Grand Rapids Drug Bust/weapons Bust!

[phaquetoo]

Dont shoot the messenger! just relaying an email i recieved from minorml about the grand rapids mm bust!

 

From: "Wayne Koper" <wkoper@gmail.com>Add sender to Contacts To: minorml-talk@norml.net"Police say confidentiality laws protecting licensed growers are

complicating their investigations".

 

I can see how private citizens keeping their private lives private would

make investigating difficult, you would actually have to have evidence of

illegal activity BEFORE you raided someone's home.

 

What about prescription drug abuse? Perhaps HIPPA and other

confidentiality statutes should be repealed for the convenience of law

enforcement. Oh never mind you'll be driving my pharmaceutical stock

holdings down.

 

Did the illegal gun possession provide the police probable cause?

Peace,

Wayne

Marijuana + guns= ?????

Marijuana + alcohol=????

Oxycotin + guns=????

 

On Fri, May 14, 2010 at 5:17 PM, John Davis <pfcmichigan@yahoo.com> wrote:

 

> Rev.Steve Is absolutely RIGHT! This IS Great publicity for us!

>

> Let's look at what really was reported on here. But first let us all admit

> that we knew that not everyone was going to follow the law to the letter,

> that criminals are going to use every advantage they can get including the

> law that was intended to help people. Was this man a criminal because he

> grew Cannabis, NO! He was a criminal because he knowing purchased an

> illegally altered firearm from an illegal source and illegally keep said

> firearm in his possession. THAT is what he was arrested for. Good news, that

> means we aren't dealing with another LEO busting a well meaning caregiver

> for a dumb mistake (sort of).

>

> Even better news, the article clearly states the Grand Rapids Police

> Department has changed the way they think, plan and conduct drug raids to

> accept and comply with our new law.

>

> ^"We have to handle the situation as any other tip, which is kind of an

> unknown," DeWitt said. "We could be dealing with a lawful citizen or they

> may be a criminal taking advantage of the situation.^

>

> That is great to hear, both that LEOs are recognizing that not every grower

> is breaking the law and that they said so for us in the press. They even

> mention that one of their raids resulted in finding a perfectly legal

> grower. That is the first time I have seen that mentioned in the news,

> particularly coming from the police. Hurray for us, the shift in public

> opinion must be getting though to them.

>

> Of course they fear other licensed caregivers are breaking the law, their

> cops, that's their job. Until we gain enough support from Michigan voters

> for full legalization the medical MJ Law is the best we got, we need to be

> supportive of it. We need to recognize that not everyone growing with a

> caregivers license is doing so to help registered patients. There are still

> drug dealers and they would be fools not to try and use the law to hide

> their grow-ops, importation, and distribution. These people hurt us and our

> efforts to continue reforming marijuana law. They hurt the effort to gain

> full legalization and they do so both to profit now and to protect their

> future profits. After all these are the people that will be most negatively

> affected by legalization. It is in their best interest to not give a darn

> about us and our efforts. We drive down prices, we drive down demand for

> imported cannabis, and as patients get better educated we drive away their

> customers.

>

> We should all be sending an email to the reporter (

> http://connect.mlive.com/user/jtunison/index.html ) and ask him to relay

> our thanks to the Police officers he interviewed. Let them know we support

> them and are glad to hear they took a dangerous and illegal weapon of the

> street. And that is good to hear they are supporting the Michigan Medical

> Marijuana Act and not just arresting everybody to let the courts sort them

> out.

> Even if it is complete moo-poo it can't hurt. Put the word out. I can see

> the Headline now. "Hippies support Police Drug Enforcement Team." "Police

> raid licensed caregiver, Michigan NormL says good job"

>

> Now. The bad news.

>

> ^ Legally, Oom is a licensed caregiver for two patients and, as such,

> can grow up to 24 marijuana plants. He was growing 18 plants, but not in a

> closed, locked facility as required by law. ^

>

> At some point we are going to have to address the issue of defining a house

> as a closed, locked facility. This has huge potential for abuse. As in 'We

> cut through the barb-wire fence, disarmed the mine field, used small C4

> explosives on the hinges to get the wrought iron door gate down, used a

> breaching charge to removed the multi-dead bolted steel door and proceed to

> cut the padlocks, chains, and deadbolts from the basement door, but since

> there were no padlocks (only zip-ties) on the zippers of your grow tent

> we're going to have to arrest you."

>

> AND

> ^ Police say confidentiality laws protecting licensed growers are

> complicating their investigations ^

>

> I can see how private citizens keeping their private lives private would

> make investigating difficult, you would actually have to have evidence of

> illegal activity BEFORE you raided someone's home.

>

> That's my take anyway, have a great weekend!

> John Davis

 

[westmich]

Rumor Alert! - OK, a friend of mine asked me if I heard of a recent bust in GR where the patient called the police on their caregiver. This is the only bust that I know of recently. Any truth to it?

[phaquetoo]

I dont know? If it is true it sucks!!