What’s the most dangerous thing about cannabis – THE COPS!

marvin scott death

One of the reasons why cannabis is allegedly still not legal is because of the “potential dangers” of consuming marijuana. We frequently hear the revised, “Weed makes you a moron” argument with the highly debated “Teen IQ Studies” frequently cited by prohibitionists.

We also have the psychosis argument, the addiction argument and a slew of other “reasons” why federal legalization in the US cannot happen. However – with all of these “potential risks”, the risk of dying from cannabis is virtually null – that is, except when the cops get involved.

Today I wish to tell you the story of two deaths by the hand of cops where cannabis was the reason the victims died. Rather, the enforcing of draconian laws that resulted in the deaths of individual for merely consuming a plant.

Imagine if we were talking about tomatoes instead, “Cops Kill Farmer over a Tomato Deal Gone Bad!” We’d be appalled. Now simply maintain that train of thought as I introduce you to our first victim.

Meet Marvin Scott

Marvin Scott was a 26-year-old black man from Texas who died in police custody after being arrested for “erratic behavior” and the presence of a joint. This story isn’t as black and white as just saying that Scott died because of weed, but cannabis was certainly one of the reasons why the police got involved.

Marvin Scott was suffering from mental illness – but by the time he was arrested, he had been taking medication for up to a year and hadn’t experienced an ‘episode’. The Vice Article – where I found the story of Scott – didn’t specify what type of mental illness Marvin was suffering from, but by the sound of things he was probably suffering some sort of psychotic disorder.

And here the cops find themselves in deep trouble – they now have to deal with a mentally ill person, and treat him like a criminal due to the presence of cannabis – which in Texas is still very illegal.

They took him to a mental hospital first, but after he was cleared – he was taken back to jail. There, he began acting erratic and when the cops failed to restrain him by force, they decided that pepper spraying and placing a “spit hood” on him would be the way to go.

Unfortunately, they didn’t consider that he was asthmatic, and as a result he suffocated to death in their custody. Seven police officers including were placed on administrative leave. The parents of the man were informed via text about the death of their son.

While mental illness definitely played a role, it was cannabis that put Scott in the care of the police. It was the policy not the substance that killed Marvin – and if you substitute cannabis for tomatoes – you can see how pointless it all was.

Meet George Longenecker

If you thought the first story was sad, this one is weird and tragic in its own right. George was a 51-year-old short order cook who according to the article – “liked the Grateful Dead”. I guess that’s to humanize him but to be honest, he doesn’t need humanizing.

George was growing ten marijuana plants when the cops showed up. Of course, George decided to run. The cops saw a bulldozer which they had commandeered from the Pennsylvania Game Commission of which they pursued George and proceeded to crush him to death with the dozer.

What’s more – the police and the game commission destroyed evidence according to the lawsuit. Once more, this tale ends with the notion that cannabis is evil and we need armed people with guns chasing people to ensure that it doesn’t reach “the children”.

Yet, if the police never got involved in the life of George or Marvin – they would not have died as a result. The similarities in both of these stories is that these men were not in danger – until the cops showed up.

Cannabis is not a gateway drug – unless you lump it with other drugs in the black market.

When the Policy is more Lethal than the drug

If you take a look at all drugs – and I’m including things like Fentanyl and heroin – the policies meant to keep society safe makes these drugs more dangerous. What would happen if we shifted away from treating drug use as “pathological?”

What if it was your fundamental human right to alter your consciousness irrespective of the substance used? What if you fully owned the rights to your own body?

If we are being so strict in terms of weighing out the risks and benefits when it comes to legalization, I think the fact that “death by cop” being on the side of prohibition shows you that this policy is far overdue for a drastic change.

If we don’t – more people will die at the hands of the untrained.

And to be fair, I’m not blaming the cops in Marvin’s case – they were simply ill-trained. However, the cops in George’s case are unfit to carry weapons sanctioned by the state.