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Hmmmmmmmmmmmm the mob stil is in nevada?

sounds like a clear cut case of extortion to me, you can gamble, drink, even buy a woman's body, but don't even think about having marijuna in that moral state!!!


Nevada -- A 56-year-old woman convicted of misdemeanor possession of marijuana may get to keep her Boulder City home without a court fight despite the city's lawsuit to seize the property. She apparently may pay the city to drop the lawsuit.
Boulder City Attorney Dave Olsen said he's optimistic a settlement will be reached with Cynthia Warren that would have her pay in exchange for the city dropping its effort to confiscate her home, which city officials say would fetch $400,000 in an auction.

The lawsuit sparked debate in Boulder City over personal property rights versus the need to crack down on drugs.

Olsen said he and Warren's attorney, John Lusk, have been discussing settling the case. Olsen refused to say how much money would be enough for Boulder City to drop the lawsuit.

Boulder City filed the lawsuit in District Court in April, alleging Warren was a marijuana dealer. Police had raided her home and found six marijuana plants, a large bowl with 2.9 ounces of marijuana, baggies, alleged sales records and paperwork detailing water and cultivating schedules for growing marijuana.

A 49-year-old man who lived at the home with her was also charged in connection with the marijuana.

A settlement of the lawsuit "has been my objective from the outset," said Olsen, who has come under fire from some residents for trying to seize Warren's home.

"I have been doing these types of cases off and on for 16 years, and in virtually every case, I have never taken anybody's property. We have always settled. Contrary to what some people might believe, I am not interested in taking this poor woman's house."

Warren had been charged by the Clark County district attorney's office with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and conspiracy to possess, both felonies. But in July, Warren, after a plea of no contest, was found guilty of possession of drugs not to be introduced into interstate commerce, a misdemeanor. In addition to her 30-day suspended sentence and $500 fine, she is required to complete drug counseling.

Lusk has criticized the city's tactic to seize Warren's almost paid-for home based on the misdemeanor possession charge for which she was convicted. But he said he was open to resolving the case. He said fighting the case could be more costly to Warren than "a token payment of some kind."

Taking the case to court "could be very expensive on both sides. It is ridiculous," Lusk said.

Olsen said, "The bottom line here is that if we can't reach an acceptable settlement, we will go forward with the case."

Under state law, money from drug forfeiture cases is restricted for anti-drug uses, which could include equipment, drug-sniffing dogs or undercover buys.

Previously, Boulder City obtained $3,000 from a local resident whose vehicle authorities allege was used to transport drugs, Olsen said. The man settled the case rather than risk losing his vehicle, Olsen said.

Boulder City sought to obtain another home in 1999 but lost that forfeiture case in court, Olsen said. Olsen was not the city attorney at the time.

Lusk defended that homeowner as well, a woman who had allowed her son to live at a home she owned that police alleged was used for manufacturing methamphetamines.

Lusk said pursuing the case against Warren is just as wrong-headed as that failed lawsuit was.

"I think trying to forfeit her house over alleged marijuana in her house is just an error in judgment not only on the prosecutor's part but by the City Council," Lusk said.

Brian Wargo covers suburban government for the Sun.

Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Author: Brian Wargo, Las Vegas Sun
Published: October 11, 2005
Copyright: 2005 Las Vegas Sun Inc.
Contact: letters@lasvegassun.com
Website: http://www.lasvegassun.com/
___
 
we need to legalize Marijuana.

an even bigger question is, why did she keep sales records?
 
You gotta love the town attorney saying, "I have been doing these types of cases off and on for 16 years, and in virtually every case, I have never taken anybody's property. We have always settled. Contrary to what some people might believe, I am not interested in taking this poor woman's house."  Yep, the town's only interested in cash..

If the town doesn't want to collect enough taxes to pay its bills, shouldn't it just station a cop behind a billboard where the speed limit drops from 55 to 25 on the road into town?
 
*gasp*...........Bruce agrees with me...........i feel faint..................
smile_n_32.gif
 
The key note was, she was keeping records. Whether you're for the legalization of pot or not, the point is she was dealing, enough so to afford a 400K home in Nevada(not too shabby). Sure it's comes down to $$$. The state leagalizes alcohol which is a drug, if pot is legalized the state will control that also to get their lion's share of the pie. If the amount confiscated was for personal use, the story would never had made the paper. In fact in most states under 50 grams is a misdomeaner. The fact that she kept records meant that she was dealing, and in most cases dealers like to diversify to what ever is the hot drug for the moment i.g. X, meth.. It's pretty safe to say that she wasn't specializing in pot to afford the lifestyle(house and property) she was maintaining. She must have been dealing big time in order for the cops to be eyeballing her.
 
NJ, did you know Gary Ridgway killed 48 women and the government doesn't own his house? when i posted this my issue wasnt that she got busted for dealing my issue was with these comments

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]"I have been doing these types of cases off and on for 16 years, and in virtually every case, I have never taken anybody's property. We have always settled. Contrary to what some people might believe, I am not interested in taking this poor woman's house."

He said fighting the case could be more costly to Warren than "a token payment of some kind."

Taking the case to court "could be very expensive on both sides. It is ridiculous," Lusk said.

dont those statements just seem wrong to you? heres another interesting article Drug Raids article in the Seattle Post
 
I don't find those statements really bad. What he saying is true. Local and state prosecutors are public employees that have a sort of "budget". What I mean is their endeavours have to be cost effective. They can't spend x amount of dollars in order to fine(punish) an individual if it's a losing proposition. Unlike the federal gov't whose funds are unlimited in these matters. If they found one vial of crack in her house it would be a whole other ballgame. Possession of crack is a federal offense. I know a case where a guy had a kilo of pot, and his buddy had 3 vials of crack. The kilo street value at the time was about $3500, the crack $15. The pot guy was fined for intent to sell and rec'd 3-5 yrs. His buddy(because crack is a fed.) is doing life in a Fed. pen somewhere in Michigan. Do I think it's right - heck no. The same holds true for other federal crimes. That's why the dude who killed 48 people still has his house, he was prosecuted by the state not the feds(if he killed someone and then brought the body over state lines then the feds get involved). Bottom line is don't get get caught by the feds, stick to state and local crimes if you feel compelled to do so. Like many things in life it doesn't have to make sense to become a law!
 
my issue is that unless they prosicute her and a jury finds her guilty THEN they have every right to sieze what ever they want, however untill she is found guilty they shouldnt be taking anything. thats just wrong. there is something extreamly wrong with any law that allows otherwise. dont you agree?
 
Legalize marijuana?
You have to be joking

In the city where I live(Bristol) there is a charity that helps homeless people on the streets. A lady from their came to talk to us about what it does. She said many of the homeless people in this city end up on the streets because of drugs, almost always marijuana.
She said when they come to her they are virtually days away from dying, and they have sometiems been in prison beforehand for stealing(to fund their habit) and using drugs.
I didnt know it was actually this bad, I always thought minority of homeless were on the streets because their family diwowned them. I was very wrong.
So legalizing marijuana would be like putting a million or two more million people in Britain on the streets. The law needs ot toughen up on it, not relax it!
As for those who think it wont do any harm if its used in large amounts longterm, think again. If used in longterm and in large amounts it has effects worse then smoking, plus other nasty things like hallucination.

However, I think marijuana should be a prescription drug to treat thigns like athritis, where its been proven to help. Use of it other then this purpose should result in a prison sentence.
 
  • #10
Dino,
Prohibitions against marijuana have been horrible failures. The money spent on interdiction, prosecution (and defense), policing, and incarcerating pot users is incredible, and all it does is destroy the lives of those convicted. This money should be going to schools, to libraries, and other things cities desperately need. More prisoners is NOT on that list.

While no drugs are healthy, marijuana is far less dangerous than even alcohol. Whoever told you homeless people get that way via marijuana is simply mistaken. The notion that they are days from death from pot is simply laughable. Pot does not kill people. By far the larger factor in homelessness is alcohol use, and that is followed by harder drugs like methamphetimines and crack. All of those are more physically injurious and far more addictive than marijuana. (mental illness is another huge factor in homelessness.)

Here in California, millions of people use marijuana - many of them legally with doctor's prescriptions. They hold jobs and have normal lives. In my industry, use is so widespread that it doesn't even raise eyebrows.

Putting people in prison accomplishes nothing. The USA has more people in prison, per capita, than any other industrialized democracy. It's a national disgrace. And most of them are non-violent drug offenders. It doesn't help to imprison these people. All it does is make them lose their jobs, their homes, and sometimes their families. And that makes them MORE dangerous when they come out. If they weren't criminals on the way in, they certainly are on the way out.

Go to any ghetto in any city. Check out the people lying in the streets. Check out what they're on. It's not pot. It's alcohol and stronger stuff.

Capslock
 
  • #11
Dino, do you even understand marijuana at all? there is no habit to support unless you want to. it is 100% non addictive. caffine is addictive, nicotine is highly addictive, crack is highly addictive, meth is EXTREAMLY addictive. you can smoke an ounce a day of marijuana for 4 years and stop at anypoint and suffer no ill effects. you can smoke marijuana before going to sleep, be so stoned you can barly move, get up the next morning and not be the least bit high, can you say this of alcohol?

yes i do firmly believe in the legalization of marijuana even though i havent touched it myself in over 4 years. it works well for all sorts of medical disorders with less side effects than any drug currently on the market. i also have no problems with ADULTS using it recreationally. what i do in my own home is no ones buisness but mine.
 
  • #12
[b said:
Quote[/b] (rattler_mt @ Oct. 13 2005,4:46)]Dino, do you even understand marijuana at all? there is no habit to support unless you want to. it is 100% non addictive. caffine is addictive, nicotine is highly addictive, crack is highly addictive, meth is EXTREAMLY addictive. you can smoke an ounce a day of marijuana for 4 years and stop at anypoint and suffer no ill effects. you can smoke marijuana before going to sleep, be so stoned you can barly move, get up the next morning and not be the least bit high, can you say this of alcohol?

yes i do firmly believe in the legalization of marijuana even though i havent touched it myself in over 4 years. it works well for all sorts of medical disorders with less side effects than any drug currently on the market. i also have no problems with ADULTS using it recreationally. what i do in my own home is no ones buisness but mine.
actually yes, I do understand it.
And yes, it is addictive and it has side effects, if it didnt people here wouldnt be on the streets because of it.
If its legalized more people here will jsut end up on the streets.
Back home in Bosnia, when people get addicted on marijuana they smash widnows and steal to fund their habit.
My grandma told me, so did our friends from there, as marijuana addicts tried to break into their home aswell.

Just look at this link:
http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/effects-of-marijuana.htm
 
  • #13
Dino,
I'd say I'm very familiar with at least 100 people who use marijuana regularly, including close friends and family. It's just not true what you're saying. My doctor personally contradicts it. It simply does NOT make you homeless. Is it good for you? No, it's smoke going into your lungs. That's not healthy. But is it physically addictive? No. Is it going to kill you? No, not unless you smoke it like cigarettes, which nobody does (except one guy I know, but he's a freak.)

It's really no different than drinking a beer. Some people might abuse it, but not as often as alcohol is abused. And it's far less likely to provoke violence than alcohol. I've been to reggae festivals with nearly everyone smoking pot. They are peacefull. I've been to baseball games where lots of people drink beer, and seen fight after fight fueled by the alcohol.

While I don't ever want to send a message that could be interpreted as encouraging drugs (I don't encourage drug use of any kind, particularly among minors), I suggest you research this a little further, and not just from anti-drug agenda websites.

Capslock
 
  • #14
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Capslock @ Oct. 13 2005,4:58)]Dino,
I'd say I'm very familiar with at least 100 people who use marijuana regularly, including close friends and family. It's just not true what you're saying. My doctor personally contradicts it. It simply does NOT make you homeless. Is it good for you? No, it's smoke going into your lungs. That's not healthy. But is it physically addictive? No. Is it going to kill you? No, not unless you smoke it like cigarettes, which nobody does (except one guy I know, but he's a freak.)

It's really no different than drinking a beer. Some people might abuse it, but not as often as alcohol is abused. And it's far less likely to provoke violence than alcohol. I've been to reggae festivals with nearly everyone smoking pot. They are peacefull. I've been to baseball games where lots of people drink beer, and seen fight after fight fueled by the alcohol.

While I don't ever want to send a message that could be interpreted as encouraging drugs (I don't encourage drug use of any kind, particularly among minors), I suggest you research this a little further, and not just from anti-drug agenda websites.

Capslock
Actually, a lot of addicts here smoke it as cigarretes.
And yes, a lot of people on the streets here are there ebcause of marijuana. They all admit its because of that.
Hell, anyone who knows about the homeless admits it here.
I think even the goverment admitted it.

I really dont see how you can say Im wrong.
If you need evidence just ask the bosnian locals in Mostar.
They all say the same: marijuana addicts occasionally sprawl the streets looking for a house or someone to rob to fund their habit. After seeing first hand what it turns people into, I will never ever accept legalazation of marijuana and I will never accept people who smoke it regually. Never for as long as I live. Sure, you might accuse me of telling lies now, but its the truth. Like I said, you only need to ask a respectable person from there. We asked my grandma and two of our friends and theya ll said the same.
 
  • #15
lol, i smoked marijuana for all 4 years of high school. smoked it several years after high school. i quite the day my wife asked me to. cold turkey, never had any withdrawls, that was 4 years ago, no ill effects what so ever. i was an solid B student through highschool. took all the advance classes offed except for the highest english class. i took calculus, human physiology, chemestry, physics ect. graduated with a 3.5 out of 4.0 and had a part time job through all of high school. never had any problems with short term memory. never had any problems with paranoia while i smoked but i prefered the indica variety to the sativa. some sativa clones can cause paranoia, especially the cheap mexican ones.

as to addiction, i am personally familiar with that. when i was 17 i had a knee surgery, the surgeon screwed up and i was in pain for 2 weeks. taking the pain meds perscribed to me in the manor perscribed. after those two weeks i quite taking the pills. those 3 days were some of the worst in my life. makes a bad hangover seem like a lil headache. i cant imagine someone detoxing after years of that kind of drug use.

most of those side effects listed for marijuana are also the same for alcohol, only difference is you can drink enough alcohol to kill you in one sitting, its about impossibal to smoke enough marijuana to kill you in one sitting. infact i dont think it is possibal to smoke enough to do it.

BTW for those taking marijuana for health reasons you do not have to smoke it. you can vaporize it and by pass the harmful effects of smoking, you can eat it and you can take it in pill form. no dangers of lung cancer there.
 
  • #16
Dino you must be confusing marijuana with some other drug. meth and heroin will do to ppl what you are describing as will alcohol in extream cases. marijuana will not.
 
  • #17
[b said:
Quote[/b] (rattler_mt @ Oct. 13 2005,5:14)]Dino you must be confusing marijuana with some other drug. meth and heroin will do to ppl what you are describing as will alcohol in extream cases. marijuana will not.
rattler........they have seen marijuana before, they know what it smells like when smoked and they know what it looks like. They wouldnt have said its that if they had no evidence for it.

I agree on the basis that some peopel wotn get addicted, but a fair amount will. Every year there are figuires released here how many people got o classes to help them rid the habit. about 22,00 in 1999

The main thing I find unreal is that people here want it legalized for all purposes. Whta about people that abuse it?
And whats wrogn with having it as a prescription drug?
Im aware marijuana helps some people, but more people abuse then then using it for any other use
 
  • #18
San Francisco has a huge homeless population. It's not hard to get the facts on it, Dino. The problem is OVERWHELMINGLY alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and crystal meth.

I've read a bit about drug trafficking in Bosnia (have you?). The problems there are heroin, alcohol, and harder drugs. Marijuana use is on the rise, too, but there's no indication of it as being a cause for homelessness. There have been hundreds of millions of pot users worldwide. There is plenty of material to study. I suggest you do so, so that you know what's really dangerous, and what is not. I don't suggest you use pot, but it's infinitely preferable to heroin. One gripe I have about our educational systems is they tend to group these things together, but omit the more socially-acceptable alcohol, which is much more dangerous.

Do some reading. Check out crime statistics. Look into the results of different policies. Look into how much money is wasted on pot users. Check out crime stats on who is doing crimes. ASK real homelss shelters what are the main problems that their residents have. This information is not hidden. It will not be given to you by your school or your parents. You have to find out by yourself what the facts are.

Like I said, I live in a part of the world where marijuana use is accepted. It's everywhere, so I don't have to speculate or take someone's word for it. I see it every day. I've never been accosted for money by someone hooked on pot. But it happens every day from alcoholics and crackheads. It's as plain as day. There's enough misinformation out there as is. Please do some research and reading from a lot of different sources. You'll see.

Capslock
 
  • #19
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Capslock @ Oct. 13 2005,5:22)]San Francisco has a huge homeless population. It's not hard to get the facts on it, Dino. The problem is OVERWHELMINGLY alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and crystal meth.

I've read a bit about drug trafficking in Bosnia (have you?). The problems there are heroin, alcohol, and harder drugs. Marijuana use is on the rise, too, but there's no indication of it as being a cause for homelessness. There have been hundreds of millions of pot users worldwide. There is plenty of material to study. I suggest you do so, so that you know what's really dangerous, and what is not. I don't suggest you use pot, but it's infinitely preferable to heroin. One gripe I have about our educational systems is they tend to group these things together, but omit the more socially-acceptable alcohol, which is much more dangerous.

Do some reading. Check out crime statistics. Look into the results of different policies. Look into how much money is wasted on pot users. Check out crime stats on who is doing crimes. ASK real homelss shelters what are the main problems that their residents have. This information is not hidden. It will not be given to you by your school or your parents. You have to find out by yourself what the facts are.

Like I said, I live in a part of the world where marijuana use is accepted. It's everywhere, so I don't have to speculate or take someone's word for it. I see it every day. I've never been accosted for money by someone hooked on pot. But it happens every day from alcoholics and crackheads. It's as plain as day. There's enough misinformation out there as is. Please do some research and reading from a lot of different sources. You'll see.

Capslock
I have done a lot of reading, at least in UK cases, and marijuana pops up as the major reason people get homeless.
Homeless shelters here say it. I see no reason why they would lie about stuff like that.

About you reading stuff about Bosnia, all I can tell you there is not to belieev what you read.
People write thats its all improving and stuff. It maybe, but theres still a long way to go and life is much worse then foreigners perceive it. To know what its really like, you have to live there, speak and language and talk tot he locals. Thats what Ive done. I dont live there anymore, but my grandma does. Shes always been straight with me, shes not the type to say something untrue just to stop me getting upset. Last tiem I asked her about the situation in Mostar she said its a bit better but the marijuana and alchohol problem is really getting out of hand and the people struggle, they dont live luxury lives like in the UK and US.
She said there are no jobs, and that people over 35 cant get a job at all. All these things are sad but true, but foreign articles neevr mention them, esspecially the employment issues.
She says shes seen marijuana users there and they steal to fund the habit(see above)
Our friends there have said the same.
They say they are a couple of other things there, like heroine(which you have mentioned) and they said theres a medium amount of alchohol problems, but all of them say the same fact: marijuana is the major problem.
This is at least true for Mostar. I dont know about Banja Luka and Sarajevo and Tuzla, but this is the situation in Mostar.

Here schools are different, teachers here also say the effects of alchohol and the harmful effects of alchoholism and such.
They dotn leave out any harmful or potentially harmful drug.
 
  • #20
Well I agree with Rattler that nothing should be done to that lady until she is tried and found guilty on the charges.  Innocent until proven guilty so the law says.  So if she is presumed innocent until the conclusion of a trial or a plea bargain, they shouldn't touch her belongings.

Marijuana is not a hallucinogen nor is it physically addictive.  Marijuana is not a "stepping stone" to harder drugs.  Its usually just easier to obtain than some other drugs so its often someone's first "drug" experience and later someone MIGHT make the choice to try other things.  Not everyone who uses hardcore drugs uses marijuana.  Many people who use marijuana have never used any other drug.  OH...except perhaps alcohol which IS classified as a drug.  For some reason, people seem to forget that fact because its a socially accepted and legally sanctioned drug while others are not.  Somewhere along the way somebody got to decide that alcohol is an OK drug but not marijuana.  I wonder who got to make that decision?

And in fact, marijuana is really just a plant..and a pretty one at that.  I wish I could grow it simply as a plant because its very attractive but I can't becasue someone decided it was evil.  Some people smoke the marijuana plant the same as some people grow and smoke the tobocco plant.  Somebody along in our history discovered certain plants, like tobacco, are enjoyable to smoke.  (Smoking anything isn't HEALTHY but people still choose to do it.) I don't consider marijuana a drug just because "somebody" decided it was evil and called it a "drug."  Many plants contain chemicals that have various effects on people (some good, some bad) such as nicotine, caffeine, digitalis, capsaicin (hot peppers!), etc.

If my child was determined to use some mood-altering chemical...weed would be the lesser of all evils.  In the grand scheme of drug evils...marijuana is about as innocuous as it gets.

And considering the fact that "we" have beening "fighting the war on drugs" for many many decades now...and drugs of all types still pour into this country (as well as manufactured here) largely unchecked...I'd have to pull a Dr. Phil and say "How's that workin' for ya?"  Billions of dollars and millions of hours of man-power go into this "war on drugs" and our jails/prisons are bulging with drug offenders, courts are clogged with drug-related trials.  Drug lords reap billions of dollars in profits and the street dealers die.  So...does that sound like the laws we have are having ANY postive effect on stopping the use of drugs and preventing their manufacture?  People need to face the fact that, for better or for worse, many human beings enjoy mood-altering chemicals and that is not going to ever go away.  Its been that way from the beginning of homosapiens.  Somebody needs to wake up and realize this "war" ain't working!  Education and controlled legalization would be a better alternative.

There are definitely many drugs that are very very bad and can ruin one's life.  But marijuana ain't one of them.  I'm not advocating drug use but its not ever going to go away.  Its a fact of the human condition that we seek out ways to alter our moods and consciousness... from the jolt of a morning cup of coffee to a cigarette after a stressful staff meeting to a having a beer with buddies after work.
 
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