This is your war on drugs.
I hope you like it. You are paying for it right out of your bottomless pocket.
Looky at what your tax dollars are accomplishing right now!
'Phelps bong' owner, seven others arrested
I am just certain YOU feel a lot safer now, due to the utter diligence of the local constabulary.
"The Richland County Sheriff's Department has been taking a lot of heat from people in this country and all over the world," WIS10 reports. "They want to know why Sheriff Leon Lott is going after Michael Phelps."
The report continues, "Many are saying the sheriff should concentrate on more serious crimes, or at the very least, not focus solely on the Olympic champion when there were others at the party who were also breaking the law."
"Now it appears the case has expanded beyond Phelps' activities," WIS10 reports, adding "that since investigators began trying to build a case, they've made eight arrests: seven for drug possession and one for distribution. These are arrests that resulted as the sheriff's department served search warrants."
LMAO! "The department has been taking heat" has to mean that the internet community has carpet-bombed them with angry messages.
This has been an internet sensation and a global news issue. When I saw Google news about it last week there were over 3000 stories available about this rather ridiculous incident.
Most people are ready to have cannabis laws changed, as evidenced by 13 of 50 states already having medical cannabis and other decrim-style laws on their books, with more and more planned for each coming election. It's here - get used to it (or you'll look like a backwards southern sheriff).
Much of the developed world, while maybe being a bit reefer mad in their own countries, see America as "Dumb and Dumber"-style entertainment when it comes to 'our' reefer madness and our disastrous war on drugs.
So it is very unsurprising to hear that the whole world has come down on Sheriff Lott for being so reefer mad.
So how did the dedicate sheriff track down this notorious bong?
The TV station notes that the bong was also confiscated by the police department, and the owner - who apparently tried to get $100,000 for it on eBay - was one of the eight arrested.
Greedy dumbass.
On with the show.
Semantics: Drugs vs marijuana
I got this from Raw Story, which is a more progressive news outlet that, like AlterNet, has several features or items each week now related to cannabis issues. Raw Story has linked some of their info from a TV news station.
Note the report that the sheriff and his men have arrested a number of people for "drug" possession. This most likely means a few people were aught with a little herb and one person got caught with more than an ounce. When you touch more than an ounce you are AUTOMATICALLY accused of "dealing" (to kindergarten children and puppies, no less). It's utter bullshit.
And, they ALWAYS use the word "drugs" to hide the fact that MOST of the time you hear about a "drug bust" it's cops finding people with some weed.
Not even very much. All that matters is you have enough to touch and they are going to arrest you and sit around later talking smack about how they are protecting Americans.
I suggest you can see the utter mean-spiritedness in the sheriffs insistence on trying to damage the people involved in the Phelps bong picture.
See, Michael Phelps did serious, but only temporary damage to the propaganda stream. The propaganda stream is just what it sounds like - the steady stream of cannabis disinformation that swirls around you - everywhere but the internet where it is rightly lampooned and vilified. (And hence the outpouring of derisive calls to the sheriff's office.)
The damage he did was to smash Olympic Gold Medal records and then turning out to be a "dope smoker" and you can easily see the faux shame they have tried to heap on him, as if he somehow did something wrong. Pot smokers aren't supposed to be able to do anything, let alone excel at things.
Cannabis prohibition is built on and kept operating by money,lies and lying. If the lying stops, the entire multi-billion-dollar a year, political-power charade comes crashing down.
So it is perpetuated by law enforcement. I know some will object and point out groups like LEAP and will rightfully note the more relaxed attitudes of police in many place out West, but really, overall, cops feel like our chosen saviors when it comes to cannabis and cannabis reform because they truly believe this garbage.
The law enforcement establishment find marijuana arrests to be pretty much Job 1, as evidenced by their nonstop efforts to arrest people for the smallest amount of pot. More people are arrested for marijuana touching (possession means touching. You do not get arrested for "smoking it")than for all violent (real) crimes combined.
This is how they manage to arrest over 850000 Americans for essentially nothing. They have a few cases of large-scale distributors but that issue is directly caused by prohibition and could be fixed easily, but cops and republicans - and spineless Democrats - want it just the way it is.
Change is happening.
Kellogg's has dropped Phelp's contract - little surpise, I suppose. Profits uber alles. They won't renew it.
Subway™, however, has already said 'let bygones be bygones" and are retaining him for their ads. I suggest we boycott Kellogs for "awhile" - maybe til the end of March as a slap on the wrist and I, personally, will go buy and consume a few Subway™ subs.
The tide really is turning and backwater yahoo like Sheriff lot and his reefer mad posse are going to be relics that we laugh at and curse in the future, detestable lot that they are. Like flat-earthers and creationists. Who wants to waste their time with that tripe? Reefer madness is the same thing, except that it is a belief held by many in power.
People are free to believe what they want to but when their facts are simply wrong, distorted, lame, known to be lies and bullshit, and they have NOTHING to counter the fact that alcohol and tobacco are far, far bigger issues than all the scare-mongering on weed can muster, they look like they're full of shit.
So they rely on the facade of government and its power and you pay for it, right out of your bottomless pocket.
This is your war on drugs.
I hope you like it.