If you live in Seattle and have been hiding under a rock (or aren't a Seattle criminal attorney like me) you probably haven't heard the good news. The city will no longer be prosecuting marijuana possession cases. Officially. Like cases are being dismissed right now. Is this good or bad? Read on to find out.
Let's not get too far without calming the fears of all you dooms day prophesiers out there. Drug czars will still be prosecuted. People that have pounds and pounds of pot will still be prosecuted. The people that won't be prosecuted will be the college kid that gets caught with a joint. Rest easy.
A potential consequence that immediately jumps out to people, particularly those deathly afraid of drugs, is that marijuana use will begin to run rampant throughout the city. People will start showing up high all over the place, not just in the comfort of their own homes or their favorite dance club. For many, this will restart the drug trade.
Although this is possible, I highly doubt much difference will be seen by the average person. The fact of the matter is that marijuana in those quantities is so widely distributed and consumed that there isn't much farther to go with this new law. People still likely won't be smoking pot out on the street - at least those that aren't doing it already.
A bad effect that may be felt by some is in their pocket book. For some criminal attorneys in Seattle the misdemeanor marijuana possession case is a cash cow. They are relatively straight forward, have some interesting issues, and because of that demand a fee that will make anyone rich, if you can get enough of them. Getting zero of them, however, is not good for the bank balance.
Another consequence for us attorneys, in addition to the fee, will be the fun of these cases (from a theoretical standpoint). Cops usually get the marijuana off of people by searching them illegally or using some less than straightforward tactics to search them. This makes marijuana possession cases one of the few areas where search and seizure law, and the Constitution, can be utilized. That may be gone.
At the end of the day, this is probably a great idea by the City Attorney. It will save a boat load of money for the City (at a time when they need it), it will allow the cops to work on more important things (if there is anything out there in Seattle to investigate), and it will keep people from having their lives ruined for wanting to smoke a joint. - 29929
Let's not get too far without calming the fears of all you dooms day prophesiers out there. Drug czars will still be prosecuted. People that have pounds and pounds of pot will still be prosecuted. The people that won't be prosecuted will be the college kid that gets caught with a joint. Rest easy.
A potential consequence that immediately jumps out to people, particularly those deathly afraid of drugs, is that marijuana use will begin to run rampant throughout the city. People will start showing up high all over the place, not just in the comfort of their own homes or their favorite dance club. For many, this will restart the drug trade.
Although this is possible, I highly doubt much difference will be seen by the average person. The fact of the matter is that marijuana in those quantities is so widely distributed and consumed that there isn't much farther to go with this new law. People still likely won't be smoking pot out on the street - at least those that aren't doing it already.
A bad effect that may be felt by some is in their pocket book. For some criminal attorneys in Seattle the misdemeanor marijuana possession case is a cash cow. They are relatively straight forward, have some interesting issues, and because of that demand a fee that will make anyone rich, if you can get enough of them. Getting zero of them, however, is not good for the bank balance.
Another consequence for us attorneys, in addition to the fee, will be the fun of these cases (from a theoretical standpoint). Cops usually get the marijuana off of people by searching them illegally or using some less than straightforward tactics to search them. This makes marijuana possession cases one of the few areas where search and seizure law, and the Constitution, can be utilized. That may be gone.
At the end of the day, this is probably a great idea by the City Attorney. It will save a boat load of money for the City (at a time when they need it), it will allow the cops to work on more important things (if there is anything out there in Seattle to investigate), and it will keep people from having their lives ruined for wanting to smoke a joint. - 29929
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