On our Busted Intake Form, we collect stories from victims of marijuana prohibition in Montana. Here are some excerpts from a story we received today, from a young woman attending college in Montana.
I was in my dorm on campus…, when I got loud banging on my door at midnight, by police officers. Supposedly a RA smelled pot coming from our room and called them. Once I answered the door, the officers asked what I had been doing that night, I told them I was studying. After that one of the two officers said he could smell marijuana, and knew I had been smoking it. I told them no multiple times, but they kept saying “we know you are lying.” Eventually I confessed I had smoked around 7 that night in my room. I thought that by being honest I would get in less trouble. I was wrong. They also asked if I had any weed in the room, and I decided to tell them yes and showed them where I kept it. They treated me like a criminal, and I felt like my rights had been violated…. I got a 250 dollar fine, probation for a year, where if caught with anything illegal, or drinking again, I will go to jail.I was also ordered to go to Self Over Substance classes with a fee of 65 dollars. I find it ridiculous that for smoking a little pot, I could potentially go to jail. I’m an A’s and B’s student in college and I have never had any other problems with the law. I know that as a member of society I would not belong in a jail cell, and what a waste it would be. The whole experience of being busted felt like a complete invasion of privacy, and I soon later learned, had I just not open my door, they would have not been allowed to come in, and I would have avoided all the fines and what not.
This sort of thing happens every day, and will continue to happen every day, until like-minded citizens gather the political courage and momentum to change the unjust laws.
As Jack Herer used to say (roughly), until every cannabis consumer spends $20 or 20 minutes on pushing for change, we don’t stand a chance. There are around 100,000 of us in Montana, can you imagine what we could accomplish if we tried?
So, today, tell a friend, spread the word, register to vote, tell your friends to register, donate to and volunteer for Montana First or Montana NORML.
Or stories like the one above will repeat forever.
