Why Head Shop Raids Are Unfair and Unjust
Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 1:01 pm | By: Radical Russ
NORML Board Member Norm Kent tells the story of a reefer mad mayor of Key West, Florida, bringing in the federal agents to raid the headshops in his town. Â These merchants had been operating in Key West openly and legally for years:
Why Head Shop Raids Are Unfair and Unjust | DrugReporter | AlterNet
Moti Elfasi, an Israeli by birth, is one of those businessmen whose inventory was seized. Having lived in Key West for a decade, he loves the atmosphere and the community of the island. But his head is spinning over what happened to him.Here is what he told local reporters: “I don’t understand America. They gave me a license in Key West. I paid my taxes. I obeyed the law. Florida said it was OK to sell the things. But now people from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration come in and take everything away from me without even a notice to remove it first.”
It’s more than that, Moti.
You detrimentally relied upon the representations of Key West city representatives that you could lawfully do what you were doing. Day by day, hour by hour, Key West city police patrolled your business, and no one told you that you could not do what you were doing. You have been operating openly and legally for years. You paid your taxes. You had an occupational license. You employed your neighbors. Now you got screwed.
Norm notes how all these seizures are done without any warrant or judicial approval as the items are deemed to be “drug paraphernalia” by the feds, even though they don’t actually have to prove the items were actually drug paraphernalia. Â Any business owners who threaten to challenge the legality of the seizures and the return of their inventory are threatened back with federal drug prosecutions and mandatory minimum sentences if they don’t keep their mouths shut.
Read the rest of this entry by clicking here
Related posts
waitn for NSL and congrast for spofett.
Fresh Stash V RSS Feed
Loading ...
; is she incognito like me 
, or can...
