This is big.
Minnesota Now Requires A Criminal Conviction Before People Can Lose Their Property
In a big win for property rights and due process, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill yesterday to curb an abusive—and little known—police practice called civil forfeiture. Unlike criminal forfeiture, under civil forfeiture someone does not have to be convicted of a crime, or even charged with one, to permanently lose his or her cash, car or home.
The newly signed legislation, SF 874, corrects that injustice. Now the government can only take property if it obtains a criminal conviction or its equivalent, like if a property owner pleads guilty to a crime or becomes an informant. The bill also shifts the burden of proof onto the government, where it rightfully belongs. Previously, if owners wanted to get their property back, they had to prove their property was not the instrument or proceeds of the charged drug crime. In other words, owners had to prove a negative in civil court. Being acquitted of the drug charge in criminal court did not matter to the forfeiture case in civil court.
Let’s hope the idea of this law spreads far beyond Minnesota.
The bill faced stiff opposition from law enforcement
Yeah, no kidding.
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Did the bill forbid State LEOs from collecting a kickback from the DoJ? That’s what happens in States which earmark forfeited funds for stuff other than LE or legally require that it go into the State’s general fund. The DoJ requires a 20% fee for something which is de facto legal money laundering. Without making that illegal I fear that all that’s been accomplished with the nascent Minnesota law is costing LE 20% of the loot.
Suck on that officer Dennis Flaherty!
Mr. Flaherty isn’t a sworn police officer, he’s just their lobbyist.
Thanks for the clarification. I suspect he may be an ex-cop?
Here’s an article about the conflict of interest for L.E. when discussing reforms, Byrne grants and asset forfeiture. I am so glad some journalists are now calling L.E. unions on their hidden motives in opposing any and all drug reform. I hope we see much more of this, it’s about time the media started to do its job.
“Medical marijuana bill sponsor says police agencies are hooked on drug-enforcement dollars. ”
Read more: http://politicsinminnesota.com/2014/02/melin-challenges-cops-on-pot-opposition/#ixzz317zSk5Mc
Great article.
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Well, speaking of sanity in Minnesota, the State Senate passed a medicinal cannabis patient protection law. The Governor may well be deluding himself that he necessarily has any say in the matter. The final count was a veto proof 48-18.
Minnesota Senate advances medical marijuana bill
The Minnesota House also passed a more restrictive proposed law. I think that means that there is no way in heck that this bill doesn’t go to the Governor’s desk. I really, really got a warm fuzzy when the Rhode Island lawmakers overrode the veto of that State’s Governor to codify that State’s medicinal cannabis patient protection law. It was an exponentially larger warm fuzzy when those lawmakers overrode that same Governor to authorize the creation of the State’s retail supply chain for medicinal cannabis.
I was also tickled because the bill doesn’t allow using smoking as a delivery method. Hey, there’s no way that they can enforce that and like I said recently I’m on a mission from god to get people to understand that cannabis doesn’t require smoking to gain its benefits.
In your face Uncle Fester, in your face.
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Well I sure was wrong about the future of synthetic cannabis. I fully expected it to quickly relegated to the dust bin of history once it was included in Federal naughty list #1. I thought that people would just go back to choosing to enjoy the real thing. Well it sure does appear that we’ve got a genuinely new commercial substance added to the “(some) drugs” category. Huey Lewis’ wasn’t fulfilled and his search continues.
Busts across U.S. target synthetic drug makers, sellers
That’s a huge hit to the police in the state. I remember that video posted earlier with the interview with the Minnesota “police officer”, I wonder if he will be singing a different tune now that they actually have to convict somebody before they can rob them (not likely, that would make him admit he’s a thief with no principles or morals). I hope their funding plummets and they have to start laying people off and cutting salaries. It feels good to watch their crumbling castle fall apart.
New research from the University of Zurich shows what many have long suspected: psilocybin positively influences mood in healthy individuals’ brains by reducing neural responses in the amygdala to negative stimuli. From the abstract:
Once again, a foreign research group, this time the University of Zurich, has achieved groundbreaking results in lab studies of illicit drugs. It’s enough to make a grown American scientist cry.
The weather channel reports on marijuana, a mixed bag:
http://www.weather.com/health/shocking-things-you-dont-know-about-weed-20140407?pageno=1
You know Windy, I almost sent that in yesterday when I saw it on huffpo. When I went to the story and it was on the weather channel (?) I was amazed at what bullshit it was.
It’s like Pete penning an article on the secretive mating habits of African swallows and how much they can carry (as opposed to European swallows who mate differently and carry lighter loads).
I just couldn’t bring myself to post such drivel, but hey, it was good for a laugh.
**disclaimer**
My comment about Pete and the swallows in no way reflects how much Pete may/may not know about said swallows. It just seemed insane that it was on the weather channel.
And I thought they knew which way the wind was blowing….
sorry, I’m doing research on the 15g in 15min thing.
I’m baked
Mission creep. What’s next on the weather network? Suzy homemaker tips? Discussion of plate tectonics? Dog training? Nuclear physics? Note to weather channel execs: Keep to your core mission, where you have a clue.
You don’t need to be a weather man to know which way the wind blows.