With California's budget woes their law enforcement is increasing their assault on growers. There are two very distinct reasons for the over emphasis on marijuana cultivators. First we see that marijuana grow busts are very profitable for law enforcement departments. With our confiscation laws, officers can pillage, plunder and even kill their victims.
The second reason that law enforcement has become more aggressive this year. They are fighting to get Federal Drug Money offered by the Nobama administration. While Nobama is a known marijuana connoisseur from Hawaii. Mr Nobama claimed he would to stop DEA raids on medical marijuana. He has in fact increased spending for the WAR against marijuana consumers, in which many medical growers are also being targeted.
Now here is where things really get crappy, law enforcement agency's who are already strapped for cash and short on officers are putting those precious resources into hunting for pot plants to gain Federal Anti Marijuana Grant Monies. This means that forces actually dealing with real crimes is being radically reduced, leaving us for the prey of real criminals. While this has been going on the last three decades, our recent finical crisis in the US has reduced law enforcements personnel and now it is endangering the public for the lack of available responders.
This next article is really one that deserves a read as there is no way the I can excerpt enough to convey all the ideals it covers.
To make sure his office gets the federal funds, Sheriff Bosenko since last year has spent about $340,000 of his department's shrinking resources, more than in past years, on a team that tramps through the woods looking for pot farms. Though the squad is mostly U.S.-funded, the federal grants don't cover some of its needs, such as a team chief and certain equipment. So, Mr. Bosenko has to pay for those out of his regular budget.
LINK Please read ;)
At this point one must look at the attacks on medical marijuana, the raids on growers and destruction of crops and ask will the Nor Cal growers decide to legalize it to ward off the excessive amounts of police raids. Or will they vote to keep prices high through the existing black market of its status as an illegal drug. Many Nor Cal counties fear an economic collapse if marijuana becomes legal which they fear would causes the price to plummet.
| "The legalization of marijuana will be the single most devastating economic event in the long boom-and-bust history of Northern California," said Anna Hamilton, 62, a Humboldt County radio host and musician who said her involvement with marijuana has mostly been limited to smoking it for the past 40 years. |
The decline in prices is expected to take much of the profit out of pot, a concern for some underground operators. They also fear that big tobacco companies will step in and begin growing pot on farmland in the Central Valley, effectively killing North Coast production. |
| “It’s the only thing we have that brings money into the county,” said Mendocino County Supervisor John Pinches, who believes that marijuana accounts for at least half of the county economy. Estimates of the value of the county’s pot crop range from $1.2 billion to $4.4 billion. In comparison, the county’s total taxable retail sales were $1.3 billion in 2007, according to the Center for Economic Development at CSU Chico. |
Now which side of the legal question do you think the cartels are hedging their bets?
What I see here is just another sad example of America being a land motivated and ruled by greed.
Taxation not Prohibition!
