POT NON-PROBLEM

This is in response to the Monday, June 26, Associated Press article,
"Wausau-area patrol tops state in drug arrests."

While the article cites the generic "drug arrests," the war against some
substances is statistically a war against marijuana users. No doubt, the
bulk of arrests and drug seizures were for small amounts of marijuana.

The article quotes an officer as saying, "The secret is going beyond the
traffic stop," and talks about three men arrested for possessing
paraphernalia and a couple bags of pot who were stopped "for not having a
working trunk latch."

Is using minor traffic violations as an excuse to stop motorists in order
to attempt to coerce them into giving up their Fourth Amendment rights and
consenting to a search that turns up small personal-use quantities a good
use of police resources?

Does this make our highways safer, or is it just an easy way to inflate
arrest statistics in order to make the State Patrol look like they are
doing their job?

When I'm on the highway, I am more concerned about the speeding
semi-trailer bearing down on my tail, or the drunk weaving all over the
road, or obtaining assistance if my car breaks down, than whether a fellow
motorist has a little bit of pot in his pocket.

Targeting motorists traveling our state highways for possessing small
amounts of marijuana is counterproductive. It does not make our highways
safer. It only causes people to distrust officers, who should be following
their mandate, "to serve and protect," instead of singling out pot users
for arrest and prosecution.

Unfortunately, being able to count on law officers to "serve and protect"
instead of "target, coerce and arrest" is another casualty of an ongoing
drug war where the Constitution and the Bill of Rights have become superfluous.

Gary Storck, Madison