“If, then, it became so difficult, so nearly impossible, in most cases, to determine what is, and what is not, vice; and especially if it be so difficult, in nearly all cases, to determine where virtue ends, and vice begins; and if these questions, which no one can really and truly determine for anybody but himself, are not to be left free and open for experiment by all, each person is deprived of the highest of all his rights as a human being, to wit: his right to inquire, investigate, reason, try experiments, judge, and ascertain for himself, what is, to him,virtue, and what is, to him, vice; in other words: what, on the whole, conduces to his happiness, and what, on the whole, tends to his unhappiness. If this great right is not to be left free and open to all, then each man’s whole right, as a reasoning human being, to "liberty and the pursuit of happiness," is denied him. ”

Wow - Yes ! ! ! - can you say no more big gulps. As a side note; I was recently helping a friend fight a traffic ticket he didn't do. I directed him to official Annotated "Rules of Criminal Procedure" and an attorney that could help with procedure when, the Prosecutor (interrupted by the Judge) in a type of arranged pre-hearing (?) stated - that is not what they were going to do in this court and he needed only do what he was told and pay. My friend subpoenaed several items, including the dash cam, while not receiving anything except a corrupted CD that seemed to be encrypted. When objection was raised in open court, the Judge said it didn't matter, he and the Prosecutor had already decided he was guilty and he had to pay. HMMM, really scary; Welcome to Amerika!

Thank goodness we can get a jury trial here in Texas for everything from murder to a parking ticket. Mike's example is pretty commonplace in bench trials.

The State ever acts to make serfs of us all. We really have little need of an all-powerful central government to manage our personal affairs, but governments need money, and the only sources of revenue are taxation and fines, SO, the State must continue to make more laws in order to raise more revenue -- the problem is, the only way they can make money is to declare non-criminal acts crimes. And prohibition laws are the only laws that allow the confiscation of ALL property and monies of SUSPECTS. Murderers can keep their property but if a marijuana seed is found on the property, the property mat be seized and sold at auction without hearing or trial. Prohibition is legalized theft with the extra bonus of expanding the police state -- and the Constitution never granted Congress the powers they claim and exercise over us to regulate what we may ingest.