And no, I am not a lawyer. Or that the marijuana laws therefore give the police the basis to suspect anyone. You look like a marijuana grower, because it could be anyone. For a six-person team that is responsible for more drug investigations than any other unit in the Portland Police Bureau, the Marijuana Task Force hasn't received much public attention. Since Steven Dons allegedly shot two members of the task force and killed another officer during a marijuana investigation late last month, the tiny unit has come under increased scrutiny.
Defense lawyers say it's about time.
I feel like I've been howling in the wilderness. Cooke and others acknowledge that by criticizing the task force, they're putting themselves in a tough spot. They don't want to appear callous to the death of a Portland cop, but they're also eager to publicize what they see as real problems with the bureau's efforts to target marijuana growers. Their argument isn't that the cops are unprofessional cowboys who routinely break the law to make busts. In 1996, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the Drugs and Vice Division seized a whopping 14,425 marijuana plants.