Let's close our eyes, cover our ears and shout "Lalalalala!" At least, that's the reaction of one moderator over at realpolice.net regarding a forum member who supports marijuana decriminalization.
Pete Guither has the full write-up on his blog, so I won't duplicate his efforts here. I felt bad for the original poster, who appears to be a college student with a strong interest in policing. I registered an account and sent him a private message to let him know that not all officers are so close minded.
I've certainly taken my fair share of abuse on a similar police forum. These forums represent a small minority of police officers but their hostility likely deters other officers from joining LEAP.
It amazed me that they can try to supress discussion, when their own attitudes and ideas were completely flawed with misinformation about cannabis! They also get one accident where a fatality occurred with THC and they try to make it out like it is a serous problem.? Why is it not in the statistics of intoxication related fatalities as reported by national governemnt agencies? One I read, from 2004, stated that 38% of all traffic fatalities were from drunk driving, 18% of those driving drunk, had drugs in their system. (But, it was still drunk driving) And, no reports of "drugged driving" fatalities at all. Most likely because, they are almost non-existent. The only way these cops report the drugged driving cases is by anectdotal stories that eventually don't add up to diddly squat (<.01%?) in the statistics of fatalities associated with driving while intoxicated.
ReplyDeleteAll they offered was conjecture and speculation. None of which makes any sense, unless one is ignorant of the facts about the effects of drugs and drug abuse in this country.
And, their inability to spell correctly and use corrects spellings (to, too, etc), was eye opening! Granted spelling can be a problem for many of us, but almost every post?!?!
And the comments about the constable not bing a "cop"!? Too bad they can't understand that being a human, first, is more important. It takes a lot more courage to stand up the way you do than it does to bash you! Too bad their policing has done no good to reduce the drug problems we have in our countries. Not one iota! But, don't tell them the facts, they just want to "find drugs"!? And keep getting paychecks for it, of course!
The thread in the Blue Line forum was over-the-top in terms of the insults (eg. you're not a cop, why don't you hang yourself, etc). That tends to happen in anonymous Internet forums. But one thing I will say for the editor & moderators of Blue Line is that if you look through their public forums, they have been open minded enough to allow discussions about drug legalization to take place.
ReplyDeleteThis is the exact opposite of what happened over at realpolice.net. Blue Line (the magazine) even published an op-ed piece I wrote about legalizing and regulating drugs (however, it was only published in the print version of the magazine so it's not available online). This doesn't mean the editor of Blue Line supports legalization, but it does show that he supports free speech and wide ranging discussion.
Many in law enforcement have bought into the hype that drugs/drug use are the biggest cause of the crime problems in North America. Anyone who suggests leagalizing (remember, you can't regulate/contol something that is illegal, you can only file charges) is either an idiot, a user or a dealer, in their book.
ReplyDeleteAlso remember, there is a lot of money in keeping certain drugs illegal - numerous government enforcement grants that go to every agency in the USA. In some cases those grants are a major portion of an agency's total budget.
Such funding leads to abuse of the system - especially in Interstate Highway Drug Interdiction activity (look at your State Police or Highway Patrol). Ever drive by a stop on the interstate and see officers searching a car?
A little research and the application of common sense would go a long way in this matter. Illiterate name-calling and denounciation only reflect on those who engage in such.
Tony Ryan
Lt., Denver Police Dept. (Ret.)
LEAP Board of Directors
A few quotes for your enjoyment and further use:
ReplyDeleteUpton Sinclair
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it."
Mark Twain
"He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it - namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain."
Not only are they borderline cowards for being unable to hear any other point of view than their own, they seem to be thugs, or hire them to attack websites like mine!
ReplyDeleteMy website was just given a serious beating by someone who seems to be based in Romania, but using computers in Amsterdam and Australia, most likely Microsoft Windows users with viruses.
I'm not sure if they found my site through this blog or via Google.ro and a search "legal marijuana post new comment." But in any case, it was unpleasant, unwarranted, and perhaps even illegal. Wolves in sheep's clothing.
It may not even be they are over-the-top moralists looking to push their views of a "Godly life" on others; it may be they are underworld thugs who hate the thought of being accountable for their actions, like dealing drugs and paying taxes on their sale, etc…
More comments later…
Mr. Tony Ryan, your comments made me want to share a few quotes I recently found. And make me want to say we have a "find" in David for being so young and on the winning side.
ReplyDeleteDavid T. Wolf
"Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows."
I like that one because it shows that even without numerous decades of policing experience (my guess based on his photo, no offense intended David) he's not bought in to the "idealistic" hype of being able to crush various plants/drugs out of existence.
Then there is a quote by the famous Aesop:
"The smaller the mind the greater the conceit."
Ahh… Aesop's Fables, if only adults could pick up children's books and learn the wonderful lessons in them, so easy to grasp, so easy to read, often with funny pictures and great colors.