Monday, July 5, 2010

Smoke or Sell Pot ? Get Busted Sooner

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/9yhHd)
It’s a sign of the times; police are turning up the heat on marijuana users.  On one hand, this is a good thing because this ‘gateway’ drug leads to even more drug use and the evils that infect a society when it runs rampant.  But now, police departments are so strapped for cash that they are increasing their activities to arrest those with the drug so that they can bring in needed revenues to their departments.

[caption id="attachment_5152" align="alignright" width="347" caption="Smoke Pot - Get Busted"][/caption]

You will also find increases in patrols to catch and ticket those with simple moving violations such as speeding tickets.

Reasons:


Lower Tax Revenues


Because of high unemployment, decreased tax has caused a financial crunch for most city governments.  Once considered essential services are now being cut in favor of trying to balance the budget.  Police and fire/rescue departments are not immune from these actions, either.  This reality has forced many law enforcement departments to search for alternative ways to fund their budgets.

While technologies like GPS Tracking systems have helped police solve crimes sooner and with fewer resources, even they are not enough to close the short-fall.

Federal Funding for Anti-Drug Programs


One of the main sources of income for departments is from federal programs.  These include ant-drug programs (among others) which help finance the efforts to prosecute illegal drug activities.  Police are turning to these programs in greater numbers by increasing the activities to find and prosecute all activities relating to marijuana use.

By putting an emphasis on prosecuting these activities, the departments get federal funding, while increasing court revenues from cases that are generated.  It’s a win-win for the justice system.

The best and ONLY way to protect yourself from this type of activity is to stay away from drugs – completely.

But, beware of activities like watching more closely for traffic infractions which fall into the same category.  You can protect yourself by always obeying traffic laws.  In addition to this, adding a GPS Tracking device to your vehicle can help you if you are cited for a moving violation.

GPS Tracking devices can help monitor your speed, direction of travel and location.  This information has been deemed admissible in a court of law and can help you defend yourself.

A sane society continues the war on drugs by fighting on a day to day basis in our communities.   A sane citizen protects him/herself by using knowledge and technology to keep from becoming a victim.

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