Marijuana on Montana ballot

Supporters gathered almost twice as many signatures as needed to put a marijuana initiative on the Montana ballot.

If enough voters support Initiative 2 in November's general election, the measure would lean on local law enforcement to make “citations, arrests, property seizures and prosecutions for adult marijuana offenses Missoula County's lowest law enforcement priority,” according to the proposal.

The cops who make their living off the the prohibition are not impressed.

“Personally, I think it's a joke,” said Detective Tom Lewis with Missoula's office of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas. “Most misdemeanor possession cases arise from traffic stops or arrests on other warrants. We're not out there looking for it, but a lot of people have marijuana in their pockets. Across the United States, marijuana is the drug of choice. We see more marijuana than anything.”

Well here's a clue buddy. If the initiative passes, you can just ignore the weed in their pockets.

Considering, "Montana spends more than $9 million every year enforcing marijuana laws" while "data from the Montana Board of Crime Control show that less than one-third of the rapes reported in Missoula County last year led to an arrest, and only 8 percent of burglaries led to an arrest," maybe law enforcement could change their priorities and start solving real crimes instead.