Charged with 'Possession of...'

 Possession of anything, no matter what it is, can never be a real crime.

It doesn't matter how much you wish it were so.

That goes for drugs, guns, large amounts of cash, "open containers", or anything else.

For one thing, it is easy to plant some prohibited item on a person you want to find a reason to punish. Cops do it all the time, and if you believe they don't you might ought to consider a few thoughts.

Is it easy to plant something on someone? Is it likely you'd get caught doing so? Is the benefit of planting it outweighed by the small risk of being caught? Is it likely that anyone who voices the concern that the prohibited item was planted will be ostracized as siding with the "criminal"- and quite probably lumped in and accused of the same "crime" the supposed criminal was accused of?

The answers to all those questions, if one is honest, shows that planting prohibited items goes on all the time.

Sure, some people actually do have guns and use them aggressively. Some people do use and sell "drugs"- although making this "illegal" was one of the most evil acts of statism ever committed. Some people involved in things the government disapproves of do carry around big wads of cash. So what?

For a real crime, as opposed to a government "crime", to have been committed, an individual or their property has to have been violated individually by the individual person who is responsible. Possession of anything doesn't cut it. Not ever.

But, when the "authorities" can parade (or speak of) the prohibited things being found in the possession of a person they are seeking to punish, and when the general population cheers for the "bad guy" getting caught. it is just too convenient. Advocating these sorts of "laws", or supporting enforcement of them, plays right into the wrong hands.

Simple possession, of anything, can never be a crime, even if in some cases it might be ethically or morally wrong. Anything else is just too ripe for abuse by the real bad guys: the bullies who call themselves government.

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