Small-time marijuana arrests: A feast for the beast
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the CATO Institute’s “Ending the Global War on Drugs” conference. The event featured a number of prominent scholars and international leaders who spoke about the impact of the U.S.-led drug war, both here and abroad. One of my favorite speakers of the day was Dr. Harry Levine, professor of sociology at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Dr. Levine has been researching the history and sociology of alcohol and drug policies for thirty years, and most recently has been working on the Marijuana Arrest Research Project, which collects and analyzes data on the immense number of marijuana possession arrests that the NYPD has made since 1996. (It should be noted here that possession of small amounts of marijuana has been decriminalized in the state of New York since 1977 — making it a violation, rather than a crime, so long as the marijuana is not in public view.) According to Levine, in New York City, misdemeanor marijuana possession accounts for more arrests than for any other crime, and because of the recent increase in the number of arrests, “it is appropriate to call this a marijuana arrest epidemic, and to describe what the NYPD has been doing as engaging in a marijuana arrest crusade.”
Dr. Levine’s lecture focused on the how and why of these marijuana possession arrests, explaining the various ways in which such arrests benefit police departments. In sum, police departments are pressured to show productivity, and these kinds of arrests are relatively safe and easy, involving “clean,” high-quality arrestees. Moreover, these arrests provide good training for rookies, deliver overtime pay for cops, allow supervisors to account for their underlings, and act as a net to get as many people into the system as possible, all at a cost borne entirely by the victims — the arrestees.
The federal government, according to Dr. Levine, actively supports these practices through the grant funding it provides to police departments. If departments receive these funds, they must justify how the money is spent, and what better, easier way to do that than with hordes of marijuana possession arrests? In short, this amounts to what LEAP board member (and fellow speaker at the conference) Leigh Maddox described as the “prostitution of the police peacekeeping mission for federal drug arrest dollars.” Dr. Levine suggests changing police productivity measures so as not to include small-time marijuana possession arrests. The punch line, Levine contends, is that rather than ending marijuana prohibition to put an end to marijuana arrests, it’s the inverse – by removing incentives for marijuana arrests we can move closer to ending marijuana prohibition.
But the answer of how to transform this tangled web of power, profit, incentive, and corruption remains unanswered. Sadly, such change is unlikely to be initiated by truth-telling law enforcement officers, or at least, active-duty ones. Last week, the New York Times reported on the consequences faced by two law enforcement officers who dared to express dissent with current drug policies. Both Bryan Gonzalez, a Border Patrol agent in New Mexico, and Joe Miller, a probation officer in Arizona, were fired from their positions — Gonzalez for questioning the war on drugs (specifically, the war on marijuana), Miller for expressing support for the decriminalization of marijuana. Fortunately, organizations like LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) provide a forum for current and former members of law enforcement to express their frustrations with the harms and futility of our present drug policies and to support a system of drug regulation rather than prohibition. Unfortunately, many active-duty law enforcement members are reluctant or unwilling to speak out, and with good reason, in light of the sanctions faced by Gonzalez and Miller noted above.
On a positive note, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that low-level marijuana possession arrests have fallen 13 percent in New York City since a September directive issued from Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly cautioning officers to lay off the wrongful arrests of those possessing a small amount of marijuana concealed from public view. Hey … at least it’s something.
Tagged with: arrests and decriminalization and law enforcement and marijuana arrests and police by the author
11 comments
I am not a lawyer. If both Bryan Gonzalez and Joe Miller were fired for expressing an opinion, does this not me mean they were denied their 1st Amendment Rights? Even if they are public employees, this should not be cause enough for them to be forcefully denied their Rights. Also, there was mention of other public employees who feared expressing their opinion’s. Are not these people also being forced to loose their 1st Amendment Rights?
Please remind me what country I live in now.
Consider the benefit to cigarette companies of the marijuana arrest crusade: by making cannabis riskier and more expensive to have or acquire, an all-important “smoking price differential” is maintained, whereby cigarette tobacco in New York, with all the taxes to govt. at all levels, is now about $20 an ounce (2 packs, 40 cigarettes) ; cannabis at least $200.
If cannabis were legalized and, minus risks and costs to the provider, declined to $38 an ounce (Rand Corporation estimate a year or two ago), what would happen to cigarette sales (and that all-important tax revenue to the government)? Can taxes on cannabis make up for it– considering cannabis users are libertarians and adept at tax avoidance anyway?
And the worst thing about “skunk” (high-cannabinol strains)– users can reduce quantity purchased to a point where tax collections are minimal. The shift from hot burning 500-mg joint to a 25-mg single toke vape utensil might then occur not only among cannabis users but among tobacco inhalant users, dooming the high-profit, high-tax cigarette format and putting Philip Morris in line for a Bailout.
Why do people act as if just because marijuana is illegal their kids won’t use marijuana ?
All prohibition does is make it so that if and when they do want some marijuana it’s more likely for that person they get it from to be either a gang member or somebody who also sells hard drugs or both.
Why must marijuana have to have medical benefits to be legal but the poison alcohol can just be legal ?
Why do people try to blame marijuana as the gateway drug but not alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs, energy drinks, caffeine, etc. and why don’t they look at the types of situations people are in, the people that they hang out with, or their personality traits for the cause.
How come people don’t seem to care about the many side effects of prescription drugs but are scared of the natural plant cannabis ?
Why don’t people understand that legalizing marijuana will reduce the drug cartels’ profits ?
Why does society accept tobacco products but not the safer cannabis ?
Why do people who hardly ever or never use cannabis act like they know so much about it ?
Why do some people think that just because they don’t like or use something that nobody else should ?
Why is it so bad for people to recreationally use marijuana because it makes them happy, relaxed, more aware and enlightened ?
Marijuana should be legal before alcohol and tobacco because marijuana is far safer and better.
Why don’t people give a F about freedom anymore ?
If people don’t defend people’s simple civil liberties like cannabis freedom then it sets the precedent for more of their own freedoms to be taken away.
“Freedom” in the U.S. is a well crafted, expertly executed, politically controlled 1% Smoke-Screen to trick The People into thinking they have something they don’t. No different than a well executed magic trick or bait-n-switch experience.
The People are now, in small numbers and very slowly, starting to realize the Reality v. the Smoke-Screen of what’s going on in “The Country”, they used to call, their own.
“The People” is a phrase of words that describes humans that occupy or reside in the United States. The phrase, “The People” in the context as in, government or representative of the mass of humans in the United States, is part of the Great American Smoke-Screen (no pun intended!).
Only and only when The People take back their occupation of the land of the United States will we ever have a real voice again. However, that will require a not-so-complicated morphing of the current United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
A freedom as defined by most occupiers of the land of the United States is: the ability to make choices. Forget the legal mumbo jumbo. Freedom is the ability to make choices. Thus, then you no longer have a choice, you, by definition, no longer have the freedom to make choices.
We are no different than any other country. Except, our leadership, the 1% (stealing the 99% movement nomenclature), the ones that really are free, have effectively tricked the world, and it’s people, that we are a free people, a free nation. By using the law, policy, rules, regulations, and applying their will based on their own controlling advantage, they have created a country of laws that is not meant to protect The People, but meant to protect the ones in control (aka 1%).
One day we will be a free nation. A nation that will let adults decide if they want to wear a helmet when riding a bike, or if they, within their own personal definition, want to use cannabis, a natural flowering plant, as a medication or as a means to enjoy life. Who has the right, as a human race, to dictate my 80 years or so of existence?
I remember years ago when I finally figured out how they did some of those magic tricks at magic shows. At the time, my thoughts were juvenile, but I remember thinking: Hmm… those guys are no big deal! Now I know, now I know how the trick is done, and the more I tell my friends and family about how they did the tricks the more informed the world will be! Or, psychologically or barbarically was I just trying to expose the “not so powerful magician”? A magician with no tricks is just a normal human being. He’s just one of us.
Well said article on a highly complex issue on law enforcement.
Cannabis must be legal. It’s that simple.
It’s obvious to me that the Leo’s can’t catch everyone who uses cannabis, and given that premise the City stands to make more money off of cannabis revenues via policy and regulation changes than the Leo’s are bringing in to the public coffers from fines and the City’s share of the Feds’ takes on asset forfeitures for cannabis offenses.
Cannabis prohibition has so obviously failed. Why keep throwing good money after bad? In such dire economic times why continue to do without cannabis revenues and keep on wasting money on a lost cause.
Cannabis prohibition is a lost cause. Everyone can agree on that.
How long do you want to keep losing money on your investment?
I am an underemployed American. I constantly search Craigslist for part time work. I’m willing to do cleaning jobs.
MOST of the jobs I look into require pre employment drug screening.
For what?
Are you, Mr. Potential Employer(paid off by the government in the form of a tax break), really and truly concerned that the joint I ADMITTEDLY smoked yesterday or last week is seriously, logically going to have some sort of effect on my potential job performance TODAY????
REALLY??????????????????????????????????????????????
Or is it more likely that I have broken an unjust and immoral law and nothing detrimental to the world happened as a result of my breaking this unjust and immoral law AND THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF ME??????
I am starting a NEW CAMPAIGN TODAY and I hope you will all join me.
This takes VERY LITTLE TIME & WORK. I do this EVERY DAY!!!!!
Log into Craigslist. Look for a job that requires pre employment drug testing. Reply to the job posting with your own personalized lecture on why pre employment drug testing is wrong in every way and on every levl.
Copy, paste, repeat.
Copy, paste, repeat.
Copy, paste, repeat.
Copy, paste, repeat.
Copy, paste, repeat.
Copy, paste, repeat.
Get the message out there that as long as booze is legal, discrimination based on private drug use will not be tolerated.
PART-TIME WORK:
Hey, Mark, would you be interested in 20 hours a week (+ OR -) manufacturing long-stemmed one-hitters with penniesworth of parts to sell at $5, $10 etc.? Go to wikiHow.com: “Make Smoke Pipes from Everyday Objects”, and $teal all the ideas about socket-wrench or barbed-brass-hose-nipple headcraters etc.
Note barely passable typewriter-generated diagrams in the article (I haven’t hooked up with a scanner yet)– if your utensils turn out good and can be photographed or drawn please go ahead and add that on the wiki.
L O T $ O F L U C K !
[...] since police actually witnessed him smoking, this arrest is far more legitimate than the improper marijuana possession arrests of tens of thousands of New York City residents during “stop and frisk” [...]
[...] since police actually witnessed him smoking, this arrest is far more legitimate than the improper marijuana possession arrests of tens of thousands of New York City residents during “stop and frisk” [...]
[...] since police actually witnessed him smoking, this arrest is far more legitimate than the improper marijuana possession arrests of tens of thousands of New York City residents during “stop and frisk” [...]
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