What's Keeping it Illegal: LEOs and Asset Forfeiture

[Skip]

A big reason why Law Enforcement agencies lobby to keep marijuana illegal is because they profit from it! Despite California law making it illegal to "profit" from selling marijuana, Law Enforcement has no problem profiting from the "ill-gotten" gains of marijuana sales.

The law allows police agencies to seize any assets that might be related to a crime, and to keep them or sell them off, sometimes even if the person is never convicted or proven to have obtained the assets through illegal activities.

In a typical pot bust, the police will seize all the cash, bank accounts, growing equipment, cars, RVs, boats, even the real estate too. It can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, all at the disposal of the LEOs. Many of the items seized end up in special closed "auctions" where the police and their friends can buy them real cheap.

This unjust seizure law has encouraged local, state and federal agents to seize whatever valuable property happens to be at a bust, and to lobby against anything that might curtail their flow of seized property.

Don't want your assets seized? Then LEGALIZE IT!

Here's an article about property seizures in Mendocino County.

http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_13864917

 

[Pistil_Party09]

i always thought property seizure was excessive...whats the point? and dont they have to PROVE it was gotten with illegal money or something like that...??
i remember my friend was getting searched by the cops once and he had probably like an eighth on him and he also had like 60 some dollars in his pocket and the cop took that too saying it was drug money...WTF IS THAT? how can they be so sure? he wasnt being convicted of trafficking?!?! only posession.

 

[Skip]

It's guilt by association unless proven otherwise. So if they find marijuana anywhere near cash or inside a car, or whatever, they automatically assume the things are related, and seize them, knowing full well the assets may end up in their pockets one day.

I've seen police come back for more "evidence" after a bust, but there were no evidence bags or tags, they just carried out the forgotten evidence for themselves.

So that is another thing that is keeping it illegal: Guilt by Association. Marijuana is "bad" so anyone using it is "bad". This has been drummed into people's heads for decades now.

It's time for a new association: Marijuana is "Good". People who grow it are "good" people who are helping others. People who use it are "good people" who prefer it over pharmaceuticals or other more dangerous recreational drugs.

Again this is why we must legalize it. So that there no longer is any guilt by association. Just cause we smoke/grow pot doesn't mean we are guilty of anything illegal anymore.

 

[MoeBudz^420]

Robbery At Gunpoint, as I like to call it.

There oughtta be laws against crimes like this, eh?




Peace

 

[SpasticGramps]

It's always about the money. Asset seizure helps fund the War on Drugs and the institutional corruption that it has caused. Karma is a going to be a bitch when drugs are legalized. I happen to think all drugs will eventually be legalized in the next 20-30 years, which is going to put a lot of those fuckers in the bread line.

 

[caturday]

they never snitch on themselves but they want you to snitch on you

 

[TroubleGuy]

once again you bring up a point i recently spoke of too.

so, groups like norml and mmp and ALL mmj lobbying groups who are trying to legalize... why aren't they lobbying to make asset forfeiture laws a little more just? all over the country, state and federal forfeiture laws are exploited by all levels of law enforcement from the city/county to federal.

i've read stories about this sheriff down in texas, lives and works in a small town, who has his deputies pull people over on the interstate and seize their cars and property in it without any reason just because he can get away with it.

has anyone read how asset forfeiture laws are written? it's allowing robbery by the government, it's blindingly obvious just by the wording. it's made very clear, they can take everything you own just because they SUSPECT you are guilty of something. "guilt by association" as skip said.

either if i'm completely misinformed here, i re-iterate the question... why aren't these lobbyist groups lobbying to change forfeiture laws instead of hiring hippies to give speeches? these laws are the #1 reason for the drug war - the money gained from them is huge.

 

[Skip]

Yes, they're taking in $20 to $30 million a year, and that is only the official tally. What they manage to cram into their pockets is another story.

 

[Skip]

Here's an article about asset forfeiture in Canada. It's not just a US problem!
http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=e5529cc6-ca17-403b-9936-51e91a5484d8

 

[pipeline]

Thanks Skip... These are dark times... Lives are being ruined as we speak...

Smoke one for all those who have been affected by this tragedy against the people... One day truth and justice will prevail...

 

[Pistil_Party09]

i thought in america our justice system was based on innocence until prove guilty....asset forfeiture proves that to be the opposite...
america is so fucked.

 

[j6p]

i thought in america our justice system was based on innocence until prove guilty....asset forfeiture proves that to be the opposite...

The catch is that most asset forfeitures are civil cases, which are a whole 'nother ball game. If government agents seize your property under civil asset forfeiture, you can forget about being innocent until proven guilty, due process of law, the right to an attorney, or even the right to trial.

There are two types of forfeiture cases, criminal and civil. Almost all forfeiture cases practiced today are civil. In civil forfeiture cases, the Government sues the item of property, not the person; the owner is effectively a third party claimant. Once the government establishes probable cause that the property is subject to forfeiture, the owner must prove on a "preponderance of the evidence" that it is not. The owner need not be judged guilty of any crime. In contrast, criminal forfeiture is usually carried out in a sentence following a conviction and is a punitive act against the offender. Since the government can choose the type of case, a civil case is almost always chosen. The costs of such cases is high for the owner, usually totaling around $10,000 and can take up to three years.

The US federal government aggressively pursues civil forfeiture, and most states abuse the hell out of it, although CA and CO have passed forfeiture reform laws requiring that seized assets be returned to defendants who are acquitted of charges which led to the seizures.

http://www.fear.org/

 

[dillhole]

We Americans should be ashamed for letting our government get this far out of control.

 

[alpinestar]

thats called stealing

 

[stasis]

The County in question is so corrupt, it is impossible to get to the bottom of it.

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

I think these laws really are unconstitutionally applied on a regular basis.

These seizure laws are why I have always called the U.S. governmnet the biggest mafia in the world. Think about it. They dont want you making any money that is hard for them to take a cut out of. They like to come shake you down just for growing some plants. If you accidently mess up on your tax form, it could tuin your life. Organizations like the DEA, and IRS are like the mob enforcers.

 

[LowGrow]

The IRS is an illegal entity by definition.... The supreme court ruled that an income tax was unconstitutional and upheld this ruling several times. It is actually an optional tax and there is no real law that says you have to pay income tax. So why does everyone pay it? The IRS has rose to power with a loop hole and now because it has so much power to take your life away it can't be brought down, several fbi agents and the like have had their lives and jobs destroyed trying to bring down the IRS including retired IRS employees. They are literally so powerful that the other government agencies are scared of them. http://www.supremelaw.org/sls/31answers.htm this is the legal proof that the IRS is not a legal entity and is actually not part of the US Government at all. There is a man who took the IRS to supreme court and won. He represented himself and simply kept saying "show me the law that says I have to pay it and I will" Any tax on income is absolutely unconstitutional....they are another cancer of the government system probably used as a money laundering operation for the dea's drug busts where all the illegal drugs are "destroyed".

 

[BiG H3rB Tr3E]

i always thought property seizure was excessive...whats the point? and dont they have to PROVE it was gotten with illegal money or something like that...??
i remember my friend was getting searched by the cops once and he had probably like an eighth on him and he also had like 60 some dollars in his pocket and the cop took that too saying it was drug money...WTF IS THAT? how can they be so sure? he wasnt being convicted of trafficking?!?! only posession.

what about those doods on cops who get busted buying a nickel bag of some shitty weed and get their car seized because it was in a bust???? fuck man,, and it aint like its a nice car,, some old cutlass,, but still ??? if the dood can only afford a 5 bag and your going to take his car away???? fuck man what a shit system......or as peter tosh would say....wha a shitstem!!!!!

 

[magiccannabus]

One solution to this horrendous problem would be to force all agencies committing the seizure to turn over all seized assets to a charity. Any house they take goes to the poor. This is the worst banditry in the history of our nation. Making them give it up would upset their lives incredibly.

 

[Skip]

Here's a case in point. This guy just forfeited his real estate holdings. Note, they say he was developing a subdivision. By saying it was for pot growers they get to take it all, probably without any proof...

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13886420