How the War on Pot Protects Rapists and Kidnappers
Phillip Garrido has been charged with kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991, when she was 11, and raping her over the course of years. Dugard was kept hidden for 18 years in a backyard compound, despite a 2006 call a neighbor made to 911, reporting that a women and children were living in tents behind Garrido’s house.
Since Garrido has blamed his history of rape and kidnapping on his use of marijuana and LSD, it has been suggested by some activists that the Garrido case will be used as a “Willie Horton” style attack on this year’s crop of voter initiatives to legalize the possession, use and cultivation of marijuana. However, it would seem that this case shows just the opposite and is actually a classic example of how the war against pot diverts police from fighting real crime.
Garrido was registered as a sex offender, regularly visited by parole officers and fitted with an ankle bracelet to track his movements, yet Placerville law enforcement refused to follow up on complaints by neighbors about children living in his backyard.
The shocking truth is that Garrido was only able to abduct his victim, because he had convinced a judge to reduce his sentence, by claiming it was really marijuana and LSD that made him do bad things. Court documents show Garrido requested that his 50-year sentence be reduced to 25, making him eligible for parole in eight years and the judge agreed. However, once he arrive in Nevada, Garrido was automatically eligible for state parole because of the time served in federal prison. Garrido celebrated his freedom by abducting Jaycee Lee Dugard, as she waited for her school bus to arrive and while her horrified father watch helplessly from a distance.
Meanwhile, Placer County conducted a full SWAT raid on my home and family with 20 heavily armed agents, based upon an anonymous letter alleging I was growing cannabis, when they knew I was a legal patient. Placer County didn’t hesitate to commit 20 officers to raid my home — threatening the lives of innocent children, for the crime of growing plants. After being arrested and nearly killed while in custody, I was charged with 19 felonies and threatened with 40 years to life. Only after raising and spending $500,000 and fighting in courts for a decade, was I able to get everything dismissed.
Contrast the SWAT raid by Placer County against me and my family — for growing a healing herb, in accordance with state law — with Placerville responding to a 911 call, by a concerned neighbor, about a sex offender having children living in his backyard, with the Sheriff’s department sending one officer to talk with Garrido, outside his home.
What if police could no longer raid suspected cannabis gardeners, because of re-legalization and they were actually forced to investigate real crimes instead? What if all those officers who are ready to organize a mass SWAT raid on medical marijuana patients were forced to deal with stuff like kidnapping, sex offenders, or even something as mundane as auto theft?
Police say legalizing marijuana would endanger the public safety, but the facts suggest just the opposite. All that anyone can say for sure is that so long as marijuana remains illegal, the Phillip Garridos of this world will be free to abduct and rape all the little girls they desire.