\tACLU: Legal Marijuana Means Police Can Focus On Real CrimeBY MIKE ADAMS · MON MAR 24, 2014 RSS <div style="margin:0px;"> </div>With the advent of legalized marijuana in Washington State, it seems that law enforcement officers have become somewhat perplexed by the idea of no longer busting the average citizen for measly pot possession, and have since been forced to focus their energy on cases involving real criminals. A recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union finds there has been a significant decrease in misdemeanor charges filed against individuals over the age of 21 for possession of marijuana, ever since Washington voters approved it for recreational use. In fact, the report finds there were only 120 cases involving marijuana possession in 2013 as opposed to the 5,531 reported the year prior. The ACLU's criminal justice policy advisor, Mark Cooke, said legal marijuana has eliminated some of law enforcement's busy work, which has allowed them to set their sights on actual crime. “The data strongly suggest that I-502 has achieved one of its primary goals -- to free up limited police and prosecutorial resources,†he said. “The hope is that could free up scarce limited public safety resources to focus on more pressing needs.†Still, police say they want to remain diligent in their efforts to police marijuana laws, citing concerns over the potential risk for increased underage use the moment recreational sales begin later this year. As it stands, minors are prohibited under state law from possessing marijuana. However, recent data indicates that minor consumption of marijuana has been on the decline for the past two years – down from 4,127 pot-related charges in 2011 to 1,963 in 2013. Despite legalization, Cooke says racial disparity is still prevalent in Washington. He says that out of the state's 120 possession charges filed last year, blacks still accounted for three times more than whites.
High 5 to the kid that had enough balls to blow pot smoke in that cops face! That's not a kid.....thats a man! I wonder what the outcome was?
I guess if you believe that is a good example of pot smokers. disrespectful is the only way i can see it.
Lol. It's set up. That not a real cop. Just like the one at wa 420 rally that had pic of a fake cop lighting a 1 lb joint. I hope that plant you baught grows lots of tree for you. I can shit out gold to. You want some of that.
Was not aware. I guess it would have to be some kind of minimum wage security officer. He almost has a smile on his face.
Ya think. You can tell he is trying not to laugh. No Cop would stand thier for that let alone be pictured. This is why we think that thread you started in the outdoor section is real. Nice tree
120 cases in 2013 with 5531 the year prior? That's a big jump and one I'm glad to see Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Hahahaha you know that's a joke don't you? I am making fun of all the kids that buy oregeno for 20 a g and then post pics of it asking if they got ripped lol.
Over here the cops would've whooped his ass... And I don't even live in a city like Philly,Newark,NYC...they would've handed that guy his ass. My stepdad was punched in the face because the cop in Philly didn't like his tone.
Washington police have been concentrating on everything else but cannabis for a long time. Been lowest priority for a while now and even then, some of the officers I associated with while taking criminal justice courses said that they would smoke if they were permitted to. One specifically said that he is a firm believer that if officers were given the choice to consume cannabis when they returned home after a shift, there'd be a lot less alcohol related crimes (or any crimes at all for that matter) which involve officers seeing as they'd just get stoned, eat, watch a movie, and go to sleep. With how much stress there is in that line of work, cannabis would be a VERY beneficial option IMO. On a side note, and regardless of what I'm consuming (tobacco or cannabis), if I'm out in public where someone might need to walk by me on a sidewalk, trail, what have you....I make an effort to keep whatever I'm consuming away from everyone. If I weren't a smoker of any kind, I'd be appreciative of those who did this so myself or my family don't have to walk through a cloud of smoke. When I need a smoke, I'll try to find a spot that will have little to no walking traffic by me. I don't stand on sidewalks, sit at bus stops, or anything similar when smoking and will even sacrifice staying dry so that I'm not forcing those around me to smell what I'm smoking...Unless they want to "smell what the rock is cooking", of course (sorry, felt obligated). It's not something I have to do, but I chose to when I started smoking and is simply a rule I have for myself that I really don't even need to think about anymore....I naturally just walk away from people to light up. The guy blowing smoke in people's faces (regardless of whether it's an officer or not), is an obnoxious dick. Things like that, no matter how insignificant they may seem in the bigger picture of things, assist people who might be straddling the fence on cannabis legalization towards being opposed to the notion. Even though I love cannabis, if you blow smoke in my face in any way that isn't an accident, I'm either going to throat punch you or put my forehead into the bridge of your nose. Whether hes a cop or not is irrelevant IMO. Have a certain amount of courtesy for those around you.
Glad to see the police have more free time to stop actual bad things from occurring now. Hopefully other states are soon to follow...
Those are some really big drops in numbers. Kind of makes you wonder how all of the other crime statistics are doing in good ole Washington