It's not lost. It's currently in the possession of the DEA, where they use it for a doormat.
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated"
Oh, that's right, the constitution is a living breathing document. My mistake, so sorry.
This is a crock, the constitution is there for a reason, and they just ignore it.
Whatever happened to the constitution? It seems to have gotten lost somewhere...
The Supremes, when they support this kind of law, will say "it's not unreasonable search and seizure. It's reasonable, because big, bad, nasty drugs were involved."
Remember the case (Bennis vs. Michigan, 1996) in which a guy was caught with a hooker? His car was confiscated.
Well, it wasn't his car. It was jointly owned with his wife. She fought the confiscation, and it went all the way to the Supremes. In a landmark decision, they ruled that her car goes to the cops. "(F)forfeiture...serves a deterrent purpose distinct from any punitive purpose."
In other words, it's okay to take your house, your car, your everything for an insignificant offense...because that isn't punishment. Soooo...as if it's not enough that her husband gets a BJ from a hooker, she loses her car, too.
This similar case makes me sick.