Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

[cynical]

There's another reason law enforcement will resist legalization of marijuana that is related. Coming in from Arkansas this afternoon about 5:00 I passed two Rogers Co. Sheriff cars who had pulled over a nice red Mercedes and were busy conducting a search of the trunk. Assuming they find something there, the car is a nice prize.

I have spoken with several police officers, who I consider good friends, who have made this exact point. They'd be fine if pot was legal, they don't really see a danger and it usually isn't worth their time dealing with it. But it is an easy gateway to bust people for other things. Not all pot users are into more dangerous things, but almost everyone who is into more dangerous things is a pot user...

[patric]

There's another reason law enforcement will resist legalization of marijuana that is related. Coming in from Arkansas this afternoon about 5:00 I passed two Rogers Co. Sheriff cars who had pulled over a nice red Mercedes and were busy conducting a search of the trunk. Assuming they find something there, the car is a nice prize.

All they have to do is find cash, and label it "possession of drug proceeds."

http://www.cato.org/blog/oklahoma-sheriff-indicted-extortion-blames-civil-forfeiture-reformers

[Conan71]

All they have to do is find cash, and label it "possession of drug proceeds."

http://www.cato.org/blog/oklahoma-sheriff-indicted-extortion-blames-civil-forfeiture-reformers

Smear a little bacon grease on the money so the dog will hit on it?

[Townsend]

Smear a little bacon grease on the money so the dog will hit on it?

Just takes a hand signal...

[patric]

Just takes a hand signal...

"Just before the dog alerts, you can hear a change in the tone of the handler's voice. That's troubling. I don't know anything about this particular handler, but that's often an indication of a handler that's cuing a response." In other words, it's indicative of a handler instructing the dog to alert, not waiting to see whether the dog will alert.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/drug-search-trekies-stopped-searched-illinois_n_1364087.html

It can be any combination of hand or vocal cues.  Yes, drug dogs have "back doors" ;-)

[cannon_fodder]

This may come as a shock... but drug dogs aren't always that effective. Many are just "trick ponies" to be able to search more. Some have many more false positives than accurate finds. A study in Illinois found that drug dogs alerts only actually found drugs 27% of the time.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has ruled that as long as a dog has a piece of paper saying it is a certified drug dog, it is infallible. Even if the defense can prove that the department knew the dog had more false positives than actual finds (in training records), it doesn't matter. As long as the dog gives a signal known to its handler as a positive signal, there is probably cause for a search. There are plenty of videos of police working real hard to get their dog to give a cue and immediately rewarding a cue (before confirming a positive, teaching the dog false cues are as good as real ones).

So why in the hell would a department want a well trained dog? Just get one that hits on everything and you can search whatever you want. Some departments have a great method for tracking the success of their dogs in the field: if a dog has a positive find you record it, if a dog hits a false positive there is no procedure for logging it. PERFECTION!

(I should add I have NO knowledge of how well TPD or TCSO dogs do. Some departments have very tough standards, others...not so much)

[patric]

Walgreens, the largest drug retailing chain in the U.S. with more than 8,000 stores in all 50 states, is now tackling the subject of medical marijuana. Right above a recipe for "all natural fruit roll-ups" on Walgreens' Tumblr is the headline: "What is medical marijuana?" And its tone is surprisingly sane and straightforward, especially for one of the largest pharmacies in the world.

Well its about time someone got serious about fruit roll-ups.
http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/04/28/walgreens-medical-marijuana/52931/







http://www.marketwatch.com/story/walgreens-wants-to-talk-weed-2016-04-29

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/walgreens-medical-marijuana_us_5724dcabe4b0f309baf107c7

[TeeDub]

Pretty sure when I was in Vegas in January, the Walgreen's on Fremont street had a big green cross outside.   

Of course, I couldn't verify marijuana sales, but that's what the green cross meant in Colorado when I was last there, it may mean something different in Las Vegas.

[RecycleMichael]

The green cross is a European symbol indicating a pharmacy. Fremont Street has many international visitors.

[patric]

AAA Finds No Basis for Equating THC Blood Levels With Driver Impairment
http://reason.com/blog/2016/05/10/aaa-finds-no-basis-for-equating-thc-leve

[patric]

Decriminalization is winning the War on Drugs

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/26/federal-marijuana-smuggling-is-declining-in-the-era-of-legal-weed/

[heironymouspasparagus]

One of the kids went to WA state last week and visited a marijuana store.  Sounded like a great adventure!!   I gotta come up with an excuse to get the boss to send me to WA !!

[rebound]

One of the kids went to WA state last week and visited a marijuana store.  Sounded like a great adventure!!   I gotta come up with an excuse to get the boss to send me to WA !!

Going to CO Thursday for a few days hiking and camping.   I'm going to have a look at the stores there as well.  Should be interesting.

[patric]

Going to CO Thursday for a few days hiking and camping.   I'm going to have a look at the stores there as well.  Should be interesting.

Be careful if you stand too close to a local.   If you are in an accident weeks after you get back to Oklahoma, metabolites could still be in your blood or hair and you might go to jail. 

[Conan71]

Be careful if you stand too close to a local.   If you are in an accident weeks after you get back to Oklahoma, metabolites could still be in your blood or hair and you might go to jail. 

Or at the very least they will seize that brick of $100 bills under your seat.