This post has nothing to do with whether the Border Patrol should or should not be conducting checkpoints away from the border. I already posted on that subject
here and got plenty of responses.
This is about a medical marijuana patient (who was totally in compliance with Washington State laws) who got swept up in one of the Border Patrol’s checkpoints last summer.
Stephen Dixon was cited for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, which Border Patrol agents found during a checkpoint search. The Border Patrol’s argument was that they were “just doing their jobs” and that federal law — which Stephen Dixon was in violation of — takes precedence over the Washington State law with which he was in compliance. OK.
But now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has informed the Border Patrol that they will not prosecute this case, or any other misdemeanor drug cases brought to them by the Border Patrol. And they told the Border Patrol not to bother them with any more such cases.
So, the Border Patrol was doing its job, fully complying with the law. And the U.S. Attorney’s Office was doing
ITS job — also in full compliance with the law — when they declined to prosecute this case because their limited time, money and manpower are needed for more urgent problems. End of story. Right???
Wrong. A Border Patrol “spokesman” — Jason Carroll — threw a screaming hissyfit over the fact that this medical marijuana patient will not be prosecuted.
Stephen Dixon’s injuries include: a severe leg injury while serving in the military in 1971. Ten years later he lost his other leg in a motorcycle accident. And he’s had several back surgeries since 1985. He said “I'm using medical marijuana to alleviate this pain.”
Again, Stephen Dixon served in the military. Was Jason Carroll ever in the military? I doubt it.
When a law enforcement officer (or “spokesman”) presents a case to a prosecutor, and the prosecutor decides not to prosecute the case — both sides have done their jobs. Jason Carroll: Get over it. Move on.
Labels: Border Patrol checkpoints, Border Patrol medical marijuana, Jason Carroll Border Patrol, Stephen Dixon, U.S. Attorney’s Office medical marijuana