Nobody is for drugs.

This blog isn't about drugs

The fact is people take drugs and laws don't seem to have much affect on drug use, one way or another.   I believe you can be against drug use and understand drugs are sold and used by others.

Believing that Drugs should be against the law is what started the "War on Drugs". It's where we are.

It is important to see things as they are.

Drug use is in many ways it's own punishment. If you have known or witnessed drug abuse in person you might understand what I mean. People who are into drugs continue to make bad choices in part because of the effect drugs have. It's a sad downward spiral that bears more resemblance to a complicated health problem than a criminal problem. But in desperation to get drugs people will engage in all sorts of criminal activity. This is because drugs can be expensive and substance abusers (drug users) don't have lucrative career options. More downward spiraling seems to be the rule.

Personally I don't have any use for marijuana. I don't believe I have any health problems that would be solved by cannibus but if I did I hope, that it would be available. It is nothing to be afraid of.

As it stands, the main use of marijuana seems to be putting people in jail. Think about that, stoners make excellent inmates. If you were running a jail would you want to deal with hardened criminals or easy going pot heads? Not a difficult choice to make really.

As a media consumer you may have seen people using pot in popular movies. They are almost always comedies. In news reports, smoking pot is seen as a joke as well.

Being targeted by law enforcement is not a joke.
Having a drug arrest can seriously mess up your life. Imagine a swat team descending on your home. They break down your door, ($1000. repair) shouting obscenities. They have an order from a Judge saying they can break whatever they need to, and you will not be able to stop them. ($1000. to replace the furniture they break) They might have to shoot your dog. (replacement cost at least $100) They will threaten your children. Because they can. We have given them the right to do this all in the name of winning the "war on drugs". It's been going on for over 40 years. It seems to be getting worse. Worse for ordinary people caught in the crossfire.

So that SWAT raid is going to cost you at least $2000. Let's just suppose they brought some pot with them or, of course they found "contraband" in your domicile. You my friend, are heading into the "justice" system.

You should make a deal, as soon as possible, get on with your life, put this shit behind you, because you can't win at this casino. The game is fixed. If you go to trial you are doing time. The technicalities you hear about on T.V. are mostly bullshit. The only way you get out of this mess is by agreeing with the organizations that have violated you. Make a deal, get over it. that's your only option.

I consider myself very lucky to have escaped my High School and Jr. College years without being caught with the wrong people, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. I hope I can avoid being named by desperate people trying to save themselves from long jail sentences. I do this by not associating with anyone.

My conscience is clean. I was never involved in the "business" but that wouldn't really matter if I was targeted by a Grand Jury in a conspiracy trial. The way that deck is stacked, you will be convicted. The burden of proof can hinge on outright lies paid for with promises of "sentence reduction".

So what is the statute of limitations? How long should I be looking over my shoulder, wondering about possible punishment for being at the wrong party, for having the wrong friends?

That seems to depend on the amount of money the Prosecutors believe you have. If you have some property they can size, it will be taken. The US Attorneys office reports over 1. 7 billion seized in the fiscal year of 2010. If you care enough to keep score that's One Billion, seven hundred million for the "good guys" and who knows how many millions left in profits for the "bad guys".

I don't know, but if the "drug" business can throw off $1.7 billion just in losses to the "justice department" and stay in business, it must be a pretty big business. There is always the chance that this isn't all drug related. But forget about the "conspiracy" law deck stacking.
This is your government making money from drugs.

Why "tax" it if you can just take whatever you want. Who's going to complain? What, you're going to listen to a bunch of Drug Dealers? Did I mention they pled guilty or were convicted?

Are you still for the "War on Drugs"?

That's fine, you can believe whatever you choose. 

Tell me about it. 

I don't mind if anyone disagrees. But let me know if you think there should be an endgame to this "War".

What would "victory" mean, what would it look like?

Policing with a profit motive is a bad idea. If you have ever been caught in a speed trap I think you can understand this.

But I'm not advocating for "medical marijuana" and I don't believe anyone should move to Colorado or Washington state just because they want to get high. I don't care if they do or don't. It isn't about state rights, it's about civil rights and justice.

What's been going on for 40 years now, is wrong. It hasn't worked, that's how we know it's wrong. You can still make a connection with a local dealer in any place in the USA (perhaps the world) and buy pot. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

But if you've collected any money or property, and you get noticed by some ambitious politicians, judges or DEA agents you could loose everything you care about.
It doesn't matter if it's legal in your state or not, the Federal Government can fall on you and you will be left with without recourse.
Maybe you'll have some names to give, maybe that will keep you from getting a LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE federal prison sentence.

I'm not willing to bet on that.
Drugs aren't worth the price we have paid in lost liberty and respect for the rule of law.

Why does it matter?

Glad you asked.
There are so many things wrong, so many things that might never be fixed.
We know they are wrong.
A majority can agree they are wrong.
News reports confirming the well known wrongness are everywhere. Wrongness is deeply entrenched. Making it right is going to take a huge amount of effort.
It's that way for every cause.
It all comes down to People. Get enough people to move in the same direction and the "movement" will bring action to the "cause".

But some things can be fixed with the stroke of a pen.
It won't take anything more than that to fix this problem.
Sure, it would help to have as many voices as possible asking for action.
But the problem of John Richard Knock being jailed is fixable. It just takes a small action by one person with the authority to correct the excesses of our justice system.
In the United States, that person is the President.

So for me the answer is;
It matters because this is a wrong that can be made right. It wouldn't take an act of congress, or a committee, or a parole board, maybe it will, but it doesn't have to. All John needs is for the sole person with power to say OK.

But why should this matter to anyone else?
Maybe because it IS fixable, maybe because it's just the right thing.

It has mattered a lot to his family. Think about that.
If it were your Uncle or Brother or Son or Daughter. How would you feel if they were trapped in a prison system for something they didn't do?

It definitely matters to John's sister Beth. She has spent countless hours gathering information and organizing for sentencing reform, searching the World Wide Web for resources, and others in John's situation. Looking for someway to get recognition for this cause. Not just for her Brother but for all the other people caught in this perversion of justice. People who have been given excessive sentences just because some politicians want to claim they are "tough on crime".

Why should it matter to you?
You don't need to have the weight of the Department of "Justice" fall on you. People in prison got there by doing something wrong. For the few innocent people in jail it's just not worth the time and trouble to be bothered by it. Where do you even start? You've got enough to do just leading a regular life, holding down a job, making a living. That is how responsible people lead their lives.

But the average person isn't safe from this arbitrary assault on everyones civil rights. If you are caught traveling with cash money, and you are suspected of being in the drug business, your money may be seized along with your car or truck. It will be up to you to start the process of re-claiming it through suing in a civil action. Your property will be presumed guilty and if you want to get it back you will need to spend more time and money fighting for it in court. Perhaps you've got time and money to spend, regular people usually don't.

Most people are shocked and offended by this situation. They refuse to believe it could happen in this country. But it happens all the time. It happens to people who don't have the power to fight back. It happens to average people. People who can't afford to fight back, people who end up being labeled as drug dealers. Nobody is going to care what happens to you if you are a "drug dealer" you're going to get what's coming to you.

My Uncle John wasn't actually a "Drug Dealer" but he was convicted as a "King Pin". You can read a statement from him here:
http://www.johnknock.com/johnsstatement.html
You can also get more facts and background about his trial and the plight of others in similar situations here:
http://www.lifeforpot.com/

But wait there's more,
It should matter to you because you are lucky enough to not be targeted yet. If you are free, you are believing in an illusion that is one police action away from being shattered. The more you look for it, the more you will see drug raids destroying the wrong house. People being brutalized "accidentally". Family pets killed because they threatened police who were at the wrong address. This whole mindset is Un-American. Our inheritance is Government By the People and For the People.
We are now the People. Police are hired to serve society, they should not be given the power to steal from travelers on the highway or summarily execute family pets.
We have allowed a system of "Justice" to evolve which doesn't serve us. The system is built around expedience and convenience for Prosecutors.

Our "Justice" system has been incentivized with a profit motive. Law enforcement is looking for things to take, not to get criminals, just stuff, power and money. "Due Process" is for wimps.

You remain unconvinced, this issue doesn't matter and it's not your problem. Fine, that must mean it hasn't hit your family, yet. I'm fairly certain, given the trends and market forces involved, it's only a matter of time. Unless pressure is put on the people we hire to work in our interest they will simply work in their own interest.
Once you have "contraband" seized from you on a vacation or business trip. Or have your front door kicked in by a SWAT team who got the address mixed up. Or are labeled a "drug dealer" or "King Pin" because you used to know someone, once your seized property goes to auction and you realize there is nothing you can do about it. I think you will begin to understand that this issue matters but nobody is going to listen to you, not if you're a convict. Why should they?

What this is

Who needs another blog?
You do.
Why?
Because there are things you should know about the law and freedom in the United States of America.
Who Cares?
Not enough people to matter, yet.
WTF?
Exactly my point.

Do you know that in the United States of America it is possible to be sentenced to Life without any possibility of parole just because the prosecuting attorney threatened and rewarded people to testify against you?

Not Possible, right?
Wrong. It happens more often than you think.

How about getting your life ruined just because you used to know some people who might have, at one time, smuggled some pot into this country?

That doesn't seem like it could happen right?
But it does. People are sentenced to Life for "Conspiracy" to import pot.
You don't need to actually import anything. Just the fact that you once knew someone who was arrested for talking to a DEA agent about possibly smuggling some pot could be enough.

That person needs to name other "conspirators" to get special treatment and avoid their own Life Sentence.

That's enough to get life in prison with no chance for parole.

You say, No that can't be true 

But it is, it happened to my Uncle. It's happened to other people as well.
Be careful who you speak with and what you talk about.
As long as these laws exist you can be jailed forever on a pretext.

If you want to know more please visit

http://www.lifeforpot.com/

to help get some attention for this problem please read and sign the White House Petition here

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/relieve-five-elderly-federal-prisoners-life-without-parole-sentences-marijuana/nRkGWXx6