News Kansas and California Cops Used Civil Forfeiture to Stage Armored Car Heists, Stealing Money Earned by Licensed Marijuana Businesses

[thegreenhand]

Kansas and California Cops Used Civil Forfeiture to Stage Armored Car Heists, Stealing Money Earned by Licensed Marijuana Businesses​

Jacob Sullum
Reason
18 Jan 2022

Because the continued federal prohibition of marijuana makes banks and payment processors leery of serving state-licensed cannabis suppliers, many of those businesses rely heavily on cash, which exposes them to a heightened risk of robbery. As a new federal lawsuit shows, that danger is not limited to garden-variety criminals. It includes cops who use federal civil forfeiture laws to steal money earned by state-legal marijuana businesses.

Five times since last May, sheriff's deputies in Kansas and California have stopped armored cars operated by Empyreal Logistics, a Pennsylvania-based company that serves marijuana businesses and financial institutions that work with them. The cops made off with cash after three of those stops, seizing a total of $1.2 million, but did not issue any citations or file any criminal charges, which are not necessary to confiscate property through civil forfeiture. That process allows police to pad their budgets by seizing assets they allege are connected to criminal activity, even when the owner is never charged, let alone convicted.

Read the full article here.

 

[S.J.B.]

This is a reminder that "state-legal" and "actually legal" are very different things.

 

[scootbooter]

also that "cop legal" is a whole realm of hedonistic freedom that civilians don't have access to

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

Just another violation of the fourth amendment and another fantastically corrupt product of the war on drugs.

 

[thegreenhand]

unfortunately, they may be able to use the interstate commerce clause to say that the stops were justified.

a tenth amendment violation might be more convincing for a court

but it’s not like drug law cases ever make it to the supreme court anyways so i’m just rambling now

 

[neversickanymore]

Well I’m so not shocked.

 

[S.J.B.]

but it’s not like drug law cases ever make it to the supreme court anyways so i’m just rambling now

Yeah, that's really frustrating. The Analog Act was struck down in one circuit court thirty years ago, upheld ten years later in another district's appellate court, but still has never been tested at the Supreme Court.

 

[jasperkent]

Goddamn pigs.

 

[neversickanymore]

Really good to see Jacob Sullum writing articles again.. kinda seemed to disappear there for a bit.. could be just me missing his work.. he is $$$$$$$$

 

[thegreenhand]

Yeah, that's really frustrating. The Analog Act was struck down in one circuit court thirty years ago, upheld ten years later in another district's appellate court, but still has never been tested at the Supreme Court.

Burrage v. United States is the only one I can think of.

The Supreme Court was surprisingly sympathetic…but overall it was a minor victory