The 300 pound gorilla and the War on Legal Pot

Maxinquaye · Jul 5, 2012

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/l...-Excessive-Force-Investigation-161366395.html

A raid on a marijuana dispensary in Long Beach was caught on video showing officers smashing surveillance cameras and stepping on a suspect, moves that prompted accusations against the officers of excessive force.

More than a dozen police raided THC Downtown Collective in the 300 block of Atlantic Boulevard (map) on June 19, officials said. The video was posted to YouTube by user "Long Beach Raids" on July 1. Officials said they learned about the video on July 3.

The two-minute-long video (below) opens to show a man surrendering to police, three of whom surround him while two put him in handcuffs.

Or, from before 2008...

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obamas-war-on-pot-20120216

Back when he was running for president in 2008, Barack Obama insisted that medical marijuana was an issue best left to state and local governments. "I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue," he vowed, promising an end to the Bush administration's high-profile raids on providers of medical pot, which is legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

But over the past year, the Obama administration has quietly unleashed a multi*agency crackdown on medical cannabis that goes far beyond anything undertaken by George W. Bush. The feds are busting growers who operate in full compliance with state laws, vowing to seize the property of anyone who dares to even rent to legal pot dispensaries, and threatening to imprison state employees responsible for regulating medical marijuana. With more than 100 raids on pot dispensaries during his first three years, Obama is now on pace to exceed Bush's record for medical-marijuana busts. "There's no question that Obama's the worst president on medical marijuana," says Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "He's gone from first to worst."

So much for leaving it to the states, I guess. Is it any wonder the youth vote looks like they're going to stay at home? These were local cops, not federal ones, and apparently they were doing this because of a permit violation. But with the "war on legal pot" that weren't supposed to happen, this will happen.

Chrissy · Jul 5, 2012

The abuse of the suspect is what bothers me the most. The 300-pound cop stepped on his neck and then put all his weight on him to cuff him... even though the suspect was perfectly docile and unresisting, hands up, on his knees, and on the ground. Then the cops busted the store's survellience cameras.

I suppose these were just "safety measures" though.

Diana Hignutt · Jul 5, 2012

When cops act like thugs...

The War on Law-Abiding People is here.

Xelebes · Jul 5, 2012

Chrissy said:
The abuse of the suspect is what bothers me the most. The 300-pound cop stepped on his neck and then put all his weight on him to cuff him... even though the suspect was perfectly docile and unresisting, hands up, on his knees, and on the ground. Then the cops busted the store's survellience cameras.

I suppose these were just "safety measures" though.

I take it the cops have no idea how security cameras work - you destroy the recorder, not the camera if you want to remove evidence or prevent the recording of evidence.

little_e · Jul 5, 2012

Those of you with more experience than me, was it always like this? Or is it getting worse? (Or, much as it pains me to ask, better?)

The 300 pound gorilla and the War on Legal Pot

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

Chrissy

Bright and Early for the Daily Race

Diana Hignutt

Very Tired

Xelebes

Delerium ex Ennui

little_e

Trust: that most precious coin.