M3, yea or nay?

[GSD]

I apologize, this is a really long post but I hope everyone reads it to the end. I also am writing this after working a 13 hour night shift and just got home so forgive me for any grammatical errors. I’m new to this site and have no plans on coming on here and instantly stirring the pot with other members. I would love to have a civilized conversation about this topic because it directly affects me. I’m a police K9 handler in the state but obviously don’t want to say which department I work for. I’ve been following this discussion from the beginning and thought it might be benificial to hear from someone in my position. I had a training a few months back that was put on by a K9 handler from Colorado. The training was all about what they had to do with their dogs that were previously certified in marijuana and the other affects this had on the city this officer works for. This department had to replace all their K9’s with new dogs that were not introduced to marijuana. I’m not gonna lie if this passes and I can no longer use my dog I will be devastated. I have countless hours of training into him and he’s my partner that I literally trust my life to. I know the comment was made that we could still use these dogs in schools and for vehicle sniffs on anyone under 21 which is true. Granted my dog is also certified for other things than just narcotics but let’s be honest, we live in ND and K9 apprehensions aren’t an everyday occurrence. A new dog is roughly 15k which is not easy for a department to swallow. Especially for departments that would have to replace numerous dogs. Plus it takes a few years of doing this for a dog to really be good at this job. So if we end up starting over with almost every dog in this state it’s going to be a pain in the rear. And I know there’s also been talk that we have better things to do than worry about a marijuana bust. From start to finish on a vehicle sniff I am maybe tied up for 20 min tops if all we find is a small amount of marijuana. Plus there’s other officers still working the street at this time so it’s not like criminals have a free for all while one or two of us are busy with a vehicle search. The individual is given a citation and court date, we seize the product and any paraphernalia and they go on their way. Now on the occasional larger bust yes I am tied up slightly longer. But there’s been very few times where I’ve come across only marijuana in these instances. Usually when someone is dealing large amounts of marijuana it’s to fund their other habits. Now granted this isn’t always the case but seems to be more common than not. Also it was mentioned that people would have no reason to come to conservative ND when it’s already legal in other more liberal states and how this would put a dent in the cartels pocket book. This is where I would urge everyone to really think about the consequences if this passes. Going back to the individual from Colorado who taught the class and what he had to say. He stated before it was made legal in Colorado he admitted he thought this would stop the cartels as well. It was the complete opposite. In fact it made things way worse. He said the cartels and other criminal organizations moved in like crazy and purchased houses. Don’t quote me on these numbers exactly but it went something like this. In Colorado if you get your medical card and pay $99 you can grow 10 plants, for $200 you can grow 40 plants and for $400 you can grow 100 plants. These criminal organizations would buy these houses and move 20 people into one house. This house was then turned into a marijuana grow after everyone who “lived” there got their medical card and paid the maximum to grow as many plants as they could. These individuals obviously aren’t selling their product in Colorado. They are transporting this from Colorado to other states for a much larger profit. Also they aren’t buying small homes in old area of town. They’re purchasing huge brand new homes in upscale neighborhoods. They’re doing this because these homes have tons of room and updated electrical. The electrical thing plays a big factor when your running numerous greenhouse type lights to grow plants. Their crime rate shot way up after this. Now imagine what would happen to ND when there is nothing stopping these same people from moving into the state, buying up homes and land and growing as much as they want. The way this law is written, they could buy 10,000 acres and grow as much as they please. So if you think if measure 3 passes this will put a stop to the marijuana trafficking into the state think again. It will be so overrun with these people moving here to take advantage of this it would be ridiculous. Also banks will not take money from marijuana dispensaries since it is still federally illegal and the federal government can come in at any time and seize this money. This means it’s cash only sales. So obviously how do you kee track of this. So in other words, all this tax revenue we are supposed to get won’t be what people think. So these dispensaries have huge amounts of cash and the armed burglaries have gotten out of control in Colorado because of this. This trainer lives and works in a suburb right outside of Denver. He stated he is in law enforcement and his wife works in the school system. He thought with all this new tax income their roads would be fixed and the schools would have the latest and greatest. He stated they haven’t seen a dime. He stated it’s actually gotten worse. Plus I deal with enough stuff throughout my day I’d rather not have to deal with this as well. I realize with my job there’s always a chance when I leave my house every night and say goodbye to my wife and kids that I may not make it home the following day. I accept that, but I’m a cop in ND and not another state for a reason. I feel my odds are better here because of the large majority of the people that live in this state are awesome people. We already have plenty of not so great of people to deal with we don’t need more. Like I said at the beginning of this, I don’t mean to offend anyone by calling them out, I just wanted to get some info out there for everyone to hear. I by no means claim to be an expert at any of this but I feel like I’m fairly knowledgeable since it’s what I do for a living. In my opinion, until marijuana becomes federally legal we cannot pass this law. It’s not just to benefit me it’s for everyone in this state. Again I apologize for the crazy long post but I hope it hits home for a few that are on the fence about this. For those of you that will vote yes even after reading this I won’t think less of you. If any of my info doesn’t seem accurate just message me back and I will try to clear it up. Like I said I just got home from a rough night of work and I’m a little tired. Also don’t hold back on me just because of what I do for a living. I get called all sorts of names everyday at work so you won’t hurt my feelings. But with that being said I would like to keep things civil. Hope you all have a great day. Im gonna get some sleep than go shoot some rifles this afternoon and work on some reloads.

 

[JayKay]

Beyond the tax benefits, imagine how much weed tourism $$$ would flow into ND? We are surrounded by states where it is still illegal. Legalization would be huge for our economy, at least until something changes in those other states...

Dude. You expect the people who are itching to smoke pot, to bring a huge economic benefit to our state? Umm, I hope you were kidding..

They're going to flock to ND to bring and spend loads of cash, right? Stay in expensive hotels, go shopping at the mall, eat in nice restaurants, support the local arts?

Ahh man, they'll drive 9 minutes into Fargo or Grand Forks, buy the $hit, take a dump at the gas station, and drive right back out.

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Let me be the first to thank you for what you do. I couldn't agree more with you. Thank you for your point of view.

 

[Brian Renville]

Ahh man, they'll drive 9 minutes into Fargo or Grand Forks, borrow money from someone, buy the $hit, take a dump at the gas station, and drive right back out.

Fixed it for ya

 

[Lycanthrope]

Dude. You expect the people who are itching to smoke pot, to bring a huge economic benefit to our state? Umm, I hope you were kidding..

They're going to flock to ND to bring and spend loads of cash, right? Stay in expensive hotels, go shopping at the mall, eat in nice restaurants, support the local arts?

Ahh man, they'll drive 9 minutes into Fargo or Grand Forks, buy the $hit, take a dump at the gas station, and drive right back out.

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Let me be the first to thank you for what you do. I couldn't agree more with you. Thank you for your point of view.

There are plenty of wealthy people who use weed, some fit into your description, but plenty dont. Even if all they did was come buy some stuff, fill their car, grab some food and leave, thats more money left in ND than there is without... Some will drive 9 minutes, but others will drive 5 hours, maybe catch a concert, stay overnight, and drive home the next day.

 

[eyexer]

My son is a cop. His understanding is that due to the medicinal legalization in ND that all dogs in the state were going to have to be replaced due to that becoming legal. They wouldn't be able to do dog sniffs on people that have medical cards anyway. So they need to go with dogs that haven't been mj trained. I'm not sure of the validity of this but it does make sense when you think about it.

 

[Glass]

Thanks for the comment GSD. I can understand your bond with your dog for sure! After you spend years with them, it has to be hard thinking if this passes you will be retiring them before you expected to. I have said I am not in support of the unlimited growth that is written into the measure, and honestly I hadnt even thought about the drug cartels coming in and buying large acreage. I have thought about how it could help the farmers, especially the small family farmer though. Thinking about cartels coming into farm makes me think a lot harder about the bill, but I dont think it will change my mind personally.

I would like to hear your opinion on medical, and decriminalization, if you would be willing to share. There has recently been talk from washington about them addressing the schedule statues, medical use/statues, and decriminalization after the midterm elections. It will be really interesting to see what comes of that, if anything.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Thanks for the comment GSD. I can understand your bond with your dog for sure! After you spend years with them, it has to be hard thinking if this passes you will be retiring them before you expected to. I have said I am not in support of the unlimited growth that is written into the measure, and honestly I hadnt even thought about the drug cartels coming in and buying large acreage. I have thought about how it could help the farmers, especially the small family farmer though. Thinking about cartels coming into farm makes me think a lot harder about the bill, but I dont think it will change my mind personally.

I would like to hear your opinion on medical, and decriminalization, if you would be willing to share. There has recently been talk from washington about them addressing the schedule statues, medical use/statues, and decriminalization after the midterm elections. It will be really interesting to see what comes of that, if anything.

I dont see the cartel thing becoming a BIG issue. Likely legislature will set some rules about plant count, etc. As legalization continues (I think 7 states are voting on it this november) it will become less and less of an issue. Also The Donald is openly discussing federal changes that would likely change the whole landscape of marijuana in the US. Guessing this will happen before the next presidential election...

 

[Davey Crockett]

I respect everyone's opinions , I just wish there was a magic wand that we could wave at the Medical issue and the stubborn mules that annihilated it and we wouldn't be at 465 posts on this topic. For anyone that would like to see affordable medical MJ anytime soon AKA within the next few years, M3 is your only option and a big part of the reason there is this much support in favor if it.

Government overreach got us to where we are on this issue, There is a line with not much gray area in that department. Be careful when picking and choosing which issues and topics you think is ok for government overreach, That's not how it's supposed to work.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Government overreach got us to where we are on this issue, There is a line with not much gray area in that department. Be careful when picking and choosing which issues and topics you think is ok for government overreach, That's not how it's supposed to work.

Exactly, the fact that its illegal in the first place is really ridiculous when you compare it with other legal drugs...

 

[GSD]

Eyexer,
I’m still awake so figured I’d respond to this quick. We will not have to replace the dogs because of the medicinal marijuana. I’m not sure how exactly we will approach it yet but we obviously will not utilize a K9 in this instance. I can only assume that if you have the card and are stopped by law enforcement you must provide us with the card if you are in possession of any marijuana at that time. Obviously you will be limited as to how much you can have at one time with the medicinal side of things. With this being said I don’t know how we will go about making sure you only have the allowed amount at the time but that’s not for me to decide. I’m all about individuals rights and don’t want to infringe on anyone by conducting an illegal search and seizure but there has to be a way that we can confirm you only possess the legal amount and not more. Not sure if that means law enforcement will be able to conduct a search of your vehicle to make sure your not carrying more than you’re supposed to or not. Like I said I don’t want to be searching every single individuals car that has a medical card just because I can. Plus it would be a pain for the people who are following the rules to have us going through your things if you get stopped. But with that being said I don’t think any one individual will be having the issue of getting their vehicle searched daily just because they possess the medical card. If they are getting searched daily they need to work on their driving skills because they are getting pulled over way to often. I know the argument by some will be that once law enforcement knows who possesses the cards they will look for them and try to stop them any chance they get. My opinion is if that does happen, that individual officer is in the wrong profession and needs to do a different job. I’m all about getting illegal narcotics off the street but not at the cost of making new case law and infringing on individuals rights. Also nobody lose your mind by me saying narcotics and talking about marijuana in the same post. I’d much rather be taking heroin and meth off the street I’m just generalizing.

Hope this clears it up for ya

 

[Enslow]

Sounds like the demand in Canada is so high the shops have run out of stock already.

 

[Brian Renville]

I respect everyone's opinions , I just wish there was a magic wand that we could wave at the Medical issue and the stubborn mules that annihilated it and we wouldn't be at 465 posts on this topic. For anyone that would like to see affordable medical MJ anytime soon AKA within the next few years, M3 is your only option and a big part of the reason there is this much support in favor if it.

Government overreach got us to where we are on this issue, There is a line with not much gray area in that department. Be careful when picking and choosing which issues and topics you think is ok for government overreach, That's not how it's supposed to work.

Yep, the fact that weed needs to illegal under federal law is idiotic. Instead of pressuring the federal government to stop putting people in prison and let the states handle it themselves people are under the illusion they are voting for for a freedom. Sorry folks it's not legal until federal law says it is.

 

[Enslow]

I hope you don’t lose your dog dude no matter what the outcome of the vote.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Eyexer,
I’m still awake so figured I’d respond to this quick. We will not have to replace the dogs because of the medicinal marijuana. I’m not sure how exactly we will approach it yet but we obviously will not utilize a K9 in this instance. I can only assume that if you have the card and are stopped by law enforcement you must provide us with the card if you are in possession of any marijuana at that time. Obviously you will be limited as to how much you can have at one time with the medicinal side of things. With this being said I don’t know how we will go about making sure you only have the allowed amount at the time but that’s not for me to decide. I’m all about individuals rights and don’t want to infringe on anyone by conducting an illegal search and seizure but there has to be a way that we can confirm you only possess the legal amount and not more. Not sure if that means law enforcement will be able to conduct a search of your vehicle to make sure your not carrying more than you’re supposed to or not. Like I said I don’t want to be searching every single individuals car that has a medical card just because I can. Plus it would be a pain for the people who are following the rules to have us going through your things if you get stopped. But with that being said I don’t think any one individual will be having the issue of getting their vehicle searched daily just because they possess the medical card. If they are getting searched daily they need to work on their driving skills because they are getting pulled over way to often. I know the argument by some will be that once law enforcement knows who possesses the cards they will look for them and try to stop them any chance they get. My opinion is if that does happen, that individual officer is in the wrong profession and needs to do a different job. I’m all about getting illegal narcotics off the street but not at the cost of making new case law and infringing on individuals rights. Also nobody lose your mind by me saying narcotics and talking about marijuana in the same post. I’d much rather be taking heroin and meth off the street I’m just generalizing.

Hope this clears it up for ya

Do you ever worry about KARMA, or is criminalizing people for something so benign just a job for you? Im not anti LE at all, but I couldnt wreck lives over something so trivial, and criminal offenses do wreck lives...

 

[Achucker]

If you cant do the time dont do the crime

 

[Davey Crockett]

I respect everyone's opinions , I just wish there was a magic wand that we could wave at the Medical issue and the stubborn mules that annihilated it and we wouldn't be at 465 posts on this topic. For anyone that would like to see affordable medical MJ anytime soon AKA within the next few years, M3 is your only option and a big part of the reason there is this much support in favor if it.

Government overreach got us to where we are on this issue, There is a line with not much gray area in that department. Be careful when picking and choosing which issues and topics you think is ok for government overreach, That's not how it's supposed to work.

One more important point I left out , Registering for a medical card is signing on the dotted line to give up your guns. My wife looked at me like a deer in the headlights when I told her this and that there will be no medical card in this household as long as I have anything to say about it. From a medical, economical and logical standpoint , Yes on M3 is a fairly easy decision for this old Grandma and Grandpa we are logical people that separate the facts from the fiction. Lots of wool being pulled over people's eyes .

 

[Lycanthrope]

If you cant do the time dont do the crime

You completely missed my point...

 

[Davey Crockett]

Does anyone else smell a rat this morning ?

 

[GSD]

Thanks for the comment GSD. I can understand your bond with your dog for sure! After you spend years with them, it has to be hard thinking if this passes you will be retiring them before you expected to. I have said I am not in support of the unlimited growth that is written into the measure, and honestly I hadnt even thought about the drug cartels coming in and buying large acreage. I have thought about how it could help the farmers, especially the small family farmer though. Thinking about cartels coming into farm makes me think a lot harder about the bill, but I dont think it will change my mind personally.

I would like to hear your opinion on medical, and decriminalization, if you would be willing to share. There has recently been talk from washington about them addressing the schedule statues, medical use/statues, and decriminalization after the midterm elections. It will be really interesting to see what comes of that, if anything.

Not sure if I’m doing this reply thing correctly or not so hopefully this works.

I’ve done some (not enough) research into the medicinal side of things and feel if marijuana does in fact help certain individuals I’m all for it. But I’m for medical marijuana being low in THC and high in CBD. I personally know individuals that have been helped by it so it hits home with me on a personal level. So in other words I’m for it if the people that are much much smarter than me say it has medical benifits.

As far as decriminalization of marijuana all together I’m not yet on the wagon for that. Obviously from my previous post about losing my dog it would suck for that part of things but I’m not gonna base my opinion on just that. I just don’t think we need more mind altering things out there for our younger generation to get their hands on more easily. Kids now are able to get alcohol, tobacco and other drugs way to easily as it is. Now if you decriminalize marijuana it would be easier yet. Trust me I’d rather deal with someone who smoked a little weed before someone who drank a pint of whisky but that still doesn’t change my mind on it. I know there’s a ton of responsible adults in this world that smoke a little weed from time to time and they aren’t the ones I’m concerned about. It’s the individuals who are going to smoke and drive or do other activities that they shouldn’t be doing under the influence that concern me. Same as adults who drink responsibly. I have no issue with that. Hell I’m one of em. I love a few cold beers after a day on the water or day of hunting.

But like you said it will be interesting to see how this all goes. I believe at some point in my career it will become legal and we’ll deal with it when the time comes. But I just don’t know if we’re ready for that yet, at least I’m not.

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Do you ever worry about KARMA, or is criminalizing people for something so benign just a job for you? Im not anti LE at all, but I couldnt wreck lives over something so trivial, and criminal offenses do wreck lives...

Trust me I don’t get the feeling your anti law enforcement. This is obviously just a topic your passionate about and that’s awesome. But no I honestly don’t worry about karma. I’m doing my job to the best of my ability and until marijuana is legal I have a job to do. Im just voicing my opinion on the matter. Just because it’s my opinion doesn’t mean it’s right it’s just how I feel.

And I get it that criminal offenses wreck lives. But I know plenty of people that have great high paying jobs that have a marijuana charge or worse on their record.

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Does anyone else smell a rat this morning ?

I assume your talking about me? I’m not on this site only for this one subject. I started following this site a while ago because I love to hunt and fish. I just decided to voice my opinion on this subject because I felt like maybe I could share my view of things because of what I do for a living.

 

[eyexer]

The point about loosing your gun rights with a medical card is really the most compelling case for full legalization I think.