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From: alle@ihuxb.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Drug Laws - Harassing productive citizens
Message-ID: <338@ihuxb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 21-Sep-83 18:10:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxb.338
Posted: Wed Sep 21 18:10:17 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 22-Sep-83 04:16:41 EDT
Organization: BTL Naperville, Il.
Lines: 37


I have a very good friend who was arrested for possesion of
marijuana.  His offense was growing marijuana plants in his
home.  He was not dealing in marijuana.  He was not even buying
marijuana.  He was simply growing it for his own use.

The reason my friend was caught was that he made the mistake of
trying to get his landlord to pay for some damage that he had
incurred from a fire due to faulty wiring.  His landlord decided
to get back at him by turning him in to the police.  My friend
was awakened from a nap on a Friday night by the police showing
up at his door with a search warrant.  He then was booked,
fingerprinted,etc. and of course had to appear in court.

The point of all this is that my friend had a very good job
with a large company (a position of some authority) and so
he was a very productive member of society.  My question is:
Why should productive members of society be persecuted as
common criminals when all they have done is transgress some
moral principle held by a number of others?  He was not
stealing to support his habit.  He was not supporting the
criminal element by dealing with them.  He was just trying
to lead his life in his own fashion.

As a result of all this, he now has a criminal record.  If he
ever applies for another job, he will have to state that on
his application (and I sure that many companies would not
hire a person with a criminal record).

It seems ridiculous to have laws against crimes where there is
no victim.  I think the laws against gambling and prostitution
also fall in this category.  Laws should be enacted to protect
the rights of individuals - not just to harass certain members
of society and deprive these individuals of their rights.

Allen England at BTL, Naperville, IL
ihnp4!ihuxb!alle