Pubdate: Wed, 08 Jul 2015
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Contact:  2015 The Orange County Register
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n365/a07.html

FORFEITURE ANOTHER DRUG WAR FAILURE

Re: "Don't forfeit property rights" [Opinion, July 5]: The financial 
incentives created by civil asset forfeiture laws are dangerous. 
Police can confiscate cars, cash and homes without bothering to 
charge owners with a crime. Vague allegations of illegal drug 
trafficking don't justify turning protectors of the peace into 
financial predators. The drug war threatens the integrity of a 
country founded on the concept of limited government.

The "Land of the Free" now has the highest incarceration rate in the 
world, in large part due to the war on noncorporate drugs. This is 
Big Government at its worst. It's not possible to wage a moralistic 
war against consensual vices unless privacy is completely eliminated, 
along with the Constitution.

America can be a free country or a "drug-free" country, but not both.

Robert Sharpe

Arlington, Va.

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom