[manimal]

good post LL. we all break the law at some point, some things just have higher consequences than others. being smart and responsible about your vehicle of pleasure makes all the difference. if you're caught, understand that YOU were in the wrong and accept the consequence. We live in the ONLY country with such stringent rules on law enforcement that let A LOT of guilty people go free on something as minute as wording or perception. you rarely hear about the case-law making supreme court case where the defendant wasn't in posession of the illegal substance, the greivance is usually in how the game was played. where else in the world can the guilty party get off on a technicality of the game?
bottom line; if you get caught, suck it up. if you can get away with it safely and responsibly then take the chance. "if a tree falls in the woods...."

 

[skatetokil]

Blood diamonds? Most of the weed that came to my college was grown by some hippy in humbolt or in some guy's basement in San Bernadino. I know this for a fact because the campus dealer was 2 steps away from the growers. None of them were real criminals, they were "black market entrepreneurs." Look at the market for weed in california for an example of how even partial legalization takes the market out of the hands of hard criminals.

You can get a card from an organization in san fran that basically certifies you as a non cop and allows you to attend growers cooperative meetings. These meetings are essentially pot flea markets where people with medical exemptions and small time dealers come once a month to stock up. The growers pull up with trucks full of the highest quality bud, transactions are conducted in a safe and scumbag free environment, and the prices are competitive.

Nobody gets shot, nobody gets robbed, everyone gets high.

 

[llkoolkeg]

good post LL. we all break the law at some point, some things just have higher consequences than others. being smart and responsible about your vehicle of pleasure makes all the difference. if you're caught, understand that YOU were in the wrong and accept the consequence. We live in the ONLY country with such stringent rules on law enforcement that let A LOT of guilty people go free on something as minute as wording or perception. you rarely hear about the case-law making supreme court case where the defendant wasn't in posession of the illegal substance, the greivance is usually in how the game was played. where else in the world can the guilty party get off on a technicality of the game?
bottom line; if you get caught, suck it up. if you can get away with it safely and responsibly then take the chance. "if a tree falls in the woods...."

Most cops, like most other people, are just trying to earn a paycheck, raise their families right and do their part to contribute to the world as best they can. Have I run into a-hole cops? Sure, but I can't say the rate of incidence is above that in any other amalgam of people...and most do a better job of tolerating a whole lot of thankless horseshi+ than would I were the shoe on the other foot.

 

[manimal]

None of them were real criminals, they were "black market entrepreneurs."

nice rationalization there


guys that sell weed, crack and heroine aren't criminals, they're just "streetside pharmacutecal salespersons".

"walks like a duck, talks like a duck...its probably a duck"

 

[skatetokil]

good post LL. we all break the law at some point, some things just have higher consequences than others. being smart and responsible about your vehicle of pleasure makes all the difference. if you're caught, understand that YOU were in the wrong and accept the consequence. We live in the ONLY country with such stringent rules on law enforcement that let A LOT of guilty people go free on something as minute as wording or perception. you rarely hear about the case-law making supreme court case where the defendant wasn't in posession of the illegal substance, the greivance is usually in how the game was played. where else in the world can the guilty party get off on a technicality of the game?
bottom line; if you get caught, suck it up. if you can get away with it safely and responsibly then take the chance. "if a tree falls in the woods...."

This makes pragmatic sense, and it's how I live my life. However, why should I have to behave like a criminal (hiding my actions from people, looking over my shoulder all the time etc) for something that shouldn't even be illegal? Why should it be my bad luck to be the dude who gets picked up for posession in one of the states where it still gets you automatic hard time?

If we thought it was ok to ban everything the majority or the moral leaders of the country thought was stupid, where would we be? If I ruled the world, reality television, 29er bikes, mormonism, and capri pants would all result in jail time, but thats not how things should work.

 

[sanjuro]

Blood diamonds? Most of the weed that came to my college was grown by some hippy in humbolt or in some guy's basement in San Bernadino. I know this for a fact because the campus dealer was 2 steps away from the growers. None of them were real criminals, they were "black market entrepreneurs." Look at the market for weed in california for an example of how even partial legalization takes the market out of the hands of hard criminals.

You can get a card from an organization in san fran that basically certifies you as a non cop and allows you to attend growers cooperative meetings. These meetings are essentially pot flea markets where people with medical exemptions and small time dealers come once a month to stock up. The growers pull up with trucks full of the highest quality bud, transactions are conducted in a safe and scumbag free environment, and the prices are competitive.

Nobody gets shot, nobody gets robbed, everyone gets high.

Almost no one here, even our police representative, thinks marijuana possession laws are necessary or even a good idea.

However, while I think possesion laws are ridiculous, I don't walk down Valencia Street with a lit doobie, and I certainly would not be toking while driving.

But I could probably get away with all of that in San Francisco, but not in suburban Connecticut. Is it fair, no, but that is the reality of police enforcement. The city cops are looking for murderers and rapists, the burb patrol kids driving around.

 

[chicodude]

nice rationalization there


guys that sell weed, crack and heroine aren't criminals, they're just "streetside pharmacutecal salespersons".

"walks like a duck, talks like a duck...its probably a duck"

Well, They are criminals, but people who sell weed (Or at least in my experience) are nothing like people who sling rocks and sell heroine. It's probably different in big cities and ghettos but here in backwoods hicksville california its just people trying to make some extra cash.

 

[GumbaFish]

This makes pragmatic sense, and it's how I live my life. However, why should I have to behave like a criminal (hiding my actions from people, looking over my shoulder all the time etc) for something that shouldn't even be illegal?

Well it is illegal...get over it. Its illegal to ride where I live, guess what I got over it. Do I ride still? Of course. Why do I still ride? Because its fun, good for me, and gets me outside. The cops don't seem to mind because its a lot better than the alternative activities that go on in parks around here. If a cop somehow pulled me over on a trail and gave me a ticket guess what, I'd pay it and not whine on the internet. I am sick of whinny hippies, if you think your drug should be legal try and get it legal or move somewhere it is legal. Don't sit in your chair smoking and eating cheetos and expect the world to change so you can finally understand the lyrics to a phish song while spouting bs on the internet.

 

[DRB]

Don't sit in your chair smoking and eating cheetos and expect the world to change so you can finally understand the lyrics to a phish song while spouting bs on the internet.

excellent

 

[boostindoubles]

the fact of the situation being herb should be legal doesn't change the reality that it is still illegal, and the police will generally arrest you for being in possesion or use of it. One thing I'd like to note though, there are alot of people selling pot along with whatever other drugs they can come across...They aren't in it for the love of the herb, but the love of the dollar. They will carry weapons and use them over relativly small sums of money. They are truely criminals, in the mind set that they will cheat, rob, and kill to get cash. Most potheads are nothing of the sort though, but it's hard to seperate the harmless pot head and violent drug dealer in a moments judgement by a cop. They have their work cut out for them...

Also, by busting a kid with a dime bag, cops often will cut them a deal to nark on the bigger fish, and get the charges dropped. So for kids like mack who have no idea whats going on, its pretty easy for the police to trump up the charges and scare the kid into revealing his source... and hopefully for the police lead them to the violent drug dealer. so there is a method to the madness of busting kids, in my opinion. And its taken me awhile to realize that though! been caught with pot 6 times myself, and only charged twice.

 

[BMXman]

wow reading what skatetokil has posted so far is so foreign to me...obviously he has never lived in a crime hardened neighborhood.

I grew up on 28th st. and Crenshaw in California...people would be killed or injured for a dime bag of weed on a daily basis....I think some perspective is needed....D

 

[manimal]

Well, They are criminals, but people who sell weed (Or at least in my experience) are nothing like people who sling rocks and sell heroine. It's probably different in big cities and ghettos but here in backwoods hicksville california its just people trying to make some extra cash.

maybe in hicksville but where i work; the dealers are multi-purpose vendors. there are very few that exclusively sell weed. one of my biggest scuffles ever was with a guy that was holding a few nick-bags of weed. there's a big difference between a smalltime college dorm dealer and the typical city thug with the "trap or die" t-shirt on

* a note on the difference between city cops and suburbia cops from my own observation.

city cops - simple posession of soft drugs = no big deal, we have bigger fish to fry.

suburbia cops - anything and everything. a lot less "gray area". example: i live in a suburban town but work in the city. the skate park i ride at where i live is a christian based park that plays non-offensive music and promotes a good straight-edge scene. some kids that attended one of the hardcore shows were busted tagging some walls in the area. apparently, vandalism is a capital crime in my little bedroom town because, at the next show, the local po-po came out dressed in partial tactical gear with face masks on. they were walking around all badass like and trying to force their way into kids cars to look for spraypaint. they came into the skatepark a few minutes later, all dressed in black w/ their masks on. i never mentioned to them that i was an officer but simply asked them who they were looking for and they just blew me off with "none of your business". i started laughing my arse off when i found out what they where there for and called a friend of mine that works for them to ask if they routinely "suit up" to go look for vandals. he was like, "dude, that's serious business around here!". i just kept laughing.

the only time i get "suited up" at work is when i'm doing a raid or search warrant on a murder suspect/gang member/barricaded subject, etc. for kids tagging walls?!! those guys need some crime to keep them busy!

 

[$tinkle]

LL, my only run-ins w/ fairfax co police were for moving violations; i was too chicken$hit to combine driving & performing extracurriculars. in fact, our places of choice were cemetaries, and a little place in d.c. called "the island" on the Mall just across from DAR (due south of the state dept). it was park police jurisdiction back then, and they were too busy w/ the bums to sweat us. but i did keep a bong under my seat all senior year. frick, that was dumb.

 

[Slugman]

This thread has so many examples of why we need to rep button back...

Comedy, stupidity, whining, logical advice, wacked out rants and bitching.

Damn i love the Monkey!

 

[llkoolkeg]

LL, my only run-ins w/ fairfax co police were for moving violations; i was too chicken$hit to combine driving & performing extracurriculars. in fact, our places of choice were cemetaries, and a little place in d.c. called "the island" on the Mall just across from DAR (due south of the state dept). it was park police jurisdiction back then, and they were too busy w/ the bums to sweat us. but i did keep a bong under my seat all senior year. frick, that was dumb.

One man's chicken$hit is another man's sense of self-preservation. :biggrin: Fairfax County po-po has a HUGE budget & presence and I lived less than a mile from the W. Springfield station(w/helipad) for six years, so I did my best to avoid trouble with them. Regarding cemeteries for partaking, the one on the North side of Braddock Road by the State Police Barracks was a regular choice and for some reason, there seemed to be no safer place for us small fish than swimming right behind the shark's tail. Another favorite was the one on the West side of Wisconsin Avenue in Gtown a mile or so North of M Street.

If "the island" you refer to is the man-made island dedicated to the signers of the Declaration of Independence called Constitution Gardens, I used to toke and fish there with a couple buddies almost every Saturday morning from 5:00am - 10:00am when I lived in NVA. I've caught largemouth bass out of that artificial pond up to 23" ~5# and it gets almost 6' deep in the middle. It is located just South of Constitution Avenue near the Dept. of the Interior and is a figure-8 shaped body of water with a concrete/marble island w/ wooden bridge under which fish loved to hide at night. A naked, dready bum taking a bath in it attracted the attention of Clinton's motorcade/security entourage one morning while I was there and I almost pissed myself laughing so hard.

It's a small, small world.

 

[skinny mike]

This makes pragmatic sense, and it's how I live my life. However, why should I have to behave like a criminal (hiding my actions from people, looking over my shoulder all the time etc) for something that shouldn't even be illegal?

so you're saying that legalizing it will make all of the drug lords go away?

i think that individuals should be allowed to make their own decisions on how they live their lives, but today's society is so corrupt and brainwashed that just outright eliminating all laws and governments will do more harm than good. anarchism is a good thing, but impossible to implement correctly right now. the only way it will be effective is if ALL authoritarian "powers" are eliminated, and i don't think we'll be seeing religion being eliminated anytime soon.

 

[skatetokil]

i'm not an anarchist most of the time, but yes, how often do you hear of corn farmers or 7-11 clerks shooting each other up. never. those are the people who would be in control of the weed market if it were legalized.

 

[skinny mike]

i'm not an anarchist most of the time, but yes, how often do you hear of corn farmers or 7-11 clerks shooting each other up. never. those are the people who would be in control of the weed market if it were legalized.

either you're naive, or i am wrong in my impression that a large amount of the market is supplied by large-scale dealers and growers. with it now legal to sell pot, their market is going to increase greatly so now those who can sell/grow more can get more money, not to mention they can increase the amount of pot sold/grown which will probably overshadow a good chunk of the "little guys." or do you want it to become a legal, but controlled, substance?

 

[$tinkle]

Fairfax County po-po has a HUGE budget & presence and I lived less than a mile from the W. Springfield station(w/helipad) for six years,

got taken there after getting busted driving my dart on the track at lake braddock h.s.

Another favorite was the one on the West side of Wisconsin Avenue in Gtown a mile or so North of M Street.

i'm thinking of a park 2 blocks from good guys, ja?

It's a small, small world.

rather.

now that they have (yet another) new wal-mart on the north side of town i can stop bumping into my ex-wife.

 

[Reactor]

maybe in hicksville but where i work; the dealers are multi-purpose vendors. there are very few that exclusively sell weed. one of my biggest scuffles ever was with a guy that was holding a few nick-bags of weed. there's a big difference between a smalltime college dorm dealer and the typical city thug with the "trap or die" t-shirt on

* a note on the difference between city cops and suburbia cops from my own observation.

city cops - simple posession of soft drugs = no big deal, we have bigger fish to fry.

suburbia cops - anything and everything. a lot less "gray area". example: i live in a suburban town but work in the city. the skate park i ride at where i live is a christian based park that plays non-offensive music and promotes a good straight-edge scene. some kids that attended one of the hardcore shows were busted tagging some walls in the area. apparently, vandalism is a capital crime in my little bedroom town because, at the next show, the local po-po came out dressed in partial tactical gear with face masks on. they were walking around all badass like and trying to force their way into kids cars to look for spraypaint. they came into the skatepark a few minutes later, all dressed in black w/ their masks on. i never mentioned to them that i was an officer but simply asked them who they were looking for and they just blew me off with "none of your business". i started laughing my arse off when i found out what they where there for and called a friend of mine that works for them to ask if they routinely "suit up" to go look for vandals. he was like, "dude, that's serious business around here!". i just kept laughing.

the only time i get "suited up" at work is when i'm doing a raid or search warrant on a murder suspect/gang member/barricaded subject, etc. for kids tagging walls?!! those guys need some crime to keep them busy!

Suburban cops:

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

maybe in hicksville but where i work; the dealers are multi-purpose vendors. there are very few that exclusively sell weed. one of my biggest scuffles ever was with a guy that was holding a few nick-bags of weed. there's a big difference between a smalltime college dorm dealer and the typical city thug with the "trap or die" t-shirt on

* a note on the difference between city cops and suburbia cops from my own observation.

city cops - simple posession of soft drugs = no big deal, we have bigger fish to fry.

suburbia cops - anything and everything. a lot less "gray area". example: i live in a suburban town but work in the city. the skate park i ride at where i live is a christian based park that plays non-offensive music and promotes a good straight-edge scene. some kids that attended one of the hardcore shows were busted tagging some walls in the area. apparently, vandalism is a capital crime in my little bedroom town because, at the next show, the local po-po came out dressed in partial tactical gear with face masks on. they were walking around all badass like and trying to force their way into kids cars to look for spraypaint. they came into the skatepark a few minutes later, all dressed in black w/ their masks on. i never mentioned to them that i was an officer but simply asked them who they were looking for and they just blew me off with "none of your business". i started laughing my arse off when i found out what they where there for and called a friend of mine that works for them to ask if they routinely "suit up" to go look for vandals. he was like, "dude, that's serious business around here!". i just kept laughing.

the only time i get "suited up" at work is when i'm doing a raid or search warrant on a murder suspect/gang member/barricaded subject, etc. for kids tagging walls?!! those guys need some crime to keep them busy!

hey, i´ve got a question
say you arrest a guy... arent you afraid the guy wants to shoot you when he gets out of the joint?

i always wondered how cops deal with stuff like that.... is there a tacit "street law" or something? do you make clear to the guys in the joint that if they ever go for a cop when they get out, they will be hunted on priority??

 

[manimal]

umm, actually, i just try to treat my prisoners like human beings. let them pick the music on the way to wherever, let 'em have a smoke if need be. there are very few that leave my custody pissed off at me, but no..i'm not really worried about any retaliation. most understand it's just a job and not personal. if i was the kind of guy that took cheapshots when the badguy was down then yes, i'd worry, but then again...that's why i carry off duty

 

[manimal]

Suburban cops:

oh man...that's classic! my new wallpaper!

 

[GumbaFish]

Haha that pic is great.