CHOTEAU DRUG BUST PROMPTS DIFFERING RESPONSES

In dramatic fashion, drug investigators swarmed Choteau this week,
arresting eight people who each face multiple felonies related to
possessing or selling marijuana.

The Rocky Mountain hamlet isn't used to such a scene -- if something's
flying over town it's a rancher's prop plane or an eagle, not the
Black Hawk helicopter used in Tuesday's raid. Teton County Attorney
Joe Coble said in all of last year, the county had roughly 25 felonies.

Naturally, the town was buzzing. The Tribune online forums also were
abuzz with a lively discussion among people both defending and
questioning the dedication of so many resources to prosecute people
selling small amounts of pot.

The Central Montana Drug Task Force immediately defended its 2 1/2
year investigation, saying that as much as 55 pounds of pot was sold
in the area over that time and that more arrests were expected.

And the much-maligned helicopter enabled officers to have a paramedic
on hand and provided Customs and Border Protection officers valuable
real-life training.

While we're doubtful that the online comments changed anyone's mind
about the issues swirling around marijuana, the arguments on all sides
are worth airing.

Hopefully, everyone can agree on one point -- the fact that the drug
task force was able to dedicate that much time to a marijuana case
does illustrate the welcome decline in methamphetamine manufacturing
and sales.

Here are a few highlights of the 150 comments made on the Tribune
forums over the last four days:

"Growing drugs (pot), making drugs (coke, meth, etc.), selling illegal
drugs, buying and using illegal drugs, including pot, are all MORALLY
WRONG AND ILLEGAL. Pot is just as addictive as any other drug,
including alcohol, be glad that much is off the streets!" -- GrammyJo2

"You don't have to be a stoner to figure out that thousands of dollars
have been spent to charge eight people with offenses that will get
plea-bargained down to misdemeanors in a county with bigger problems --
like a hospital that is drowning fast." -- medtran

"So when is OK to sell pot? Is it OK to sell it to our kids? Is it OK
to sell to other adults that drive their kids to school? Is it OK for
kids to watch their parents or guardians with this behavior? There's
never a bad bust. Sorry, any person in any community selling illegal
drugs needs to be taken off the streets. Get off the taxpayer money,
there are worse things it could be spent on." -- Smalls 09

"There is no such thing as a little bit wrong. Unless you have a
cannabis card, it is illegal to have pot. Regard-less if you have a
card or not, it's illegal to sell it or distribute it in any manner.
The powers that be were doing their job." -- MadeInMt

"It is (the Teton County Sheriff's Office's) job to serve the public,
which includes taxpayers. I think they probably could have used about
seven competent police officers, instead of 22 officers and a
Blackhawk helicop-ter with rifles pointing down at scared children.
Good lord, what if there was a real criminal in Choteau, like a
rapist, or a murder, what would they do then? Solicit all officers
from Helena and Great Falls, along with a fleet of helicopters, to
help them out? This was so over-the-top, it was embarrassing to the
entire state." -- cassee

"I may believe that the drinking age should be 18 but I can't blame
the law enforcement for issuing MIPs to those underage. It is the job
of our Congress to write and pass laws -- it's the job of our law
enforcement to enforce them. We cannot be angry with these officers
for doing their jobs, even if it is 'only pot.' They can't just turn
their heads from illegal activity. For those of you that want to see
pot stay illegal ... I'd suggest the same thing -- write to your
congressmen and be active in what you believe!" -- amc32

"There are a lot of good arguments to change the law and legalize
marijuana. If it's legalized, it can be taxed and regulated, taking
power away from Mexican drug lords. The only argument I've heard
against legalizing pot, is that it is a gateway drug. But how it
becomes a gateway drug is that in order to use it, people go to
parties where there are multiple illegal substances. Once high (or
legally drunk), they are less likely to turn down meth, coke,
mushrooms or other more addictive substances. If pot is legalized and
people are accurately edu-cated about the real drawbacks -- like
cigarettes it causes lung cancer and it tends to make people lazy --
then people will make smart decisions about whether using it is what
they want to do." -- LeaninLeft

"I don't care how much pot was involved, what they were doing is
illegal and they did something about it. One guy compared himself to a
Columbian drug lord, what a joke." -- hodermr

"There is a HUGE problem with marijuana here in Choteau with high
school students and I know I don't want them selling to my kids. These
people have been doing this for years so they deserve all that is
coming to them. Stop making it sound like this is innocent pot
smoking, its NOT." -- MTMissMT

"I think that Cascade and the rest of the counties should follow
Missoula's lead in making it a secondary of-fense. If the government
can control the drug, they can also find statistics to help stem youth
involvement sales. People say that marijuana supporters are full of it
when it comes to tax dollars wasted. But I ask, really are we? Are we
so full of it because we would rather see our judicial system get back
to business on repeat offenders? Are we so full of it when we want to
see meth and narcotics pushers prosecuted? So full of it that we
understand that the system pauses, when a marijuana user is held in a
space where a pedophile could be?" -- Aphoticbeauty

"So what, five pounds or 55 pounds, it's still pot. People like to
smoke pot. Cops like to bust people who like to smoke pot. The jails
get full, The district attorney has an endless supply of work, The
taxpayers pay, the cycle continues, and meanwhile you can go to any
liquor store, buy as much booze as you can afford, and legally drink
yourself into a stupor." -- prariedog

"There is no such thing as a 'little' law. If someone breaks the law
and they get caught, then they suffer the consequences for breaking
that law." -- horsedreamz

"Having worked in an inpatient drug and alcohol treatment center, I
can tell you that if you were to ask 100 addicts what was their first
drug, 95 (or more) will tell you POT...that after awhile getting
stoned was boring so they tried others to get high. If you were to get
out of Montana and go to a real city you would see the effects of drug
use and abuse you would be happy that a small town in Montana is doing
the best it can to fight the war on drugs." -- daughtrofgod