The same tired arguments used in the United States are also used in Israel. Overlooked by all pot heads is the fact that possession and use of marijuana is against the law. And when they get caught breaking the law they scream like stuck pigs.
POT SMOKERS SAY THEY ARE PERSECUTED, DEMAND INVESTIGATION
More than 50 citizens contacted State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss with a request that he look into 'waste of tax money' on police searches for them. 'Where were officers who caught groom smoking joint when Arik Karp was murdered?' Comptroller promises to check
By Aviel Magnezi
Ynet news.com
August 15, 2010
"Investigate the disproportionate investment of resources in going after marijuana consumers," asked dozens of Israelis of State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss on Sunday in a letter.
The letter, which bore dozens of signatures, starts off with a personal appeal. "I am 32-years-old, a combat officer in reserves, a manager on a government network, hold a Bachelors Degree with honors from Hebrew University. In short, I am a normative person and a contributing and tax-paying citizen. Unfortunately, the taxes I pay are used to persecute me and make me into a criminal without me having harmed anyone."
The letter noted that "tens of hundreds of thousands of entirely normative people smoke marijuana" and that the police "are doing everything in their capacity to persecute them."
The letter's authors claimed that the persecution has intensified in recent weeks, with the police searching private homes.
Fifty-six citizens signed the letter, complaining of body searches on passersby. They also noted that a man was recently apprehended for smoking a joint by undercover policemen during his beach wedding. "Where were these policemen when Arik Karp was murdered on the beach?" wondered the letter's signatories, claiming that the war against them is coming at the expense of the war on gruesome crimes.
The letter also made note of marijuana's medical benefits, and gave the lenient enforcement policy towards marijuana smokers in Europe, Canada, and the US.
Omer, one of the letter's authors, explained in a conversation with Ynet, "A stigma has been created around marijuana consumers – druggies. I contribute to society and have never harmed anyone, but it's enough for me to smoke a joint and be caught, and I immediately have a criminal record."
The letter also claimed that the said persecution pushes marijuana smokers into the hands of drug dealers, where they are exposed to harder drugs.
The letter emphasized that it does not seek to change the laws against smoking marijuana, but rather to point out the waste of resources in enforcing it.
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss' office responded, "The state comptroller received the letter and will examine it."
__Aviad Glickman contributed to this report
1 comment:
Two days after receiving , the homes, vehicles, and persons of every citizen who signed that letter were searched, pursuant to a search warrant issued by the Supreme Court. The warrant cited the letter as providing probabal cause to believe that those who signed the letter possessed and used the illegal substance. The searches resulted in nearly 100 arrests. The arrestees are currently being detained without bail in the Jerusalem Metropolitan Jail.
(I can dream can't I...?)
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