Passenger Trains > Hauling weed on the Builder

Traffic seems to be from states where recreational weed is legal, Washington to where it is not Wisconsin. This would be train #8, The Empire Builder.

I wonder why the pothead missed his train?

http://mtstandard.com/news/state-and-regional/washington-state-man-charged-for-marijuana-on-amtrak/article_074d83ee-cdaf-5916-afce-17eb5788a778.html

http://m.dailyinterlake.com/members/luggage-scheme-goes-up-in-smoke/article_f9e207ce-1e07-11e5-b56a-cf4cc7f8bc70.html?mode=jqm

I believe the quantities this guy had in his possession far exceeded the amount allowed for personal possession in Washington.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/15 10:13 by fbe.

How wonderful. Are we now going to add the Empire Builder to the list of Amtrak trains where overzealous LEOs harass a majority of law-abiding passengers in their desperate quest to collar an occasional miscreant? 

Given enough time, more and more states will err and make 'fun pot' legal. Then you will have to wonder about your police, medical people, ambulance crews, hiway workers, amusement park workers, restaurant staff and cooks, etc, etc, etc all being way off if and when you need their services. Then the subject of moving weed from state to state will be old news. Aren't you glad for such progressive thinking ?

Just because weed will be legal doesn't mean you will be able to transport it in large amounts between states.  Look what happened in NY when you try to sell cigarettes locally, purchased somewhere else.  As far as harrassing "honest" citizens that is a problem but do you really want to ride trains that will be open season for drug couriers.

Bob

robj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just because weed will be legal doesn't mean you
> will be able to transport it in large amounts
> between states.  Look what happened in NY when
> you try to sell cigarettes locally, purchased
> somewhere else.  As far as harrassing "honest"
> citizens that is a problem but do you really want
> to ride trains that will be open season for drug
> couriers.
>
> Bob

The Denver Post has had a few articles about the "ring of blue" surrounding Colorado. Folks wishing to remove a van load, etc of weed will encounter UT, NM etc police on key transportation routes. No different with cigarettes.  MI PA NY etc occasionally get tips about folks hauling industrial quantities of low tax cigarettes from North Carolina for sale back home.  One guy even planned to finance jihad with his profits. (Jerk - he ended up with multiple charges.)

The upside is that the price of good weed has dropped dramtically in towns near a state border with Colorado. Free markets in action.

"...12 pounds of marijuana and four jars of what authorities suspect is hashish..."

Yeh, we want this moving on Amtrak, don't we?   :-)

There's quite a bit of discussion about this in numerous areas, the States that allow recreational use don't have enough supporting 'agriculture' infrastructure to meet the demand. Although legal in those mentioned States, it's still contrary to Federal Law and also transporting across State lines gets you into Federal Court as well.

I get a laugh curbside at Denver International Airport where the departing vacationeers seem to be getting in one last toke before the flight. I read they had a seperate container for depositing excess plant material before flying home.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/coming-into-los-angeles-lyrics-arlo-guthrie.html

Kinda surprises me that it is #8 and NOT #28.    I have watched a number of passengers transferring from #14 to #28 be caught in Portland.  Seems like there is a lot of drug (and not just marajuana) being transported from California to Williston, ND.    ( #14 to #28)  The police seem to know who they are looking for and remove them from the station in a very low key manner.    Unless you knew what to look for you wouldn't know that a bust had been made.

One time I've seen the drug dog walk the line of passengers checking in for #28 and get a hit.  A BIG hit. 

Once I watched the cops waiting and the guy getting off #14 saw them and ran.   They didn't chase.   They got him when he came strolling back in to board #28.

These guys don't have a great amount of intelligence.

jb

 

dcfbalcoS1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Given enough time, more and more states will err
> and make 'fun pot' legal. Then you will have to
> wonder about your police, medical people,
> ambulance crews, hiway workers, amusement park
> workers, restaurant staff and cooks, etc, etc, etc
> all being way off if and when you need their
> services. Then the subject of moving weed from
> state to state will be old news. Aren't you glad
> for such progressive thinking ?

When I was growing up, especially in high school and university, beer and wine were the 'fun' ways to go at party time.  Seems still to be the case judging from Super Bowl and other commercials.  Then there's tobacco.  Now we're adding another substance to the list of 'fun' things that degrade our health (and safety in some cases).  BFD.

jdb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Kinda surprises me that it is #8 and NOT
> #28.    I have watched a number of passengers
> transferring from #14 to #28 be caught in
> Portland.  Seems like there is a lot of drug (and
> not just marajuana) being transported from
> California to Williston, ND.    ( #14 to
> #28)  The police seem to know who they are
> looking for and remove them from the station in a
> very low key manner.    Unless you knew what to
> look for you wouldn't know that a bust had been
> made.
>
> One time I've seen the drug dog walk the line of
> passengers checking in for #28 and get a hit.  A
> BIG hit. 
>
> Once I watched the cops waiting and the guy
> getting off #14 saw them and ran.   They didn't
> chase.   They got him when he came strolling
> back in to board #28.
>
> These guys don't have a great amount of
> intelligence.
>
> jb
>
>  

Yes. 

The weed farmers up in Humboldt CA etc produce an enormous amount of product. Some of it goes into legal channels for rec and medical distribution. The rest of it goes into informal channels.

The Skunk Train ran afoul of some angry farmers in 2013, and led to a temporary suspension of operations.

ColdRainAndSnow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How wonderful. Are we now going to add the Empire
> Builder to the list of Amtrak trains where
> overzealous LEOs harass a majority of law-abiding
> passengers in their desperate quest to collar an
> occasional miscreant? 

The Border Patrol added the Empire Builder to that list some time ago.   BSB

BigSkyBlue Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Border Patrol added the Empire Builder to that
> list some time ago.   BSB

Not really. CBP has backed off both on the Builder and Lake Shore routes over the past 8 - 12 months. I haven't seen them at all in Havre or Shelby on recent Hi-Line trips. But yes, it was annoying to see that security theater up there when they were hitting it hard. 

The Law Enforcement Complex has become a big, bloated hammer. And when you're a big, bloated hammer, every effing thing in the world looks like a nail to you. And so they go around in their armored War vehicles carrying War Weaponry hammering every little nail they see. Sure they're bound to bag a few dopers moving weight. But they do so at the expense of our liberties. They have just about become as bad as the people they're running around swinging hammers at. 


 

ColdRainAndSnow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BigSkyBlue Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
 But they
> do so at the expense of our liberties. They have
> just about become as bad as the people they're
> running around swinging hammers at. 
>
Not to mention plain old at "our expense."