Where there is smoke...
A friend has breast cancer.
She is taking the usual round of radiation and chemo.
The chemo makes her sick.
Two bites of a marijuana cookie and the nausea is gone.
I have absolutely no problem with that.
Marijuana, in this case, is an analgesic, as legitimate at ASA, morphine, codeine or any other pain reliever.
I smoked marijuana when I was a young man. Lots of marijuana. It was great fun. I danced and laughed and indulged my senses.
I stopped using alcohol and drugs when I was 26. Just flat stopped.
Today, I might have a small glass of wine with dinner once a month.
But...
I am not cruising around a drug dealing house in my car filled with bags of dope, ready for the sale.
This was the circumstance in a recent case now thrown out of court.
Selling marijuana is against the law. It is also a huge industry. It is also violent and volatile and dangerous to the participants and to innocent citizens who happen to be nearby.
So the Delta police stop this guy because he is cruising, etc and they smell what seems like pot and they search the car and Bingo!
But, no. No, says the Provincial Court judge - accent on Provincial.
What the Delta police did was conduct an illegal search based on a "hunch."
And what the judge did was safeguard the dope dealer's rights of privacy.
No consideration, of course, for my right to live in a drug and violence-free community.
The courts in general have ruled, we learn, that just because a cop smells pot smoke, that doesn't mean there's anything illegal going on here.
Look, kids...
I smell pot smoke walking down the street at least once a week.
I don't care if little Benny and June College student want to get wacked this afternoon. Good luck to them.
But I care A LOT if Donny Dealer wants to set up shop next door to me. I care if guns are blazing in the night. We are talking here about big money, big, illegal money and the grief that follows.
The courts continue to be an ass.
The courts continue to NOT reflect the sentiments of the community.
The courts continue to make of justice a vaudeville.
For shame.
2 comments:
I have big problem.
The dope dealers are recruiting grade 6 & 7 children to sell dope in the elementary schools in our area. Big drug dealers rule the show where i live and most of the provincial political machines. In short, we can't get rid of this pestilence.
You will not cure the problem without a massive strike against the real masters of the drug economy.
It's not the Hell Angels, nor the UN gang, they are just highly paid pawns. The real villains belong to the 'Elite' classes and the 'Elite' class do not question how money is made ~ "Oh, you inherited it, old money is good money."; or "Made my bundle in the real estate market."; or even "I just made a few good investments over the years."
Until the 'Elite' classes shun the drug dealers (but they will not because their sons and daughters are now intermarried with their sons and daughters) we will never get any way close in dealing with the problem.
And the druggie or hype, they are just road-kill for more and more profit. BC is just like a third world country, ruled by a corrupt and evil 'Elite' class that now unfortunately control most of the politicians and media.
We are in very sad times.
David:
What happened in the Delta case is shameful; is it any wonder police work is becoming 'just another job'; it's just more dangerous now for all concerned - except for the judges.
I grew up in England. Much of that time, I lived in the one-square mile that is the official City of London. The City had (still has?) its own police force; a source of pride, they had to be taller and have more education and training than the Metropolitan Police of greater London. (The fact that they were also handsome and had more attractive uniforms, was a matter only for us girls!)
And now to my point: Fifty-two years ago, what we now refer to as a "gut feeling" was considered to be part and parcel of an officer's armamentarium. In many instances, it was the very first line of law enforcement. No guns, tasers, fancy cars and communications systems for them.
Officers knew what they considered to be "their" beat like the backs of their hands. More important still, people in the community - residents and businesses alike - knew and cared about their Bobby; law enforcement was community teamwork.
I don't know what it's like in Delta but, in the two North Vancouvers, if you were to take an officer out from behind the radar gun or the steering wheel, there isn't one I would know.
Successful law enforcement doesn't work that way. It's about time we took Judge Craig's advice...get ourselves a provincial force, change the [in]justice system and go back to some of the old-style foot-and-bicycle beats so that, once again, we can trust, respect and be friends with our police officers, rather than their adversaries.
Liz J.
Post a Comment