Since 2013 I have been taking trips every so often to the U.S. territory Puerto Rico, because my wife if from the island and has family living there. My father-in-law is a Lieutenant in the stolen vehicles division for the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (Negociado de la Policía de Puerto Rico) which is the state police equivalent for Puerto Rico. I took a moment to sit down with him and discuss what was taking place in Texas versus what has taken place in PR, as the island has legalized full plant medical cannabis.
When we talk about cannabis here in Texas and throughout the US, voters approach the concept in many different fashions. Some want full on legalization with no restrictions while some want full or limited medical use requiring a doctors recommendation/prescription. Others tend to fall somewhere in between those two areas. We go to the legislature and we make our case as to why the law should change away from prohibition.
First off, something will be made clear about the shift to full plant access in PR; it did not eliminate the black market on the island. It may have put just a slight dent in eliminating it as some people moved from black market product to dispensary product. It did not get worse either though. The big shift came in the form of individuals not getting a violent with their dealers or dealer getting violent with other dealers, but the dispensaries came under attack.
Lately in the cannabis legalization movement, there has been a push for the SAFE Banking Act to be passed by Congress and signed by the president. This would allow financial institutions to accept money from dispensaries and participate legally in the cannabis industry. In turn this keeps dispensaries from having to keep only cash on hand at all times and being targets for theft. Or so we think.
When I brought this concept up, it was pointed out to me that the dispensaries on the island are not targeted to be robbed of their cash on hand, but for the actual product behind the counter. I was told about how a good chunk of dispensary break-ins result in very little currency taken, and only product stolen by gangs, only to be resold on the street at a lower value. This value being lower because of not having to pay a license fee to the island to be a dispensary, but not having to hire security, and not having to pay as many bills and taxes associated with the process.
When going over reviews of cases that cross over into his field of stolen vehicles, as the gangs committing these robberies also steal cars on the island, he noted that there is testimony gathered where suspects were apprehended possessing cannabis in bulk to resale. The suspects are asked why they don’t open a dispensary to sell their product, to which they have replied “It costs too much to get a license, hire security, and factor that into the final sale of the product. People don’t wanna buy that when they can buy for cheaper from me.”
There is something special about that to take away as well, it is the only crime taking place with the drug on the island at the moment. DUI’s did not go up. DUI’s involving people using cannabis did not go up. The crime rate in general did not go up with medical legalization of cannabis.
People are not shooting each other over these drugs. People are not consuming cannabis, even at a recreational level, and then going out and committing crimes. That’s the people on methamphetamine and cocaine, and they aren’t starting out with marijuana either. Rehabilitation clinics recommended by the government are seeing that those people started on the opioids given to them by the licensed doctors and pushed by the pharmaceutical companies, not marijuana.
One line that I was told, that really stood out, was this, “If you really want to eliminate the black market for cannabis, it needs to be sold just like any other commodity in the grocery store. It needs to be regulated and taxed exactly like we do alcohol. Those that grow and succeed, will do so, and those that don’t, go by the wayside. We don’t see tainted alcohol being sold anymore for this very reason. There is proper oversight and tax applied to alcohol and the same will work for cannabis.”
Make the situation with cannabis to where the buyers aren’t self-inclined to go elsewhere than a dispensary for the product because it will have the best quality and price in a competitive market.
Then we spoke about getting pulled over and police stops regarding any type of cannabis. The island is doing the same thing Texas is doing. They are not distinguishing cannabis from hemp on the road unless you have paperwork to verify it as such.
His words on the subject of marijuana versus hemp in a traffic stop was the following, “The law is written in a way that the burden of proof is upon you to prove to the officer stopping you that what you have is hemp by federal statute, and not marijuana. That’s not just state laws, that is the federal guidance. With regards to PR, if it is marijuana you will need to provide proof of order by doctor. As well, people have been arguing here (PR) that we should not be distinguishing it as different, as it is all cannabis. Fine if you want me to treat it as such under the current law, then you will be charged with possession of marijuana. Don’t ask the cops to do so unless you really wanna go to jail. Because at that point you are confessing to me that you have an illegal substance on your person at the time. “
So what’s the best line you can tell an officer?
When discussed, he agreed with the lines we’ve been repeating for the last year to people. You need to keep your mouth shut. I gave him the situation of the the two lawyers on STFUF about an illegal dispensary operation and the three guys working there when it was raided. He agreed on the notion of keeping quiet for the same reason. You have now placed the burden on the state to prove what you were doing and if you were in fact breaking the law. Keeping quiet gives minimal amount of evidence of someone being able to even build a case against you.
So what do you do when you do need to speak? Tell the officer that you don’t answer questions or that you do not have an answer for the officer.
Strangely enough, he said that these were his favorite answers because as an officer it makes doing paperwork insanely easy and requires less of it, and that in most situations it will likely result in you not being hauled off to jail. Why? He does not have much to build a case on, it would require more interviews which officers do not want to spend more time on for something as simple as this.
He also noted that if you are living in a rural area such as some parts of Texas, the system makes a killing off of this by putting people into the private prison system. They will get kickbacks for throwing you in prison on what amount to currently legal possession charges on you.
He applauds our efforts to change this law, as it’s built on misinformation and the greed of people in power to use the greed between common people to fuel their stories of violence to keep this system in place. The prohibition does not work. It creates the black market and embeds it. The black market does not ever work well for the government or the people.