So this guy admits on tape that he just took THC oil out in the parking lot. Somebody called the cops, and now the cops are searching his bags for the THC. They explain if they find it he’ll just get a citation, if not they’ll leave. He’s not an invalid and apparently he isn’t going to stay in the hospital.
And now for the cops doing their jobs, some FReepers are calling for their deaths.
The “just following orders” defense? Where have I heard that before? Proper police work involves using discretion. Not mindlessly following rules.
The cops are in an unenviable position. Its not their job to make the laws, but they're sworn to enforce them - even the stupid, destructive ones.
Prior to being listed as a schedule one drug, marijuana was not illegal, and was a common ingredient in hundreds of patent medicines. It's been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years, for all types of maladies.
The emergence of large multinational drug companies in the twentieth century changed all that. Those companies became powerful enough to exert undue influence on lawmakers and government bureaucracies, and they did. Even though marijuana was effective at treating a great number of ailments, the pharmaceutical industry couldn't patent or profit from it, so they had it demonized, then banned as a drug "with no known medicinal qualities."
In time, people rediscovered the actual medicinal benefits of marijuana, and so began the medical marijuana movement. Today there are millions of people around the world who are using marijuana and its various compounds to restore health when all conventional treatments have failed.
I will admit that I may be a tad biased because of my own health situation. I've got stage four squamous cell carcinoma. The oncologist's treatment plan for me is essentially a death sentence in itself, so my wife and I have opted to go the alternative route, which includes THC.
Big Confession: I quit smoking weed in 1971. I was just eighteen, but I was done with using it recreationally. Since then, I've been a staunch opponent of marijuana use in any form. It took a serious life threatening illness to make me reconsider my position and read up on the medical value of the plant. Since becoming educated on it, my views have shifted 180 degrees.