Las Vegas City Life

Seize this!

BY STEVE SEBELIUS
Both the Las Vegas Sun and the Review-Journal jumped all over Dave Olsen, city attorney of sleepy Boulder City, when he filed a lawsuit to seize the home of Cynthia Warren.

Boulder City police, ably assisted by the SWAT team from nearby Henderson, stormed Warren's home in April to discover six marijuana plants and various and sundry marijuana-related paraphernalia inside. She was arrested, charged with several felonies, and ultimately pled no contest to possession of a controlled substance. But before she entered her plea, Olsen filed a lawsuit to seize her house, valued at around $400,000, contending it was part of the instrumentality of her crime.

"In the drug world, this thing is probably nothing. But in a town of 15,000 people where we have one or two children die every year because of controlled substances, it is a big deal to us," Olsen told the R-J. To the Sun, he added: "The best way to send a message to folks that drug distribution to young people won't be tolerated is to take away their house. This gets their attention. We're sending a message loud and clear that if you package and distribute drugs from your house, you lose your home. Hopefully, it will act as a deterrent."

And you know what? I agree with him, wholeheartedly. We must seize the property of those who put children in danger, and we must do it now.

So that's why we've got to immediately seize Dave Olsen's motorcycle.

You see, in 2004, Olsen pled no contest to drunken driving, a crime that surely has taken more lives than marijuana ever will. Anti-DUI advocates are fond of saying that, with a drunken driver at the controls, a vehicle is a weapon, surely one more dangerous than Cynthia Warren's house.

Call the Boulder City police, and get the Henderson SWAT team for backup. There could be a standoff.

The problem with Olsen is not just that he's a hypocrite -- although he surely is -- it's that he's also not telling the truth.

One or two children die in Boulder City every year because of controlled substances? That would mean, over the past decade, Boulder City has lost 10-20 kids to drugs. That's not even remotely true. Of the two kids Olsen cites who did die of drug overdoses, neither died from marijuana. In fact, in the most widely cited case of marijuana related deaths -- Jessica Williams -- a jury specifically found Williams was not under the influence of the drug when she fell asleep at the wheel, ran off the road and killed six teenagers doing community service work.

Olsen rails against Warren for drug distribution to kids -- but she was not convicted of selling marijuana, much less selling it to kids. In that, he's punishing her for a crime of which she's not been convicted, a violation of the U.S. Constitution and his own oath of office.

The system, such as it is, worked the way it was supposed to work: Police raided Warren's home, found drugs, and arrested her. Olsen asked for her to be charged with a variety of offenses, but a more -- ahem -- sober Clark County District Attorney's office elected to proceed only with a possession charge, which they disposed of with a plea bargain, a $500 fine and a 30-day suspended jail sentence.

Not content, however, Olsen proceeds to try to seize Warren's home in an entirely separate civil proceeding where she must prove her innocence, another constitutional violation. If Boulder City is successful, it will reap part of the windfall from the sale of Warren's home. Perhaps the city could hire Olsen a police driver, just to keep him out of trouble?

Outrage barely covers it: Regardless of what the law says, Olsen is engaging in an act of theft. Warren committed a crime, and was punished for committing a crime. Olsen's exacting a punishment for something Warren never did in the eyes of the law, making wild and untrue claims in the process. He should drop this case immediately, and if he doesn't, Boulder City fathers should find the courage to order him to stop.

In the meantime, will somebody look at seizing that motorcycle? I think we'd all feel safer if they did.

STEVE SEBELIUS IS EDITOR OF CITYLIFE. HE CAN BE REACHED AT 871-6780 EXT. 306 OR AT SSEBELIUS@LVCITYLIFE.COM.

Seize This! By Steve Sebelius

Asset Forfeiture Abuse

Misdemeanor Charge: Pot May Cost Homeowner

Prosecutors Seek To Uphold Property Seizure Law

Forfeiture Endangers Americans Rights F.E.A.R.

"My disease makes it very hard for me to move.
My biggest fear is that the police will come to arrest me for my medicine,
tell me to raise my arms, and then when i can't do it, they'll shoot me."
- Cathy Jordan, Florida activist with Lou Gehrig's disease

Cops Confiscation Maliciously Punishes
Thread of many links of persecution...

A.C.L.U. War on Drugs

Search: Forfeiture

Drug Policy and Civil Asset Forfeiture (Drug Policy) (10/18/2002)

Amputee Sues Over Confiscated Scooter
CN Source: Associated Press March 24, 2005
Portland, Ore. -- Vicki Marie Tyler, a diabetic amputee with a medical marijuana card, says she was asleep on her couch when 13 police officers raided her North Portland home looking for drugs. Though officers found less than an ounce of marijuana during the 2003 raid, they seized her electric scooter on the grounds in was bought with drug money. A jury last year acquitted Tyler of drug-dealing charges.

THE DEMONIZATION OF GANJA


Lynn and Judy Osburn

Medical Cannabis Advocates Face Up to 40 Years
Lynn and Judy Osburn are charged in federal court with cultivating medical marijuana in accordance with California state law, HS 11362.5 and in agreement with the city of West Hollywood and the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center.

Osburn Defense Fund

November Coalition

Auction Action by Judy Osburn
"Police seized vehicles" exclaimed the advertisements for the Labor Day weekend auction. Four FEAR activists arrived at United Public Auctions in Upland, California early Saturday morning in time for the 7 a.m. auction preview. We intended to alert bidders that their own car could easily be forfeited under the unfair laws by which the vehicles up for auction were seized.



Americans Funding Fascist'

Spoils of Drug War Forfeitures Prove Too Lucrative

Seizures By Police Help Fund Drug War

Bonus Payment To Informant Draws Criticism

Anti-Crime Eviction Law Considered

"Corruptisma repulica, plurimae leges. (The more corrupt a republic, the more laws.)"
- Tacitus, "Annals III 27"

Government Property Seizures out of Control
www.cannabinoid.com/shtml?1x37458

Policing For Profit: The Drug War's Hidden Economic Agenda

CannabisNews Articles - Forfeiture

L.A. Forfeiture Squads Kill California Millionaire



Ugly Truth About The WoD

Marijuana Drug Czar Distorts Report
Astonishingly, Walters claims that the 1999 Institute of Medicine report didn't urge the government to allow seriously ill people legal access to medical marijuana on a case-by-case basis. What the institute did say about medical use of marijuana by AIDS and cancer patients was "nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana." Maybe these experts were duped. Maybe John Walters, unbeknown to us, has medical expertise beyond that of the world's leading physicians and researchers. Or maybe he's lying in a desperate attempt to save a collapsing policy.

Cannabis Shrinks Tumors: Government Knew in 74

What the WHO doesn't want you to know about cannabis
http://www.legalisieren.at/studien/artikel/who_report.htm

D.E.A. Confirms Grounds To Remove Cannabis from Sch#1

Police officials lied to toughen laws...

Drug Czar Manipulating Data in a Report to Congress

"Not only are we here to protect the public from vicious criminals in the street
but also to protect the public from harmful ideas."
- Robert Ingersoll, first director of the DEA

D.E.A.th Deceptions

PDFA - Slickly Packaged Lies



Congress Considers Dangerous Mandatory Minimum Sentences For Marijuana
Ask Your Member of Congress To Oppose H.R.1528!

Read about this bill

Please take action against a dangerous bill that is currently making its way through Congress. H.R. 1528, "The Safe Access to Drug Treatment & Child Protection Act of 2005" would dramatically increase mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug offenses. Under the proposed legislation, sponsored by House Judiciary Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), any person age 21 or over who attempts or conspires to offer marijuana to someone younger than 18 years old shall face a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison. The mandatory penalty for a subsequent violation of the statute is life in prison.

Defendants found to have distributed marijuana near a drug treatment facility, or who have offered cannabis to someone who is currently or has been previously enrolled in drug treatment program, would receive a mandatory prison sentence of five years to life under the proposal. This effectively means that anyone caught passing a joint near a treatment facility, or to anyone who has even been in drug treatment, will face a mandatory five years in prison.

Please take two minutes to write your member of Congress today and urge him or her to oppose H.R. 1528, an outrageous and expensive addition to an already failed public policy.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums FAMM



Top Story: The Banality of Evil – Canadian Style. Canada Rejects Steve Tuck’s Request for “Pre-Removal Risk Assessment” Adding Insult To Injury. We Will Appeal, Of Course.
Posted by Richard Cowan on 2005-09-21 16:20:00
Immigration Canada would accept only the opinion of a specialist of their own choosing. But they refused to appoint any such specialist! In other words, because they refused to appoint anyone, there is no acceptable Canadian medical opinion on Steve’s condition. And now they try to blame him for having “provided insufficient medical evidence.”

There are none so blind as those who refuse even to look. Read Full Story... http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=852

Appeals court judge proposes state approach to deal with federal drug crimes
A long-time federal appeals court judge is calling on the legal system to take a radical step against drug-related crime. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Donald Lay says locking up drug addicts and dealers for longer and longer sentences hasn't worked. But federal prosecutors say Lay's idea is just too extreme.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/09/14_stawickie_drugcourt

Medical Marijuana User Banned from RegattatBy Eliot Kleinberga
Source: Palm Beach Post  September 27, 2005
Florida -- Irvin Rosenfeld, the South Florida stockbroker who gained national attention for his fight to freely use marijuana as medicine, has run into resistance from one of the nation's top sailing events for the disabled and expects to be barred from next year's event.

The reason: an independent group that monitors use of drugs by athletes won't exempt the pot Rosenfeld uses to treat tumors that would otherwise leave him bedridden and in pain. Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21143.shtml

Rainbow Farm Massacre

Federal and state police kill owner of Rainbow Farm


Tom Crosslin - Nov. 10, 1954 - Sept. 3, 2001
Rollie Rohm - Dec. 27, 1972 - Sept. 4, 2001

On Labor Day weekend 2001, "Tom and Rollie were executed by the forces of so-called law and order" at the campground near Vandalia. "They were not killed to protect the public safety, to punish them for smoking cannabis or because of the plants in their basement," according to the Michigan Cannabis Action Network announcement of the vigil.

"Our friends worked boldly and passionately to change destructive, unjust laws and to inspire same; and in the end they rejected the authority of a court that had amply shown its bias. They refused to hide. They refused to run. They refused to bow down. And for that, the Police State ground them up in its gears."

Pot Case Could Be Closed By Brian Wargo
October 11, 2005 , Las Vegas Sun
Nevada -- A 56-year-old woman convicted of misdemeanor possession of marijuana may get to keep her Boulder City home without a court fight despite the city's lawsuit to seize the property. She apparently may pay the city to drop the lawsuit.
Boulder City Attorney Dave Olsen said he's optimistic a settlement will be reached with Cynthia Warren that would have her pay in exchange for the city dropping its effort to confiscate her home, which city officials say would fetch $400,000 in an auction.
Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21178.shtml

Asset Forfeiture Abuse

Misdemeanor Charge: Pot May Cost Homeowner

Prosecutors Seek To Uphold Property Seizure Law



Action Alert: Cut Drug War Waste to Pay for Hurricane Relief Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Can't we all get a bong? Sept, 2005
The Federal crackdown on paraphernalia crippled the industry and nearly sunk a magazine

Dirty cops Feb, 2003
Police caught stealing and dealing

Witch hunts and the war on weed Jun, 2002
The persecution of "witches" was really a war on sacred plants that continues today.

Unhappy hempster May, 2001
Ontario police raid Happy Hempster store, seizing pipes and Cannabis Culture.

Prisoners of consciousness Sept, 1999
The US drug war is destroying innocent lives and families.

Columbian property seizures Sept, 1999

Exposing CIA corruption Sept, 1999
Gary Webb uncovered the CIA cocaine scandal, and has made a journalistic career out of revealing government corruption.

Police racism and theft Sept, 1999
Racial profiling and property seizure reform become hot topics in US.

Asset Forfeiture
Current MAPINC newsfeeds. Updated daily.

The Drug War Refugees

Seize This!

Cops Maliciously Punish Amputee by Confiscating Scooter

The Ganjawar Fraud...

ACLU Offers Help in Pot Case By Brian Wargo
October 15, 2005, Las Vegas Sun
Nevada -- Accusing Boulder City of legalized extortion, the state's American Civil Liberties Union has offered to help a 56-year-old woman convicted of misdemeanor pot possession fight the city's threat to seize her $400,000 home or force her to pay to keep it.

Although Boulder City, which accused Warren of selling marijuana out of her home, filed a lawsuit in April to confiscate her house, it also is discussing a deal that would allow her to keep it for a payment of up to $100,000.
Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21195.shtml

ACLU

Pot Case Could Be Closed
Misdemeanor Charge: Pot May Cost Homeowner
Prosecutors Seek To Uphold Property Seizure Law

Seize This!
Misdemeanor possession... Confiscate her home!!!

"My disease makes it very hard for me to move. My biggest fear is that the police will come to arrest me for my medicine, tell me to raise my arms, and then when i can't do it, they'll shoot me."
- Cathy Jordan, Florida activist with Lou Gehrig's disease

Asset Forfeiture Abuse
Misdemeanor Charge: Pot May Cost Homeowner
Prosecutors Seek To Uphold Property Seizure Law

The Ganjawar Fraud...

Certain American industrialists had a great deal to do with bringing fascist regimes into being in both Germany and Italy. They extended aid to help Fascism occupy the seat of power, and they are helping to keep it there."
- William E. Dodd, U.S. Ambassador to Germany, 1937. Continued...

Shadow of the Swastika

The Drug War Refugees

Silencing Political Dissent

From Whom Did the Fascists Get Support?
Italian fascism and German Nazism had their admirers within the U.S. business community and the corporate owned press. Bankers, publishers, and industrialists, including the likes of Henry Ford, traveled to Rome and Berlin to pay homage, receive medals, and strike profitable deals. Many did their utmost to advance the Nazi war effort, sharing military industrial secrets and engaging in secret transactions with the Nazi government, even after the United States entered the war. During the 1920s and early 1930s, major publications like Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Saturday Evening Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Christian Science Monitor hailed Mussolini as the man who rescued Italy from anarchy and radicalism.

Friday, April 7, 2006
Drug War Weapons
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2006/04/07.html#a1512