Police Cannot Identify Good Marijuana
Via DrugWarRant, hereâs another typical case of police wildly exaggerating the value of a marijuana seizure:
Charleston Police earn bonus points here for claiming the potâs odor would "overpower" reporters, even though no one in the history of the world has ever gotten a buzz from standing near some marijuana.
Moreover, photographs reveal the pot to be ugly, brown and stemmy. It was shipped from Arizona, indicating that it is exactly the sort of ubiquitous Mexican commercial garbage that its appearance suggests. I doubt itâs worth even half of the $2 million pricetag proposed by police.
Again and again, we find law-enforcement recklessly exaggerating marijuana prices to the point of absurdity. In fairness, prices shift dramatically depending on quality, but it is precisely because police often lack the subtle ability to judge marijuana quality that they so often issue such laughable claims.
As Iâve explained before, exaggerating the value of marijuana encourages people to grow and sell marijuana.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - North Charleston police have scored a major pot bust, seizing 500 pounds of marijuana with a street value of more than $2 million.
â¦
Police said there was so much marijuana they couldn't let reporters see it because the smell would overpower them. They instead showed pictures of the haul.
Charleston Police earn bonus points here for claiming the potâs odor would "overpower" reporters, even though no one in the history of the world has ever gotten a buzz from standing near some marijuana.
Moreover, photographs reveal the pot to be ugly, brown and stemmy. It was shipped from Arizona, indicating that it is exactly the sort of ubiquitous Mexican commercial garbage that its appearance suggests. I doubt itâs worth even half of the $2 million pricetag proposed by police.
Again and again, we find law-enforcement recklessly exaggerating marijuana prices to the point of absurdity. In fairness, prices shift dramatically depending on quality, but it is precisely because police often lack the subtle ability to judge marijuana quality that they so often issue such laughable claims.
As Iâve explained before, exaggerating the value of marijuana encourages people to grow and sell marijuana.
"Extremely Small Amount" of Marijuana Causes Panic Throughout Massachusetts
It all started when an "extremely small" package of marijuana fell from the pocket of 19-year-old Sean LaCroix at his grandparentsâ house, where he lived. His grandmother found it and put it in the car so she could turn it over to police. The car belonged to her husband, John LaCroix, fire chief of Newton, MA and was subsequently discovered when fire-fighters cleaned his vehicle at the station.
I know, this is really one of the most uninteresting stories one could possibly imagine, but hereâs how the press reacted throughout Massachusetts:
What is this, if not a towering monument of idiocy? All of this serves as a frustrating reminder that there are two kinds of people in America: those who believe marijuana poses a grave threat to public safety, and those who actually know what marijuana is. The latter group typically believes it should be regulated like alcohol, while the former believes we are all just one stoned fire-fighter away from perishing in a terrible conflagration.Marijuana found in car of Newton Fire Chief
Boston Globe, United States - Aug 22, 2008
By Rachana Rathi, Globe Staff Police are investigating Newton Fire Chief Joseph LaCroix after his firefighters allegedly discovered marijuana in his ...ÂMarijuana found in fire chief's vehicle
WHDH-TV, MA - Aug 22, 2008
NEWTON, Mass. -- During the routine cleaning of Chief Joseph LaCroix's City issued vehicle, firefighters discovered an envelope that contained a small ...ÂBREAKING NEWS: Marijuana found in Fire Chief's car
Wicked Local, MA - Aug 22, 2008
By Gail Spector, TAB staff Firefighters cleaning Chief Joseph LaCroix's car yesterday found a bag of marijuana, mayoral spokesman Jeremy Solomon confirmed...ÂDrugs are found in car of Newton Fire Chief
WHDH-TV, MA - Aug 23, 2008
NEWTON, Mass. -- Newton Fire Chief, Joseph Lacroix, is fighting back against the discovery of marijuana found in his city issued car. ...ÂNewton Fire Chief Joseph LaCroix said he does not know how ...
Newton TAB, MA - Aug 22, 2008
By Chrissie Long and Gail Spector, staff writers A bag of marijuana was found inside Newton fire chief Joseph LaCroixâs car on Thursday but the chief says ...ÂNewton fire chief says he does not know how marijuana got into his ...
Daily News Tribune, MA - Aug 22, 2008
By Chrissie Long and Gail Spector, staff writers A bag of marijuana was found inside Newton fire chief Joseph LaCroixâs car on Thursday but the chief says ...ÂSorry, Grandpa: Marijuana in Newton Fire Chief's car belonged to ...
Boston Globe, United States - 2 hours ago
The marijuana discovered last week by firefighters in Newton Fire Chief John LaCroix's city-issued car belonged to his grandson and was mistakenly put in ...
Nevermind that the marijuana turned out not to belong to the fire chief. Even if it had, wouldn't the citizens of Newton know by now whether or not their fire chief was capable of arranging for local fires to be put out?
As amusing as it may be to witness this colossal media circus surrounding something so mindbogglingly trivial, don't forget that Chief LaCroix nearly had his career ruined over this. If his grandson hadn't taken responsibility, he'd likely have been forced into retirement, unable to prove his innocence. Can you even imagine how many times a small bag of misplaced marijuana has led to an absurd outcome like that? It is the legacy of our nation's brain-dead marijuana policy to produce epic fiascoes like this on a daily basis.
re:Form -- Art Auction and Cocktail Reception
An art auction and cocktail party is being held in Los Angeles to benefit the Drug Policy Alliance. For more information and to register, please see http://www.reformartauction.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/.