Ogden Police Messed Up, Nothing New

I've been loosely keeping track of the home invasion by the Ogden, Utah police which resulted in the death of one of their own officers, Jared Francom, as well as 5 more officers wounded. The victim of this home invasion was Matthew Stewart, a veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was also injured in the home invasion.

And now, the DA is seeking the death penalty for a man who was simply protecting his home.

My big problem with this whole issue is that the police aren't taking any responsibility for their actions. The prosecutors and judges are ensuring that the police aren't held responsible for their actions either by charging the victim with murder. They're hiding behind the rule of law and procedure instead of admitting they messed up by purposely creating a "war zone" situation where none existed.

First of all, let's take a step back. Why did the Ogden police invade this man's home? There was suspicion that he was growing marijuana. The police got a search warrant. They went to conduct a search.

So, why did this turn into a war zone? How did a simple search warrant turn into a veteran of two wars firing on police officers?

It's because the Ogden police, like many other police departments, decided to raid this man's home. But, they didn't want to raid his home while he was at work. They didn't want to raid his home while he was out shopping for groceries. They wanted to raid his home while he was IN his home. They wanted to make sure this guy was at home.

Unfortunately for the overzealous wannabe-military Ogden police, Stewart was a real military person with post traumatic stress disorder. You don't get PTSD from sitting behind a desk for a few years. You get it from being involved in some things, like war. You get it from being traumatized and stressed so hard that it becomes a mental disorder.

So, how did the Ogden police mess up?

They forgot they they're a pansy civilian police department. In doing so, they made of the fatal mistake of deciding to bring war to a man who's not mentally out of a war zone yet and THEY GOT THEIR ASSES HANDED TO THEM. It's not the first time and it won't be the last. As more of our troops come home, they've seen and done things that aren't easily forgotten. Many of them will have PTSD; many of them will be medicating with marijuana; and many of them will be growing at home.

How could the Ogden police have carried out this search warrant in a smarter way?

One, they could have no tried to bring a war zone to a man who's not quite out of the war yet. You do that by conducting your search warrant while he's NOT at home. That, alone, just might have avoided any and all confrontation.

Two, they could have lied to him to get him to come back home if they needed him there. That's been done before.

Three, they could have maintained a perimeter (in case of escape), and just waited for him to answer the door and spoke to him.

Four, they could have asked his parents for help.

But see, none of these things are on the menu for most police departments. Some alternative ideas to raiding a man's home while he's home might not be the smartest or the best. It's definitely not as much fun as creating a war zone. But then, Jared Francom might be alive today.

Hindsight is 20/20. But, with as many botched raids as have been conducted by various police departments over the years, I have to seriously wonder why law enforcement doesn't have any kind of foresight, whatsoever. How stupid are you to create a war zone for no apparent reason especially when there are other options available?

And because of typical police stupidity, one man is dead, others are injured, and now the state of Utah wants to murder an innocent man for protecting himself against a home invasion. Or do they? Let's see what jury of his peers has to say. If I was on that jury, I'd vote "not guilty". If Utah wanted to bring suit against the Ogden police for reckless endangerment and negligent homicide, that's an easy "guilty" for me.

It's so sad that any of this has to happen over a marijuana plant. It's clear that this ramping up of state sanctioned violence against peaceful citizens is a sign that this war on drugs is coming to a close. It's that final ditch effort by law enforcement to maintain a strangle hold of control. What they don't understand is that it's acts like these that help people make the decision to legalize, outright or for medical purposes.

I wish Matthew Stewart the best of luck.

Opinion: Marijuana Use is Not on the Rise

I just peeped a little tidbit about marijuana use on the rise...

"Overall, 8.9 percent of the U.S. population or 22.6 million Americans aged 12 and older used illicit drugs in 2010, up from 8.7 percent in 2009 and 8 percent in 2008, according to the survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.... Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the United States, said increases are especially prominent in states in which medical marijuana use is legal. [LINK]"

Well, it would seem that marijuana use is on the rise acoording to statistics. But, is it the rise in use or the rise in people willing to admit that they're users? See, my thinking is, because the rise is mainly in medical marijuana states, these people are people who feel comfortable admitting to using marijuana as some states' laws provide a safety net against the detrimental effects of marijuana - arrest records and employment termination.

So, is it that marijuana use is up or the amount of people willing to admit they use is on the rise?

On another note, I'd like to point out an important fact. According to Harry Anslinger, in 1936, "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S...." I won't bother you with the rest of that quote. Look it up for yourself to see the true reason why marijuana was criminalized in the Untied States. The US population in 1936 was about 128,000,000 people; that's 0.08% of the population. In 2010, 22,600,000 marijuana smokers have revealed themselves; that's 7.5% of the US population, up 22,600% since 1936. And, these are just the people that admit to using marijuana.

So, yes, marijuana use is definitely up, on the rise, skyrocketing, if you will. But, there are still so many people who have not admitted to using marijuana, understandably. Personally, I think at least 25% of this nation smokes marijuana regularly whether it be daily, weekly, or monthly.

So, prepare for that explosion in marijuana use when it's legalized. Most "new" users will be full of longtime tokers and ex-smokers. Then, you'll have a bunch of truly new users finally jumping on board to try it out. I would love to see the numbers then.

The War on Drugs is Very Winnable

Why do people suggest the War on Drugs is unwinnable?

Law enforcement, in a good year, may seize 5% of the total marijuana this nation imports. Hundreds of thousands of people are arrested each year for minor possession of marijuana. Homes are invaded on a regular basis. Families are torn apart. People have lost their lives. Billions in taxpayer funds are slotted for this campaign against marijuana use

Yet, finding marijuana is actually a rare concern for many people in the US. Billions are spent yearly for a paltry 5%. People arrested have become nothing more than mild-mannered, non-threatening, financial burdens on society. How many innocent people have been harmed by raids on the wrong home or just misinformation.

If someone is to win this War on Drugs, then who would be winning if it's pretty obvious that law enforcement has been losing?

Sounds like WE are winning the War on Drugs and we haven't used fear or murder as a tactic to do it. We use our brains. They shut down airports, we drive it in. They shut down roadways, we burrow it in. They collapse tunnels, we swim it in. They catch our boats on the water, we go under water. All the while they're losing the border war, we're growing it on window sills, in pc cases, mobile closets, basements, attics, whole homes, freight bins, underground bunkers, etc etc etc.

The war on drugs is very winnable. We just don't see that we - growers, tokers, and advocates - are the ones winning it.

Let's stop looking at it from the point of view of law enforcement. That's been the problem with this nation so far. We're too individually annoyed at law enforcement's ankle biting to recognize how far marijuana has come. We are way bigger than them. That's why they've been losing.

You can't beat a plant that can grow anywhere!!

Imagine that in 1937, marijuana was essentially criminalized. It was near impossible to get and not widely spread. They've set up laws, set up agencies, institutionalized and terrorized generations of Americans for some 75 years. And 75 years later, you'd be hard pressed to find a person who hasn't come into contact with marijuana or someone who uses it.

Is the War on Drugs winnable? Absolutely. Just look at the record!!

They may never cave in or give up. Marijuana might not be legalized for a long time. But, this war will end some day. It will not end with the eradication of marijuana. Marijuana will be legalized. History is on our side.