now prove its for legal uses (your innocent). Same thing as here. You know the only way to counter this is to call up our good buddies and brothers in India for a favor.. We need all cheap weed smelling incense we can get, and give it away as bait, and start suing the hell out of every cop, city, county, state, and federal agency and person who enters. That would make them think twice!.. Like they say in Tae-Kwon-Doe..”When they push…PULL!” 🙂
I know that this is not about the subjet on hand and i under stand if this get edit out. I was seeing our P.B.S last night about the freedom riders. may be we need to start saving up and do the same thing. The summer would be best.And it may work out to have one in each state. That would cut the coast down and make it possible for alot of us to take part in this march to end prohibition on cannabis. This is some thing that can be done.
155,156. DRodman
Amen brother.
157. Rasta
Jah aka The Source have blessed Rastas and Genesists alike with his love and Sacrament. Of course Rastas and Genesists have the same legal defense. Rastas have led the way in religious use. Genesists will stand with Rastas in the halls of justice for their brethren.
158. RxMMj.com
“Well not in exact words..I may have changed a few around.”
Your words [from the heart] are as good – if not better – as anyone’s words – and – are shared by We the People.
I see NORML is censoring their posters, even if it complies with the site terms. Do you not want people to voice their opinions on this? Why even have a comments section then? Here’s my original post again:
NORML, in the last 4 years, I’ve converted from being a brainwashed D.A.R.E. program kid (back in the 90s) to being a full supporter of cannabis law reform, of NORML, and of MMJ in general. I’ve created Cannabis TV and spend hundreds of hours promoting the cause.
Unfortunately I find the “Editors notes” on this article and others like it, disgusting and very defeatist. If someone wants to support a Ron Paul, a person who stands up for the Constitution and personal and state rights, it’s their choice, and I see no reason why you have to get in the last word by talking shit by commenting on their posts. I know NORML was a supporter of Obama based on his claims to support MMJ and keep out of it, but we now know that those claims were total bullshit. Obama is a liar and a piece of garbage, a puppet of the Federal government. It doesn’t matter if someone wants Ron Paul, Tim Paulenty, or even an idiot like Palin. It’s their choice and I think you do a disservice by crushing the hopes of your own supporters.
I can equally say that NORML is wasting their time, not having accomplished your ultimate goal of cannabis legalization, but that would be a lie, an insult, and just ignorant. I think you’ve done the same here. So just STFU and let people voice who they support, you can continue not making an impact here in Oregon, while I and others like me, do more to spread the word than your organization, which seems to be marginally or minimally effective, if at all, in getting dispensaries or a legalization effort going here in Oregon. Screw you NORML, don’t be assholes like the old ignorant people you’re working against.
Look at what the people in Spain are doing.
This is what we must do.
Violence is most definitely NOT the answer. Any use of violence is guaranteed to bring a terrible backlash against us.
However we have officially reached the point where talk has not only become useless, it’s actually dragging us backwards.
The only remaining option is persistent and determined protests like oppressed people all over the world are now finding the courage to engage in.
The time has come to stop making requests and start making demands. We must do so peacefully but with the iron will of a people that is fed up with persecution and absolutely unwilling to suffer these indignities any longer.
Look to Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Bahrain and Spain; follow their example.
Let us stand up and join our oppressed brothers around the world in demanding freedom NOW.
# 125 wrote: I hate to get political, but I hope people realize that the conservative supreme court justices were appointed by, you guessed it, conservative presidents.
If you think Ron Paul is not a conservative, think again. For those who advocate for his election, remember that: 1. Legalization will begin at the state level 2. Ron Paul’s policies generally favor big business and wealthy people, and not the majority of citizens busted for possession 3. Ron Paul has served in Texas, a state with some of the most harsh marijuana penalties in the country, and he did nothing to change them.
————-
With regards to the Supreme Court decision, it was 8-1. Judges appointed by GOP presidents voted 5-0 while those appointed by Democrats voted 3-1. Don’t act as if it was a one-sided decision.
For your other points…
1. You’re right, it begins at the state level. Things will go a lot more smoothly if cannabis is removed from schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. Once that happens, any state can legalize it without fear of federal reprisals.
2. This is your typical scare tactic argument. Just like ‘terrorism’ is a scary word that conservatives use, ‘big business’ is a key catchphrase for liberals into scaring people. Then again, if opposing welfare programs for those that are fully able to work is pro big business, then I guess Ron Paul is pro big business. Did you know that ~47% of households owe no income tax? No wonder so many people vote Obama. There shouldn’t be an income tax. However, there is one and you basically have one part of the population voting themselves the other part of the population’s pie.
3. You’re right again, Texas does have some harsh weed penalties. Ron Paul, however, is a lawmaker at the federal level. Nothing he can do for Texas besides make recommendations. Can’t introduce legislation there. The best thing he can do in DC, short of full legalization, is removing cannabis from schedule I, something no other candidate, save Gary Johnson, would even consider doing.
Welcome to the world of the NEW WORLD ORDER and the 21ST CENTURY OF INQUISITION OF MARIJUANA USERS. Any excuse to create UNICORNS to insure our self well being and safety in the eyes of the FEDS of use of FDA approved drugs for the masses. Pretty soon they will be ramming probes up our asses to see if you ingested any marijuana infused products. Well their goes KNOCK KNOCK JOKES. I thought my home was supposed to be my castle and now were all living like RATS IN CAGE. Where in the fuck am i supposed to feel safe and protected now that our castles are turning more into civilian prisons and now places of entrapment. When the STORMTROOPERS come stormin in, the criminal element will start dressing up as cops and how are going to identify who is the STORMTROOPER and who is the crook. We are all suspects under the law whether you are law abiding or not. If they can’t find anything on you, they will try to create a situation where they can get you arrested all in the name of justice and a feather in their hat and a black mark on the indivdual to get you in the system like a bullseye on your back. As time goes on THE SUPREME COURT has acquired the ORWELLIAN MENTALITY under FEDERAL PRESSURE and now we are victims of the CONSTITUTION instead of citizens being protected. ONLY IN AMERIKA!
OK then, they’ve made it clear; they’ve laid their cards on the table. There is no more hope of compromise or negotiation. They’ve made it clear: smokers need a Homeland too.
Glad i don’t live in America .
Glad I’m in, California .
Well! – They [government in its entirety] just ain’t gonna do it us anymore- No! No!, No! Oh! they say they are going to do it to us – but – that’s just a whole bunch of hogwash from a bunch of hogs – and – their hog shit is falling on deaf ears. There’s “one thing’ that nobody [I mean no one] can “deal with” and that’s indifference [la, la, la]. You simply can’t talk to someone that can’t hear you – unless you can get a brick wall to listen. Let government play their silly ass little game – that’s all their good for anyway – game playing. Demand/mandate Scientific Conclusion – therein lies the truth that will fuck up their pissy little act.
I love to see all the hate for this, if only the justices could see this. Sounds to me like america is becoming a police dictatorship, soon we’ll be all out of rights and the gov will put chains on our necks and deem that constitutional. I say fuck the gov the only way for this to change is violence but potheads are to peaceful for that unfortunately, if their was riots in major cities this would definitely open peoples eyes. STOP giving your damn rights away people “Get up, stand up” put on a motherfucking show to tell the gov your dont give a fuck, I say burn down the damn DEA headquarters.
Editor…you’re comment on post 44 is a huge issue…I’m a part of the 0.0001% statistic….how do we protect people who want to have a voice on something so unfortunately frowned upon by ignorant people? It’s sad to say but mj is extremely controversial to the uniformed…jobs..lives..etc. can be jeopardized by supporting….does norml have an innovative approach to this?…I would love to not have to provide personal info to support reformation!
I feel sick to my stomach literally this is disgusting and breaks my heart…. we aren’t safe anywhere anymore ohh how the mighty have fallen… America what the hell has happened to us? we have “leaders” who knowingly and willingly Take away everything that once made this country the shining gem of the entire world. breaks my Damn heart.. what the hell are they going to do next? cant protect yourself from rouge cops in your own home anymore and seriously? when the cops come they can now break down your door and arrest you for farting in your home basicly. God Bless America For shame….
You need to secure yourselves and your possessions.Be smart.Gates, fences, walls, barbed wire , whatever it takes. Cameras. Make it harder for them to enter your property.
169. Matt
Unfortunately – you’re right! History has shown us over and over again that the only way to bring absolute change is to “kick some ass” – [1776]. That’s the sad truth. But – the fact of the matter is – it’s truly not about cannabis. Cannabis is a “false front” so they can shit can state sovereignty, and then the Constitution – if there is anything left of it. Joseph McCarthy was absolutely right. So was President Eisenhower – when he warned of “Creeping Tentacles of Communism.” It’s not about cannabis it’s about our country, our Constitution, and our freedom.
do not forget the silent victims here, the doors :). lots of BS. esp the part where the peyote can be used for religious purposes and not marijuana
This recent ruling by the Extreme Court is disappointing, but not really unexpected, considering the majority of Reich-Wing Authoritarians that sit on this Bench, in spite of their oaths of office. From the appointment / anointment of GW Bush in December 2000 as ‘Dictator in Chief’ to the ‘Citizen’s United’ ruling, to now this latest ruling regarding the flimsy veneer of LEO ‘exigent circumstance’ justifying warrant-less home invasion, the tyranny of the USA Fascistic Police State becomes more apparent every day.
I don’t see where living in any Medical MariJuana-legal State, or even in those States where small quantities of cannabis have become decriminalized to the extent of being fineable civil offenses provides any legal cover, or legal recourse, to prevent LEO warrant-less home invasions. The prospect of an increasing pattern of legalized extortion and civil / criminal forfeiture at the hands of corrupt LEOs employing Police State tactics is palatable.
A polite LEO knock at the door, with a calm civil inquiry at your home’s threshold is antithetical to the training and instincts of our modern-day Gestapo, formerly sworn ‘to serve and protect’ the civilian populace. Many of these testosterone-dripping Reich-Wing Authoritarians have itchy trigger fingers and are packing full-auto assault rifles.
The prospect of getting your front door broken down, and being detained in temporary ‘custody’, prone on the floor hands zip-tied behind you and a steel-toed jack-boot on your throat while your property is ransacked, and then ultimately issued a civil citation or released without charge seems like the very best-case outcome to these scenarios. I predict a large number of traumatic even tragic outcomes from the LEO raids that this Extreme Court decision will engender, and not merely the loss of one or more family pets either.
Ninety plus years of one prohibition after another, blatantly failed public policies, well illustrate that there is no regulation or control of contraband substances, but increased power to the Police State and profits for their favored corporate cronies still accrue. What was once a matter of personal freedom and liberty, at worse a medical issue between patient and doctor, has been turned into a criminal offense to be used as a baton to club the populace into abject submission, poverty, and slavery.
Regarding Medical MariJuana — what was once upon a time a per incident 99 plant threshold which the DEA held for filing Federal criminal charges has apparently been lowered under the Obama regime to a cumulative 99 plant count, effectively subjecting even Medical MariJuana patients themselves to the prospect of a Federal prison sentence in perhaps a couple of years, presuming a patients only having a modicum of cannabis-growing efficiency. The Obama regime hasn’t merely maintained the prohibition status quo — they have lowered the threshold in order to selectively increase Medical MariJuana persecutions, particularly of high-profile activists, no doubt to set examples in a direct response to counter the increasing anti-prohibition public sentiment. Obama’s DEA Police State is doing its best to keep those prisons full, and their coffers filled with the proceeds from asset forfeiture. The Reich-Wing Authoritarians that largely comprised the prohibitionists of the temperance leagues of 100+ years ago have devolved into today’s full-blown tyrannical Fascists.
The only viable solution that I can see is full Federal re-legalization of all currently illicit drugs, not just marijuana and especially not just Medical MariJuana — effectively ending the War on Drugs / War on People. One step forward in liberalization seems always to be followed by two steps backward into further repression — that is in the nature of unrestrained tyranny. I’m just not certain that We the People can get back to that historic point of restored freedoms from where we are now, short of a revolution at the ballot box. The current paradigm vis-a-vis our two mainstream political parties offers no such hope — both parties are chock-full of Reich-Wing Authoritarians or worse, outright Fascists.
This post is directed at the editor’s posts!…let me set you strait on some things..because you need this! If we as a people continue to allow police to hold so much power..many will suffer! If one bad person is not alive to continue their evil…I imagine hundreds will live. What does that mean? It means revolution is never peaceful! You act as if, if we ask real nice…perhaps they will legalize. I say screw “them”. You say “vote”..get involved…man…you are not very smart!..if voting could change anything it would be illegal!……listen people! Get your guns..I think cops need to be made examples of…I think we should kill those who wish to control another human!…I think your lame posts are what is wrong with this country! Scared little talking monkey!..your fear is obvious! Yes…kill cops…yes..assassinate so called leaders…yes get rid of bleeding hearts like yourself. Telling people a crock of crap! To hell with peace….rise….fight…and let these pigs know we are not going to allow this! Read the constitution ya idiot! It was set up the way it was to avoid this kinda government. I’m so disgusted with your posts I could just puke! I’m a cancer survivor in georgia…and guess what…over the weekend I was arrested for smoking my medicine in my home! And I am very angry…so much so…I’m leaving my job and putting all my money and all I own to eradicate these scum like any kinda termite or roach! Vote…get involved? You sound like an idiot man! Its not 1969 anymore! Get with it…or get left behind with the pigs and the controllers. I don’t like the things you wrote and I don’t like the mindset you are pushing on people. Never forget…they got the guns bit we got the numbers…! Get it? Well…? Stupid hippie!
Again I posted something, I think whoever reads this has a closed mind and this is unfair. You want our opinions, only if you like them~!!!!
Well, good thing I carry some extremely potent mace with a 30 ft radius on me at all times when Im in my home. Anyone forces their way through that door without an invite, They’re gonna be sorry. All of them. 🙂 Can people even shoot straight with mace in their eyes?
If we were talking about anything else but cannabis – would they have made the same ruling? If they smelled a pie baking – would they storm the kitchen.
It’s just but one more ingredient in their oppressive pie. They want their pie to be the only pie in the bakery. God love their pointed little heads.
Here in Denver, Co. These cops will bust your door down shoot your dog, and possibly you as well, all in the name of a good time. This decision just makes it even easier for them.
I know I sure as hell don’t feel safe in my own home and going to sleep at night. Someone has the right to break in your home what if they mistaken you not every police officer is right come on look at our criminal justice system there are innocent people serving time or on death row.
leglize it already. We are tired of waiting for this goverment to make up there mind?
Sounds of “scurrying” really? People are being thought of as rodents and or insects when inside their own homes?
god bless Iran, north Korea, china, Sudan and the us of a!! we are all just like sister countries!! man, I’m so glad to finally live in a country where my rights are ignored! that’s all I have ever dreamed of!
I thought we were the leader of the “Free” World! We need freedom, liberty and justice not illegal searches!
Sooo why dont we just openly call for the abolishment of our government? Declaration of independence. Also im pretty sure its in our constitution that the gov cannot eradicate any form of life. So why dont we all just start planting random M/J plants in forrests and do our part to reestablish a free reproducing population of plants on our soil?
189. santi
“Americans” – believe in, and would fight and die for, our country, and our Constitution. We’re proud to be Americans. The problem is – there’s some bad apples in the bunch. We just need to give those apples back to the witch – or – make apple sauce out of all of them.
Unfathomable. Our founding fathers would be turning in their graves. How dare the government and police proclaim to protect the innocent.
Adding insult to injury for total, blatant, and apathetic disregard to the Fourth Amendment, they have connected it to marijuana. They have ruled against the Fourth Amendment… for marijuana, a plant that happens to have an intoxicating effect.
I actually started to like Alito after he was the sole dissenter of Snyder vs. Phelps (although, curiously, he was against the teenager in Fredericks v. Morse). It’s starting to look like one big theatrical performance. I want to trust Justice Ginsburg, but it is hard to (she was in favor of those sub-human maggots from Westboro Church after all). Now Alito and all the other Justices are virtual shams in my book. The Supreme Court itself is unconstitutional. I mean, think about it. 5 out of 9 unelected officials, appointed for life, impose their social mores on the country.
Wake up, America. If we don’t stop this, America will truly turn to a fascist state, for it is well on its way.
To the Editor:
I believe you are making many mistakes in your posts. You do not sound like someone who is about our Rights, our Freedoms, or even about Voting! You have a disregard for peoples “hopes” of Ron Paul winning the 2012 election. Instead of saying “Vote and make it happen!”, you demoralize them, and make them feel as if it could never happen.
It can never happen because of people like you. If everyone in the Country thinks he can’t become President, then of course he can’t. Regardless if you feel he will “NEVER” become President, that is not an opinion you should put onto everyone. You are instigating IGNORANCE and the flight from the American Dream. How is voting for Ron Paul any different then Voting for Marijuana Laws? You have a strict stance on “YOU MUST VOTE”, but only regarding Marijuana? That’s very hypocritical of you. You said so yourself, in prior posts, that if no one votes, then nothing happens. Same goes for Ron Paul, so why bad mouth his campaign with negativity?
Lastly, if Ignorance is allowed to rule, then lets all just keep going to the polls and “hoping” for some change, like you are insisting. I agree with many people above when I say, the CONSTITUTION was designed so these situations could NOT happen, not by Vote, but by REVOLUTION. Voting is a failed cause. Want me to quote Thomas Jefferson, or John Adams, or Benjamin Franklin on that issue? If you want to hide in your bunker shouting “Vote and lets have a peaceful resolution”, then you may do so the entire time the Government continues to step over your rights, your liberties, your freedoms! We, as the American People, SHOULD NOT allow this to happen. The defamation of the Constitution is against our Freedoms, against our Liberties.
Am I saying everyone go out and grab a gun and go crazy? Absolutely not. But what I am saying is, we must prepare for Revolution. Period.
We have an Administration that has a Information Czar who wants the 1st amendment destroyed, as well as the 2nd. We have Superior Courts over turning both the 2nd and 4th amendments. We have a Police State with a “detain first, ask question last” mentality. We have a Country polluted by fascist war mongering, Federal Banks, and instilling Elite Morality onto everyone else.
If you believe “VOTING” can change all of that, go right ahead and do that. But it is ignorant. It is what is ripping this country apart. We have people fighting for Freedom, but only HALF-ASSED (like yourself), then people who want complete freedom, people who hate freedom, people who are complacent, and people who are lazy.
You spouted out .001% early about something regarding Revolution and Marijuana Smokers, which is really a number not generated in any “serious” study. This number, however, is a “factual” number, during the AMERICAN REVOLUTION only 3% of AMERICA stood up against the King, and started the Revolution. Do you think the ENTIRE country wanted a change? Wanted a new government, a new “King”? NO. No one wanted that and everyone was “afraid” of that. People acted just like how you are acting, like Alexander Hamilton, you want a LITTLE but not the WHOLE. Its sick.
The same situation applies to now. If you are going to fight for Liberty, then Fight for Liberty.
[Editor’s note: Thanks for all the useless verbiage. None of which changes the fact ol’ Ron Paul is not going to win the GOP nomination (currently even a milk toast/dye his hair jet black GOPer like Romney is polling 2-3 times Paul’s numbers)…he will not be elected president on the LP ticket…why be politically delusional in advocating for him as president when he is too old and too unelectable?
Why should citizens who favor cannabis law reform waste time and money trying to get the unelectable elected?! Does this make sense?
Regrettably, even another longtime NORML supporter Gary Johnson is polling so low he is not invited to CNN’s recent debate.
While it would bode well for cannabis law reform, the fact is clear: The American public is not Libertarian and does not historically support libertarian candidates. NORML should not be faulted for pointing out the obvious.]
Again the editor defends his position about throwing away your vote.
This is getting a bit absurd.
You should all support and vote for the man or woman that you want to lead this country “period”.
don’t allow anyone to influence you otherwise!!!!!
[Editor’s note: Indeed, people can vote for whomever they want…just don’t hype on NORML’s webpage non-viable presidential candidates…i.e., from Ron Paul to Dennis Kucinich…otherwise, you might as well as be advocating for others to get excited about electing to the office of US president the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Tinkerbell, Santa Claus, etc…]
To Editor:
There’s the problem. No one is asking your “guidance” or for NORML to get involved in advocating Ron Paul. What is in question, is your obvious lack of principals regarding Freedom and the positions we have to take to attain that Freedom. It is not something respectable to take such an obvious negative stance on the issue, like you are doing. Like I said, I know Ron Paul probably will not win. But, it is because of people like you, not JUST you, but everyone in America LIKE you. “If it can’t happen, what is the point?” Once again, people had your EXACT same mentality regarding Marijuana 20 years ago, now everything is different. Yet you support that, but not Ron Paul because its “hopeless and unreal”.
Hope for a new future and NEVER stop trying for that future because of DESPAIR for the unattainable. If we had no people striving for the unattainable, we would have NOTHING.
So, do not make it an issue about “NORML supporting Ron Paul” because it never was that, you turned it into that when you realized that your asinine responses were not going over very well, therefore the best thing to do, psychologically, is make yourself the Defendant.
The man who made the first statement about Ron Paul was justified in doing so. If Ron Paul WAS President, things like our Amendments wouldn’t be getting trampled on. So, why shun a man for speaking for Liberty, and speaking for a candidate of Liberty? It is YOU who is immersed within the realms of fantasy.
[Editor’s note: The real problem here is, and always has been re Paul 1) Ron Paul is too old to be president and 2) folks who project their political wants onto candidates who’ll NEVER get elected president…so why waste anybody’s time with pie-in-the-sky?!
You might as well spend your time and $ trying to get Smokey the Bear elected…and if you advocated that here you’d get called out too for wasting everyone’s time for promoting a losing political strategy to end Cannabis Prohibition vis a vis the executive branch.]
US THE PEOPLE ARE SLOWLY LOSING OUR RIGHTS, THE GOVERMENT IS PICKING THEM AWAYS FROM US …COMING DOWN TO MARSALL LAW IN THE YEARS TO COME IF WE DONT STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS
Warrantless searches should be of no suprise. In Greene VS California, the Supreme Court ruled that the police could use the discarded trash on the street to get a warrant…I got a dose of that in TN in 03. Warrant no warrant I think enough is enough. Congress should put an end to this once and for all. HR 1983,4 & 5 might do the trick. We need to elect a congress that will pledge to vote for the end of the insanity associated with the Drug War. I would be perfectly happy being allowed to grow my own medicine or the ability to log onto the net and purchase it for delivery in the US Mail. We need to wake up before the 2.3 million prisoners in US jails swells to 3 or 4 million. My conclusion is that nothing is going to change as long as big pharma, the private jail lobby and a supreme court headed by Roberts have their way only a complete overhaul of current law will stop this insanity. America needs to wake up and vote for a congress that will finally do the right thing. Our history is pretty dismal but maybe the arab spring might wake up a few of our elected officials. What is it going to take for this country to get a grip on reality. These folks in congress have us in debt to the tune of 45K for every man worman and child. That is a thousand more than the Greeks! We are where we are becuase of the decisions made so far. When we are ready for change we must decide to elect people that will be better stewards of this great country. If we are not careful we will be still talking about this fourty years from now. I hope not.
what if you stayed completely still and wait for them to leave?
I am safe. There truly is sanctity in numbers.
I suggest you all to be just like me.
If you live in an apartment complex or duplex, and if there is as much as a sound emanating from your door, with the smell of marijuana in the air, your most base rights will dissipate faster than the “marijuana” that was supposedly around.
It is a scientific fact: PIGS CAN SMELL FOR TRUFFLES, NOT MUCH MORE.
@nunya:
They’d just pretend they heard evidence being destroyed and kick your door down anyway.
Where in the Constitution does it say the Supreme Court has the right to rule on the constitutionality of FEDERAL law. It does not. Per the 10th amendment it is reserved to the States or the people. Amending the constitution is, likewise, left to the legislative branches (Federal then State) or the states by constitutional convention!
All arguments to the contrary are nothing more than Owellian Newspeak!
“To function as the founders intended, our republic requires that “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
~ THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to William Stephens Smith, November 13, 1787.
“The only dead bodies from marijuana are in the prisons and at the hands of the police.” ~ Jack Herer
Do you think the Trillion Dollar Drug War has played a role in running your Medicare/Medcaid thru the Congressional meat grinder?” Yes or No?
“With over 850,000 Americans arrested in 2010, for marijuana charges alone, and tens of billions of tax dollars being spent locking up non-violent marijuana users, isn’t it time we regulate and tax marijuana?”
PLEASE ASK YOUR CONGRESS PERSON TO READ THIS AND COMMENT.
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, and a new era of corruption will arise in high places until all the wealth is aggregated into a few hands and the republic is destroyed.
Interesting justification. I like to make out the print IMDB
What if a cop knocks, causing your dogs to go nuts but you remain silent and still, can he/she argue the dogs barking as suspicious noise? And what about the reduction of noise after a knock, like you turn your tv down? He/she says suspicious but you could argue that the silence confirms no scurrying..
a cop can do whatever he/she wants to, up to and including kill you. as i see it , cops are not making any friends out there. its only becoming an arms race..
Man cops are docks let us smoke our pot and leave us the Fuck aline
The smell of Marijuana is not justification for a warrantless entry. You must have a criminal lawyer to represent you to the judge. Not a court appointed one, a real one. Judges wont listen to anybody else. If you smoke weed I suggest retaining a NORML approved lawyer BEFORE you need one. As soon as you are detained and read your rights, ask to see your lawyer and keep your mouth shut.
Smoke pot, stay free.
Cops do as they please, the judge must follow the law.
i just got charged with possession marijuana and paraphanilia…….here the story ….they said a dog stopped at my door….they woke me up knocking on door and i answered ….they asked to search i said no do u have a warrant they said no….i then attempted to shut my door…..they put there foot n my door to prevent this….they said i would have to wait outside with them while a search warrant was being made….it took 2 hours me with no shirt n shoes…even if the dog…im guessing gives probably cause why didnt they show up with the dog and a search warrant?…..why did i have to wait 2 hours? if there was no warrant
and if the dog can smell n this case less than a quarter joint….say 40 feet away from the door….i havent smoked for 3 days i find it hard to beleave and if so …would it be discrimination if they didnt take the dog threw the entire apartment complex?….what is the probably cauze…..i guess i just need a house my lease said nothing bout random dog screening
I wouldn’t mind Putin taking over at this point.
the police get paid from your taxes, someone controls that budget, county commissioners, city elders.. someone can cut that budget if they wish… befriend your county or city government. convince them that we need to stop eating our young….
I live in indiana. One night me and a group of friends were in a garage with the door wide open in subdivision passing around 2 huge joints and a blunt when out of nowhere a voice rang out saying “you guys are gonna turn the music down and close this door and quiet this party down so the neighbors don’t complain again, right”? I turn around and behold, 2 police officers are standing in the garage entry with a wall of refer smoke slaming in thier faces. We all said “yes sir”! They both said thank you and be safe, turned and walked away.