Pubdate: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 Source: Springfield News-Leader (MO) Copyright: 2002 The Springfield News-Leader Contact: http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1129 Author: Frank Bruce Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture) CONSTITUTION NOT MEANT FOR DRUGGIES I believe in the Constitution as much as anybody, but no one knows constitutional rights better than any drug dealer and his defense attorney. The purpose of the Constitution was to ensure protection and equality for every American man, woman and child. When it was written, there weren't drug dealers, transporters and manufacturers. The only defense that victims, we, the American people, have against these predators are law enforcement personnel. It takes a lot of money for these agencies to operate, and what better way to combat drug dealers than to use their own money to pay for their own demise? Wake up, people. It's safe to say that if an individual has a couple of hundred thousand dollars wrapped up in plastic bags in his gas tank, he didn't just stop off at the bank drive-through this morning, make a withdrawal and decide to drive a thousand miles to loan a friend some money. Give his money back, and while you wait a year or more for his case to go to court, he is laughing all the way up the highway, paying some drug manufacturer to cook up another batch, and enabling his defense attorney to run out to buy another sports car or something. On the federal level this was figured out a long time ago. Are we so caught up on state and county levels that we can't figure it out too? The only people making out on this whole deal are the drug dealers and their partners. Frank Bruce, Springfield - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager