Students at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst thought they caught a break in 2000 when a town-wide referendum passed that asked the police department not to strictly enforce marijuana violations. The measure requested that the police use fines rather than imprisonment. Apparently the police department neglected to tell the students led by the Cannabis Reform Coalition (CRC) that they weren’t planning on honoring the town’s request. Since 2000 more than 500 people have been arrested on marijuana related charges.
To get a sense of how far the students are divorced from reality, you only have to read the following quote from UMass student and CRC member Justin Sawyer who said “At the CRC, we feel strongly that the police are going beyond legal conduct… We feel that’s not the correct way to allocate [town] resources.” Really? The police enforce the law and they are going beyond legal conduct? I thought the students would have been smart enough to realize this referendum wasn’t a law. Then again maybe the effects of too much marijuana clouded their judgment.
Score this one Police 1, Potheads 0.
Don Irvine in the Chairman of Accuracy in Media, AIA’s sister organization.
