Controlling the Herd
Man’s Mug Shot Perfectly Depicts “Seriousness” of his “Crimes”
Are the government and its agents authorized – or even qualified – to tell you how to run your life, what you can ingest, or how to manage your health?
The photo above is of an actual mug shot.
It perfectly depicts the absurdity of arrests for possession of marijuana and other victimless “crimes”.
Selket Taylor, the man in the photo, was pulled over for using his cellphone while driving in Hampstead, New Hampshire, on Monday.
During the stop, police noticed that – gasp! – Taylor, age 27, had a bag of the devil’s weed marijuana in his cup holder.
Possession of recreational cannabis is illegal in NH. The laws in that state are quite strict: possession of any amount for personal use is a misdemeanor, carries a maximum fine of $350, and can result in up to a year in jail.
That’s right – get caught in NH with a plant that has known medicinal qualities, and you’ll likely be caged and extorted.
Let that sink in.
If you are caught with less than one ounce of cannabis in NH and officers believe you intend to sell it, that’s a felony charge – even for first-time offenses – and you can be caged for up to three years and/or fined up to $25,000! Get caught with more than one ounce, and you will face serious jail time and very hefty fines (up to $300,000).
Back to Taylor’s story.
He has been charged with possession of a controlled drug, transporting a controlled drug in a motor vehicle, use of an electronic mobile device, and felony drug possession. Taylor’s car was seized, and more marijuana was found, along with a bag of unidentified white pills.
Can someone tell me who the victim is in any of those “crimes”? (Hint: there isn’t one.)
No victim, no crime.
Hampstead police posted about the arrest – calling it “Notable” – on their Facebook page on Monday. Their message states “…as a public service announcement — it is illegal to possess recreational marijuana in New Hampshire, even if you only ‘smoke it in Massachusetts.’”
During the stop, Taylor told police he was going to use his cannabis in neighboring MA, where the laws regarding possession are much more lenient. There, possession of up to one ounce is legal. If you are caught with more than one ounce in MA, you can be charged with a misdemeanor, could serve some jail time, and/or could pay a fine of up to $2000.00.
Speaking of ounces, do police carry around scales so they can weigh marijuana during a bust? Or, do they just eyeball it and guess? Do they count all of the parts of the plant as ounces, or just the usable parts? What if a person who gets pulled over has a scale in their vehicle? Would that be considered paraphernalia? Or could the person say they wanted to make sure they never carry more than the “legal” amount, so they keep a scale handy to help them remain compliant with the law?
But I digress.
In eight states and Washington, D.C., recreational use of marijuana is legal. Thirteen states have decriminalized recreational use. As of April 2017, 29 states and DC have legalized medical marijuana.
Going from legal to illegal with harsh penalties is just a state border away.
If you remain skeptical the incredible medicinal properties of cannabis, consider this: your body has an endogenous cannabinoid system. It was designed to benefit from the use of cannabis.
Endocannabinoids and their receptors are found throughout the body: in the brain, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells. In each tissue, the cannabinoid system performs different tasks, but the goal is always the same: homeostasis, the maintenance of a stable internal environment despite fluctuations in the external environment.
A quick search of PubMed using the term “endocannabinoid” yields 8,099 published studies. A search for “cannabis” yields 16,452.
Despite higher public support than ever for legalized cannabis and a growing body of research that shows the incredible medicinal value of the plant, some “authorities” just can’t seem to grasp that the time to end the war on drugs is long overdue. Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon – if ever.
The biggest danger associated with marijuana is getting caught with it.
The War on Drugs has created a police state that is far more dangerous than the drugs themselves.
Prohibition does not work – it never has, and it never will.
If you believe that people like Taylor should be arrested for possession of cannabis, ask yourself this question:
Are the government and its agents authorized – or even qualified – to tell you how to run your life, what you can ingest, or how to manage your health?
Laws restricting what individuals can put into their bodies are unethical – not to mention absolutely tyrannical.
“I think it can be shown that the law makes ten criminals where it restrains one.” – Voltairine de Cleyre
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