South Texas Councilman Sentenced to 16 Years for Marijuana Trafficking

thank god .....

Yes.

Assuming that a person is not on probation/parole, and assuming all of the other factors you mentioned, I would not be comfortable with anyone doing jail time for simple possession of under an ounce. Does that answer your question?

My bottom line question is: how many years would you give someone for simple possession or consumption of cannabis, based on what the law demands? For example, if there was a mandatory minimum for such a violation, what is the maximum number of years that you would give somebody for smoking or possessing a single joint before you would refuse to prosecute? When does it become so severe that it is immoral in your eyes? Not in the eyes of the law or the state...but for YOU personally.
Aside from that, the other main question has yet to be answered; who is the victim in the case of such a "crime"? How can there be a crime if nobody specifically is being hurt or otherwise victimized (as opposed to "society" being hurt somehow)?
I don't care about your views on state vs. federal enforcement or your beliefs regarding legalization. I want to know specifically, for example; 9 years is O.K., but 10 years would be immoral and therefore you would refuse to prosecute, even if it meant sacrificing your job. Your answers so far are frustratingly evasive. These are simple questions. Just give us a number in years...where do you draw the line between a sentence that is morally acceptable and one that is not? No extenuating circumstances, no guns or violence or resisting/evading arrest involved, just simple possession and/or consumption.

I am wiling to answer your questions regarding where I draw my internal lines because I think it is a fair, reasonable question.

As I have stated before, I believe that the state has the right to regulate marijuana. In my state, the simple possession of less than an ounce does not carry a jail sentence. So, the only people that I have ever put in jail for marijuana are people who are making an illegal profit off of it and evading their tax obligations for the money made. You asked me whether I would still enforce the law, if they suddenly made possession of marijuana a capital offense and the answer is no I would not.

I do have to be comfortable looking myself in the mirror in the morning. My earlier comments that said that if marijuana were decriminalized I would stop prosecuting the cases is consistent with that view. Just like I believe that the state has the ability to regulate marijuana, they also have the right to deregulate it. Does that make sense?

Legalize It ! don't Criticize it ! Then we wont keep having these kinds of things going on and putting peace loving people in jail. The US government is way out of line when it comes to Ganja. Fuck im moving to canada!

Yes , I'm a real judge . All us here at the court house like to post comments on a website that promotes the use of marijuana . Its what we do . I was just leaving comments on a pedafile website and decided to drop in for a quick comment here .

The councilman in this story should get the same treatmnet as everyone else .

Now , I'm off to comment on a website that promotes tax evasion . 'Till next time .

What would you do if our representitives passed a law that mandated life in prison or execution for simply consuming or possessing cannabis? Would you still prosecute to the full extent of the law? What if they made the punishment a full year of the most extreme torture, followed by execution? What if it was a member of your family? I'm just trying to discover what your personal limits are as a human being, if you have any. When, if ever, does your conscience kick in? How many years are you willing to give somebody, how many lives are you willing to ruin for simple possession or consumption of a plant? When does the law become so extreme that you can no longer justify enforcing it? Where do you draw the line, and stop "following orders"? And what would you do if somebody, maybe a crooked cop or maybe just a person that didn't like you, planted some cannabis on you or in your car...what if it was YOU facing some horribly extreme punishment? Would you suddenly feel some empathy for the people that YOU punished for consuming or possessing a simple PLANT?
These questions are not just for YOU. They are for ANYONE in a position of authority...politicians, prosecutors or police.
These are the questions that cannabis consumers and activists need to keep asking.

Actually I am a Prosecutor. I could care less whether people believe me or not. I am here to make my point. As to why I posted my opinion on what the law should be it was in response to the question that one of the commenters made, asking me whether I thought weed should be legal. That's all. My opinion about whether I would support a change in the law or whether I agree with the law doesn't matter one bit as was pointed out to me. I agree.

My point is this...don't criticize the people that enforce the laws. Cops and Prosecutors do not write the laws. We have no control over how laws are written. We are part of the executive branch. We ENFORCE the laws that your representitives write. If the laws change we adapt.

Yes, we do have some discretion in how much time, money and effort is placed in to any particular area. You would be surprised how much leniency we do show in the area of marijuana enforcement.

My complaint with people when having a discussion about marijuana is that there is a certain amount of dishonesty from both sides. The law enforcement side is probably not as honest as we should be about what we truly observe as the problems with marijuana. I am not sure that I necessarily buy into the "gateway" argument. BUT, weed smokers aren't always that honest either.

Look at the passage of Prop 215 in California. This was sold to voters as a remedy for people dying of AIDS and cancer. While I have never personally seen a case where those people have been harrassed by cops (although I am sure it has happened, I just haven't dealt with it), I have seen many, many cases where people who don't fall into the "gravely ill" category have medical cards. The law was purposely written with loopholes and catch all phrases that allow just about anyone to get a card. If you smoke in California and don't have a card you are an idiot. So, I would say this is an example of your dishonesty as well.

What I want is an open, honest debate about marijuana. I think that each state should put it up for a vote. Legalize or not? Quit with the charades about this being the cure-all for terminal diseases. Let's get the debate and the vote going. This is a democracy.

As long as it is illegal I will prosecute people for selling it and possessing it.

How petty . Jumping on people for spelling and then complain about posts not being about substantial real issues ? You must get slapped around alot .

ps its not FIMD its SFBS---Shit For Brains Syndrome

Im sure you don't expect a lot of things often . And to think you could get BOTH feet in your mouth ! You are surely an accomplished individual .

I didn't expect that you'd have the nerve to reply to my post.

to "to Hint " ,
Yea , I see what you mean .

Good one, hint. But considering that you had one mistake within 5 sentences and I had one mistake out of about 500 sentences, your average rate of errors per sentence is 20%, while mine is less than 1%. Feel free to read my posts and try to find any other errors. Good Luck. Your final grade is a "B", mine is an "A+". Oh, wait...you forgot to capitalize "You're", and you forgot the comma after "hard". That's 3 errors out of 5 sentences. If I were an English teacher, I'd probably give you an "F" for bad grammar, spelling and lack of content.
Maybe you and your friend "to hint" should try to write something substantial about some real issues. Come on, give us your deepest insights on something that people on this sight will actually care about. I promise that I won't nitpick about your grammar and spelling, as long as it's more insightful than a couple of cheap insults. I'm guessing it will be a very short post.
It's the people who are "working too hard" that are going to get cannabis prohibition ended. The people who aren't working hard enough will only reap the rewards while adding to the stereotype of the lazy, stupid pot head.

TCB has what is known as F.I.M.D. ( Foot In Mouth Disease )
It happens often on this site . Nobodies in a big world that can't help themselves when an opportunity to demonstrate some imaginary supremacy presents itself . This often ends with F.I.M.D. however , its painless and causes no ill side effects to the afflicted other than highlighting their folly . Hell , sometimes they even learn from their mistakes , but not often .

ps the waterhead thing was funny as hell .

back at you goober .
This > " < is a quotation mark . Not this > ' < .
Be careful up on that high horse , waterheads are top heavy .

You spelled 'too' incorrectly. Apparently, you're not trying hard enough. I mean, it's only one sentence.

you're trying to hard goober .

I also forgot to ask you; how do YOU know that this person is NOT a prosecutor? Did you call the Psychic Hot Line? He doesn't sound like a total flake, unlike the guy who claimed that he was a police officer, but wrote like some kid who was in 5th grade. I forget the name, but if he's really a cop, his police reports would be covered in red ink corrections if any junior high English teacher got a hold of them.
Why don't you tell us all about YOURSELF, 'Hint'? Who are YOU, really? And how exactly do YOU know ANYTHING about this supposed prosecutor?

I forgot to mention, you can keep your bridge. I can't afford it in this lousy economy. I'd rather invest in cannabis when I can afford it...unless your bridge is lined with cannabis plants, and if the price is right.

It doesn't matter if he (or she) is not a real prosecutor. His attitude is almost completely lacking in compassion, so I had to at least try to demonstrate a different way of thinking, even though it may be completely alien to him and even though it might not change his way of thinking. Even if it doesn't make a difference to this person, some other person with a similar attitude may read it and have a change of heart. Maybe a small change, maybe a revelation or an epiphany, who knows? The point is, I keep trying, because if I don't even try, there's no chance of a positive change. It's the same with voting, or trying to end cannabis prohibition. If nobody tries because they think it's hopeless or a fixed game, failure is practically guaranteed.
By the way, I'm not a total rube. When it comes to dealing with people in this kind of format, I never assume that they are who, what, why, where or how they are. But I didn't want to accuse him of lying about his occupation, since all I can go by is his grammar and spelling, which was basically flawless. For all I know, YOU are the same person as 'AProsecutor', trying to fuck with me because you can't refute my arguments. On the other hand, maybe 'AProsecutor' is actually ME, and I'm just sending schizophrenic messages to myself because I hate myself for not having the moral courage to stand up against laws that I know are immoral. Wouldn't that be great? What if this guy really IS a prosecutor, and he's sitting at his computer after work every day smoking huge amounts of weed and trying to come to grips with his moral paradox! Smoking, sweating, cursing himself, hitting himself in the head with a gavel that he stole from the judge, wondering if he should turn himself in and then prosecute himself in court. Like a Marx Brothers movie or Jim Carrey, asking himself questions as the prosecutor and then jumping into the witness box to refute his own accusations. Then he'd jump up and scream to the bailiff, "Take BOTH of us away!!!"

not really a prosecutor ......
I got a bridge for sale , interested ?

I'm sure the Nazis thought that their morals were "consistent". As a prosecutor, who would you name as the VICTIM if somebody consumes or sells cannabis? These are victimless crimes, unless there is violence or theft involved. As far as victims, how many innocent people have had their lives ruined or ended because of people like you throwing them in prison for lifestyle choices? How many people's lives have YOU ruined for their victimless crimes in proportion to the Nazis? And as for people "choosing" to violate "the Law", how many Jews CHOSE their religion? If you "chose" the Jewish religion for yourself, would that make you a criminal today? Well, it would have made you a criminal during the Nazi regime, and they would have KILLED you for it, or at least made you work in a labor (concentration) camp because of your CHOICE. Do you also think, like many modern day Republicans, that sexual orientation is a CHOICE? Well, the Nazis did, and many people were killed for making that CHOICE as well. Just because the Nazis may have killed more people (out of sheer intolerance) than drug warriors like yourself, doesn't mean you're right to prosecute, persecute, imprision and ruin the lives of people who are doing something that YOU don't "believe in", even though these are victimless crimes. I didn't say that you were as evil as Adolph Hitler, but you are as guilty as the people that followed his orders by justifying it as just "following orders" or "the law". Just because it's "the law" doesn't mean it's not IMMORAL. As a prosecutor, you should only be prosecuting people that are hurting or stealing from others, or putting others in danger. Without a victim or a direct threat to others, there is no crime. All you have to do is tell the judge that you don't want to prosecute ("lack of evidence" is an easy excuse). If you can't do that, you should quit your job, because you are morally unfit to be a prosecutor. JUST REFUSE TO PROSECUTE. If they fire you, at least you can hold your head up and say "I did the right thing." At least the Nazis could say, "They would have KILLED me if I didn't 'follow orders'." Would your employers kill YOU if you refused to prosecute victimless crimes, Mr. Prosecutor? No. They might fire you, but at least you'd walk away with some INTEGRITY, and you'd probably get a better job somewhere else, where people appreciate integrity over the idea of just mindlessly "doing your job".
I stand by everything that I said in my previous post. If I were you, I'd either stop prosecuting victimless crimes or I'd quit my job, or I'd remove all of the mirrors from my house so I wouldn't have to look myself square in the eyes anymore. I'm sure your "moral compass" helps you sleep at night, but your moral compass is just a shortcut to thinking, not to mention a cheap justification for doing exactly the WRONG thing. How many good people will have their lives ruined or ended because of intolerant, hard ass people like YOU? I'll bet you need sleeping pills to sleep at night. Lucky for you that sleeping pills aren't illegal, cuz you'd be sleeping in PRISON thanks to some intolerant prosecutor like yourself.

"I believe marijuana should be illegal except in very extraordinary medical cases."

So, why do your beliefs matter, where the use of marijuana by others is concerned? What makes the use of marijuana by others your business? Why can you not simply be satisfied with your own right to not partake of it? Why must you impose your morality on others? Any answers to these questions, Mr Prosecutor?

Furthermore, take away the risk of dealing in marijuana by making it legal, and you also take away the profit of dealing in it illegally. Drug dealers are in the business for profit. Take away the profit by making marijuana legal and they will find something else illegal to sell. No risk = no profit = no more illegal drug dealers and the violence and other crimes that accompany them.

I tell you this: The drug dealers are the last ones who want to see marijuana made legal. Still want to continue playing into their hands by continuing to wage a war that you can't win, while making them rich? Or, would you rather knock the legs out from under them by taking their market away?

How original ! Nobody here has ever heard that a million times already .

cannabis has been a part of this earth since before human law. It has been used widely through out history in almost every culture for one reason or another. It was known as a miracle plant, and it was loved. George Washington was a hemp farmer, and its known that alot of our ancestors used hemp for a variety of everyday living items. Henry Ford made a car entirely of hemp. Who are you to say that the government has the right to recently (and i say "recently" in comparison to the late 1930's to the entire span of cannabis use throughout time) ban a plant that was used for so many good reasons through out history. Because it gives you a buzz? well so does alcohol which gives you a blind drunkenness, and so does cough syrup if you drink too much of it.
the bottom line is you cant ban a plant.
You cant have a war on plants.
Thats the stupidest, biggest waste of time in human history.
let whats natural. BE.
tobacco is a plant. You can add all sorts of chemicals to that, altering it from its natural state, and still feel morally content with yourself that your making a profit at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives a year.
Marijuana makes people happy, it makes people realize, and love.
Since when did this become socially and morally unacceptable?
And when did drunken arguments and public violence become the norm, because its sold at the corner store for $3 a 40 oz.

just ask yourself... what the hell are they trying to ban? and what is the big deal?

That is the problem with trying to have a civilized debate about this issue. You jump to comparing me to Nazis who sent millions of people to their death. People who did not make choices, but rather were sent there because of their race, religion or sexual orientation. That is a FAR CRY from prosecuting individuals for choosing to violate the law.

To the person who has accused me of losing my moral comapss, I can assure you that my moral compass is very consistent. I believe marijuana should be illegal except in very extraordinary medical cases. People who need it for serious illnesses should be able to use it. I take no issue with that and neither does the state that I live in.

As for mainstream recreational use, I think there are argumenets for and against it. I happen to be against it, but I am aware of the arguments for it. In this land though we are a representitive form of democracy and for now it is illegal. So as I said before, use it, grow it and sell it at your own risk. But, don't bitch and moan when you get caught and have to face the music.

"Just following orders", jah Herr Himmler? That excuse didn't work for the Nazis, and it's not a valid excuse for you. Cannabis is a benign substance. The prohibitionist laws are what create the violence and the insane injustice. How many years of this person's life are being sacrificed for selling a plant? A plant that would otherwise be sold legally at a nursery, were it not for some insane laws. And, of course, the American taxpayers will pay to imprison this guy for a decade or two. How sad that you don't have the moral courage to refuse such cases on the grounds that these laws are immoral. But you might lose your job, or be criticized by your superiors and co-workers. I'm sure that all of the good German soldiers justified their atrocities in in much the same way during World War II. Congratulations, you're a good Nazi, and your job is secure.

Thats an interesting comment .
What do children playing like they are a prosecutor required to do ?

As a prosecutor, you are required to make the best case possible against the defendant regardless of the severity of the charge. However ( and just from curiosity ), would you vote for or against legalization?

Two well thought out responses.

You for got to fuck yourself .....doofus.

fuck the police the Da and the alphabet boys is just weed fuckers nobody sucked dick for it or robed anybody for it.

The bottom line is that it is ilegal to smuggle dope-PERIOD. This guy got exactly what he deserved. He does not get to pick and choose which laws that he wants to follow.

Given the fact that he is in the legislative branch of local govt, I wonder what he would say to people who do not follow the laws that he votes in? My guess is that he would advocate for prosecution.

The bottom line is that marijuana is illegal. Use it, grow it and sell it at your own risk. BUT be man enough (or woman enough) to step up and take your lumps without bitching when you are nailed. Until the law is changed, that is the way it is.

Don't even start with the "how do you sleep at night putting peope in jail for an herb" nonsense. I sleep fine. I enforce laws PERIOD. If it becomes legal then I won't. It is pretty simple.

GORE AND KERRY WASN"T .....SHIT
AND YOU JUST CAN"T GET OVER .....IT


LEGALIZE IT OR NOT , TAX IT OR NOT , AND DON"T BOTHER TRYING TO HAVE INTERCOURSE WITH IT .....or not

BUSH LIED,
PEOPLE DIED.

LEAGLIZE IT, TAX IT, AND GET THE FUCK OVER IT.

atleast their wont be as much schwag around

Making money .. a noble cause . ( for him anyway)

Herardo ortiz for president!

I hate to read about people being put in prison for marijuana related "crimes", however I am amused when that victim is a publicly appointed councilman, politician... what have you. Perhaps if more of our elected officials get "raped" by prohibition, they will have more balls and stand up and change their views or not be pressured by pro-prohibitionists. I do realize that we need these people in office, but a martyr can do amazing things. Tommy Chong was martyred and look at the support and attention he drew to his cause.

He made a bad CHOICE .

Maybe he should put his smuggling skills to work and smuggle his own ass out of prison...

poor guy

fuck this bullshit