Editorial: Marijuana search takes a turn for the ridiculous

Editorial from the Santa Fe NewMexican.com - It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry when reading about a recent raid by law enforcement on a school greenhouse. Last month, officers descended upon Camino de Paz Montessori School and Farm. This, after children at the school told adults they had seen a low-flying helicopter with gun barrels aboard hovering overhead. The helicopter vanished, and about five minutes later, vehicles descended upon the school and four men in bullet-proof vests demanded to inspect the school's greenhouse. Farm director Greg Nussbaum gave the men a tour, they saw tomatoes, and that, says education director Patricia Pantano, "was the story." Except there should be more to this particular story. School officials showed good sense throughout, staying calm, showing off the greenhouse and not exacerbating a mistake — we commend them for grace under pressure. It can't be comfortable for children ages 11 to 14 to watch as their school is searched, especially by officers wearing bullet-proof vests but lacking visible insignias or uniforms. The search apparently occurred as a Region III Narcotics Task Force — state police, county deputies and other law-enforcement agencies, in National Guard helicopters — was raiding suspected marijuana growers in Santa Fe County. That's all well and good. At present, growing and possessing marijuana is against the law. Catch the miscreants; illegal drug selling and use makes all of us less safe. But the fact that officers didn't realize they had found a school greenhouse, rather than a pot-growing plantation, is cause for concern. It's also troubling that our local experts in drug enforcement can't tell the difference between a marijuana leaf and a tomato plant — even from the air, they aren't that similar. Read more

Editorial: Marijuana search takes a turn for the ridiculous