A Comment Worthy Of A Post 3-25-15

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post " There's A Major Flaw In The Decriminalization Pot ...":

10:36 you are absolutely wrong. As soon as the legislation was passed but before the law went into effect on 10/1/14 states attorneys met with people from the AG's office and had a great deal of discussion about the new marijuana law. The Legislature's failure to address the issue relating to paraphernalia was discussed in great detail. Legislation on related paraphernalia will is forthcoming, I assure you. There were other issues discussed as well. Interestingly enough, there were as many opinions on how to enforce the new law as there were attorneys present. I agree that this is nothing more than a stepping stone to total decriminalization and legalization. But there are many more serious issues that currently face the law enforcement officers as they try to enforce these "civil" issues. One that comes immediately to mind is probable cause to search. The definition of probable cause has been similar for decades. Probable cause is that amount of evidence available to a reasonable and prudent police officer in light of his training, knowledge, and experience, to lead him to believe that a crime has been or is being committed and that the person to be arrested or search commited that crime.

Imagine this scenario: A police officer watches someone smoking a joint. He approaches the suspect and when the suspect sees the police officer, the suspect puts the joint out and puts it in his pocket. The officer sees this and reaches into the suspects pocket and retrieves the joint because it is evidence. Legal, right? Good search? I would suggest that as soon as a good attorney gets a case like this, he will challenge the search. You see, probable cause relates specifically to crimes being committed. NOT civil infractions. But the officer (not the States Attorney because they will not be present during this civil proceeding) could argue that the possession of the marijuana is still a crime under Federal Law. See how this gets muddy? Now lets say that when the officer reaches into the suspects pocket, the suspect swats the officers hand in protest of the search. Does a citizen have a right to resist an unlawful arrest or search? Now lets say the officer gets his hand swatted and attempts to arrest the suspect for second degree assault. Good arrest or bad? If the suspect resists and is seriously injured, should the officer be responsible for carrying out the procedure established by the AG's office? This law was so ill prepared or thought through that it should be immediately repealed. Make marijuana legal or illegal. Anything in between is utter non-sense.