CopsSayLegalize

First thing is that as a veteran of the Coast Guard who was involved in drug interdiction, you are eligible to become a LEAP speaker, and we'd love to have you. Second, because of the drug "WAR" we have seen the need to militarize our police departments. Because, after all, we are in a "WAR." I worked with an old timer when I first started in 1969. He had been on the job since just after WWII, where he was a veteran, and he used to say that if in your society you are going to have a military and a police force you should train the military on the East Coast and the police on the West Coast because that's how far apart they should be kept. They are different jobs. The militarization of police is contrary to everything we believe in in this society.

If you agree with LEAP's position, I will remind you of an old saying. That is that the reason that bad things happen is because good people remain silent. So in answer to the question of "What can the average citizen do?" my answer is do not remain silent. Speak up at any and every opportunity to change this policy.

Great question! First off, let me explain that there are two types of forfeiture. There is criminal forfeiture, which is the seizing of property and then the confiscation of property if the person who the property is seized from is convicted of the crime charged. I am fully in support of criminal forfeiture. Then we have the thing mentioned in this question, which is civil asset forfeiture. In civil forfeiture, I seize your property but do not arrest you or have to find you guilty of anything in order to keep that property. And in fact, you have to prove yourself NOT guilty of the accusation I have made against you as to why I have seized your property. Under civil forfeiture, there is no need for an arrest or a convicton for your property to be taken from you. Civil forfeiture should not exist in a society that calles itself free.

In my opinion, the biggest obstacle is that right now we are not having that discussion. We're talking about marijuana and when the marijuana conversation ends, then maybe we will get back to the full legalization of drugs. This is larger than just marijuana. The issue is about the policy of prohibition, which has never worked in the history of our species

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