Prosecutor Wants Craigslist to Cut Off Drug Dealers

New York's special narcotics prosecutor is putting pressure on Craigslist to curb ads for drugs. According to the Daily News, prosecutor Bridget Brennan wants the website to develop "screening mechanisms" to curb the high number of narcotic ads on the site, which are often posted using such slang as "ski" (cocaine) and "Tina Turner tickets" (crystal meth). Cops have been trolling the site and making busts, which include the high-profile arrest of Citigroup vice president Mark Rayner for selling 50 Ecstasy pills and 7 grams of cocaine for $1,200. Brennan says it's "like shooting fish in a barrel," and the crackdown seems to be working already: A quick search of Craigslist this morning didn't turn up any ads for narcotics—just posts like these for weed whackers, and a "Special 420 Yoga Mat with extra thick great comfort for the end of the day when you need that special feeling."

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By John Del Signore in News on November 17, 2008 12:29 PM

Comments [rss]

lindsayfunke

Wait - you could find contacts on Craigslist?! I live in Manhattan and can't even figure out how to find weed, now they're trying to shut down a source as soon as I find out about it?

Damn it.

NannyState

^ Oh yeah? You got money?

Amanda Harletsch

I moved to NYC to have it delivered!

emilydickinson

We could save so much money on prisons if we just decriminalize drugs. So many Americans regularly use recreational drugs or are addicts that it's absurd to thing more and more enforcement is going to make this disappear.

Even with a tax similar to alcohol, weed and every other drug would be cheaper and of a much higher quality. Big brother gets his money, addicts get their drugs and become functioning addicts and recreational users and medical patients get their stuff without the hassle of dealing with criminals. It's really a win-win situation.

JenChungsBaby

Without going into detail, I have a family member whose doctor told him/her that marijuana would be good for his/her illness. And now he/she gets it illegally when needed and it works much better and with fewer side effects than the medication the doctor can prescribe legally. So it definitely has medical uses.

Personally, I just like it. A while ago when I was jonesing and unable to get any I placed a buyer's ad on Craigslist and even though the post got taken down in ten minutes by that time I had already found an excellent connection. I'm guessing they're not after buyers, though these days who knows.

Guest

I'm all for legalizing, but we need a catchy slogan. Something like "Yes We Can (sit on the couch all day playing Xbox)!"

lagomorph

Why haven't we seen someone run on a "New Yorkers deserve a better brand of Weed. Stop Skunk, Vote to Legalize" platform?

goyogago

>marijuana doesn't work as a treatment for depression.

maybe not for DSM-IV diagnosed Clinical Depression, but i would wager MJ has helped thousands upon thousands of people out of minor depression.

And it's irrelevant anyway. MJ has so many legit medical uses it's ridiculous.

streber

I'd appreciate if they'd find the Times Square bomber before focusing on such nonsense.

JMH

Heh, Citigroup "vice" president indeed.

smitty

marijuana doesn't work as a treatment for depression.

UnrepentantFenian

They can actually make a renewable fuel source from hemp. It's more of a weed than a plant so it can grow anywhere, leaches few nutrients from the soil, and rotates well with other crops. They have demonstrated that hemp oil can easily power today's engines.

For the record, I don't smoke weed. I also don't recycle and drive a V8 with the windows down and the sir conditioner on.

babyhitler

that yoga mat is awesome. the reason why they don't legalize weed is cause they would put all those drug companies out of business. Why would you buy zoloft and prozac for XXX amount of dollars when Weed is so cheap illegally and it's a panacea for almost everything? can you imagine how cheap legal weed would be? The reason why the car industry is fucked now is cause the oil companies make the car companies not look into alternative fuel sources. These lobbyists are the devil! I've never smoked weed before But I do plan to do so when I'm a senior citizen. They better change the law by then or else I'll be a criminal.

r1b2

Give alcohol to folks in SUVs and they kill, but criminalize hemp, a harmless relative of marijuana, eh? Good plan.

TooTallJeff

legalize it

Wza

Shut em down one way, they'll find another way to sell the product. It will always be a cat and mouse game.

sinisterteashop

Part of national move by state Attorney Generals to patrol and restrict Craigslists across the country, state by state:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/technology/internet/07craigslist.html

zodak

so the cops are making so many busts that it's like shooting fish in a barrel,

so they want craigslist to create filters to decrease the number of ads,

so that they'll make LESS arrests??

moocowtoo

This thread is making me get the munchies.

rdsizzle

So does this mean that you can buy drugs online and have it shipped?

Rob T Firefly

You'll have to buy actual tickets to Tina Turner concerts under their code name, "horse tranquilizers."

mrguy

can you find a picture of some shitty Mexican brick weed to use instead? making us look at that tasty bud is like giving an issue of Bon Appetit to a homeless person.