Pubdate: Thu, 17 Mar 2016
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Gordon Wilson
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n155/a05.html

MORALITY POLICE

It's an irony that those who attempt to enforce pseudo- and 
victimless crimes often become real criminals in the process. We saw 
this frequently during Prohibition, and the same thing is happening 
with our current drug warriors ["3 officers charged in 2015 pot shop 
raid," Local, March 15].

It is uncertain to what degree the officers in the raid on the 
medical marijuana business really believed that they were doing the 
right and "moral" thing in storming the place, harassing employees, 
depriving people of their medicine, and then consuming some of the 
goodies. But they must have been at least somewhat delusional since 
they failed to notice that they had missed one of the video cameras 
and that it was recording everything. Otherwise they likely never 
would have been prosecuted.

There's a moral to this story, which begs repeatedly to be learned. 
Trying to legislate morality should be recognized as, itself, a 
crime, a hornets' nest which makes a mockery of law and leads to corruption.

Gordon Wilson

Laguna Niguel
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom