(Missoulian) Law enforcement reports of incidents involving marijuana continue to rise in the city of Missoula, and members of an oversight committee asked the county of Missoula on Wednesday to help reverse the trend.
A report released this week analyzing data for the last half of 2008 concluded the recommendation of voters in November 2006 that adult marijuana offenses be given the lowest priority by government officials “continues to be ignored by most of the officials in position to heed it.”
Donna Hamilton of the county-appointed Marijuana Initiative Oversight Committee presented the third semiannual report to commissioners at their weekly public meeting. It stated that while there have been modest decreases in incidents reported by the county sheriff’s department and the University of Montana, incidents reported by the Missoula Police Department seem to have risen by 50 percent since the first year.
John Masterson, chairman of the oversight committee [and head of Montana NORML], said many of the questions arising from the increase can’t be adequately answered, because the panel isn’t receiving initial incident reports from law enforcement agencies.
“We were told incident reports were impossible for us to review because they contained information about persons who were not yet charged with a crime,” he said.
Angela Goodhope, the third member of the oversight panel to testify in front of the commissioners, asked that they help law officers get on board with the initiative’s intent.
“We’re coming to you to ask for your help,” she told commissioners Bill Carey, Jean Curtiss and Michele Landquist. “Whether it’s overzealous law enforcement practice due to us voters maybe asking them to change their priorities, or whether it’s that people are flagrantly using marijuana because of (the initiative), we need to know this information.”
Remember when we complained that police shouldn’t arrest pot smokers and the cops would say, “We don’t make the laws, we just enforce them”? So we get together and put up an initiative and the voters agree that while the law still exists, the police shouldn’t enforce them if they have anything more important to do. So what’s the excuse now, “We just enforce the laws, even if you don’t want us to”?
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Dear Wakeupdead..I am very cousious.I would love to meet you .But we are so far from each other.I am 20 miles from Owensboro KY.I truly want a NORML chapter in Ky.But I am on probation for growing my own. Not having to have a pee test .But if they see me on the offence , trying to change law , they WILL piss me and put me back in jail for the 2 years left on my sentence. Peace , out BOSCO3d
I agree about the assholes in ky . I live in Kentucky and have been made a felon by the system.(for growing my own medicine) I am disabled .My wife and I have put 2 children thru collage and soon the be three if she wishs to go .My wife and I have both smoked cannabis from age 13 to the present day.They can and have put me in jail,I will never give up the good fight! I We are good people . I have been kicked out of a pain management clinic for a positive thc pee test.They even tried to get my disability check taken from me.I have found a doctor that believes marijauna is a medicine and says nothing about my use.I dont take the hard drugs he offers.I do take a pill that is for nerve damage.It does not mess up your mind and does not limit your ability to do daily activites. Peace , out , BOSCO3D
i’m a student at the university of montana and i gotta say, its pretty damn chill. granted i do most of my smoking on campus which apparently is following the initive. but campus cops literally turn their heads when they see us outside smoking a bowl. they dont care at all. i love missoula!
[...] out of hand. In some cases the police have made arrests using violent techniques, in some cases ignoring citizen initiative laws, killing beloved pets and sometimes people, destroying homes, property and lives, all for a little [...]
Dam cops, they hate this and they are going to fight it all the way. They know dam well they are losing their cash cow when they are told to stop arresting marijuana users. They want the easy bust, they want the media attention that goes with marijuana busts and they want the money they get from the DEA or feds when they bust these people.
They say they just follow the laws, yet when you take a law away why the hell are they fighting it, just follow the law, if they cant they should be fired!
MT, is a funny state, I lived there for two years and left right after they passed their medical law. I think it was like 60% that wanted it and yet the cops were out everywhere telling folks not to vote for it and were knocking on doors trying to re-brainwash the public. But it still passed and now what 5-6 years later we are still seeing them fight any reform effort, Its BS!
But its beter than what I go though now in KY and I would love to turn back the clock and just stay in MT instead of moving back home to KY the Asshole of the USA, at least the state with the most asshols in it! Going on 5 weeks without any meds, no one cares, then I get 3 people that write me through Norml over this last month, I write back and poof they are gone. What the hell?
Keep the faith MT, your winning this fight and even the cops know it, thats why they are pushing back, the end is near and they are shitting themselves!
Answer seems pretty obvious to me. If the Missoula police have no laws more important to enforce than marijuana, sounds to me like they have too many police! My suggestion would be to start laying off members of the PD until the MJ arrest rate is the lowest arrest rate. That would then indicate that they have a proper number of policemen, or have actually started following the laws they didn’t make, but ARE enforcing. Wonder how many of Missoula’s finest would need to be let go, before their stats got in line?
So I understand the idea behind lowest priority initiatives but they always seemed goofy and useless to me. I mean we’re asking cops to use their judgment and restraint so they use their time in a more efficient and effective manner.we’re saying, here’s your bread and butter just don’t eat it.
the whole war on drugs is somewhat emblematic of law enforcements (and politicians) lack of restraint and judgment.