Over Stems and Seeds

Today, many police raids do not begin with a knock on the door, but rather with a door busting invasion of body armour suited coppers wielding machine guns, stun grenades, and whatever other high priced military grade weapons police departments can get their hands on courtesy of the Department of Homeland Insecurity.

The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan is not immune to this trend of police smash and grab raids in the name of so called “war on drugs,” and here’s a case where a couple who experienced such a raid first hand are fighting back, and oh so slowly beating back the unthinking goons who busted in their doors for stems and seeds.

Police swept through the Jansmas’ home in August 2003 and found marijuana—mostly stems and seeds, plastic baggies and a small scale.

The Jansmas were charged with hindering and opposing a police officer, drug possession and maintaining a drug house. Police later seized the home.

Just why did the cops target the Jansma’s home for a raid?

Police were led to the home after a group of teens were found smoking marijuana outside Alger Elementary School. The teens said they purchased the marijuana from one of the Jansmas’ sons.

So on the word of a “group of teens” smoking a bit of herb outside an elementary school, stupid in and of itself, the Jansma’s have their door kicked in, the Missus’ wrist and arm broken, and their home confiscated because their son sold a spliff to some teenagers who don’t have the sense to be discrete.

Of course the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan police department, and the city’s attorneys, “believe” their strong arm actions are justified, as so succinctly stated here.

Lawyers, representing the city in the couple’s 2005 civil rights lawsuit, say Jelte and Janine Jansma got what’s coming to people who bring drugs into neighborhoods.

The Jansmas have fought back against these over zealous tactics, and are slowly regaining a semblance of normality to their lives.  All charges have been dropped, they have regained their home from the state, and they have filed a $1 million dollar civil suit against Grand Rapids’ police department.

But all this occurred over a joint sold by the Jansma’s son, and stems and seeds.  Ridiculous.

Couple’s battle rages on vs. Grand Rapids

Posted by on 06/11 at 04:33 AM

  1. I’d be curious as to how many of the readers of this post have plastic baggies in their homes. I’m even worse. I have a scale suitable for weighing drugs. Not the dangly one from the post office that kids use, but a triple beam. It was my father’s. He used it for mixing photochemicals; I use it for mixing casting compounds for modelmaking.

    At least I don’t have to worry about them finding seeds. Decent quality pot these days doesn’t contain any.

    Posted by triticale  on  06/12  at  06:30 AM

  2. I’d think that just about every individual has some type of plastic baggie in their home.

    It is interesting to note, that in my neck of the woods, there is actually a local ordinance, which could actually be utilized to define almost any every day object as drug paraphernalia.  From the ordinance.

    A. A kit used or intended for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, or harvesting any species of plant that is a controlled substance or from which a controlled substance can be derived;

    B. A kit used or intended for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, or preparing a controlled substance;

    C. An isomerization device used or intended for use in increasing the potency of any species of plant that is a controlled substance;

    D. Testing equipment used or intended for use in identifying or in analyzing the strength, effectiveness, or purity of a controlled substance;

    E. A scale or balance used or intended for use in weighing or measuring a controlled substance;

    F. A dilutant or adulterant, such as quinine hydrochloride, mannitol, mannite, dextrose, or lactose, used or intended for use in cutting a controlled substance;

    G. A separation gin or sifter used or intended for use in removing twigs and seeds from or in otherwise cleaning or refining marihuana;

    H. A blender, bowl, container, spoon or mixing device used or intended for use in compounding a controlled substance;

    I. A capsule, balloon, envelope, or other container used or intended for use in packaging small quantities of a controlled substance;

    J. A container or other object used or intended for use in storing or concealing a controlled substance;

    K. A hypodermic syringe, needle, or other object used or intended for use in parenterally injecting a controlled substance into the human body; and

    L. An object used or intended for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marihuana, cocaine, hashish or hashish oil into the human body, such as:

    1. A metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic pipe with or without a screen, permanent screen, hashish head, or punctured metal bowl;

    2. A water pipe;

    3. A carburetion tube or device;

    4. A smoking or carburetion mask;

    5. A chamber pipe;

    6. A carburetor pipe;

    7. An electric pipe;

    8. An air-driven pipe;

    9. A chillum;

    10. A bong; or

    11. An ice pipe or chiller. (Ord., 10-4-82)

    If they want to nail you bad enough, the state will turn any item they can into a weapon to use against you.

    Posted by John Venlet  on  06/12  at  07:34 AM

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