{"id":51424,"date":"2020-05-20T11:55:09","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T11:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/cops-are-using-social-distancing-violations-as-an-excuse-to-persecute-weed-users\/"},"modified":"2020-05-20T11:55:09","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T11:55:09","slug":"cops-are-using-social-distancing-violations-as-an-excuse-to-persecute-weed-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/news\/cops-are-using-social-distancing-violations-as-an-excuse-to-persecute-weed-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Cops Are Using Social Distancing Violations as an Excuse to Persecute Weed Users"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo <\/em>via<\/em><\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

Across the US, states and cities are still telling citizens to stay home and isolate themselves to protect against contracting the coronavirus. But while most people are doing their best to self-quarantine, police officers across the country are using social distancing regulations to pursue petty arrests<\/u><\/a> and make otherwise unlawful stops and searches.<\/p>\n

In Jackson, Mississippi, local NBC station <\/u>WLBT<\/em><\/u><\/a> reports that police in the city have made 146 arrests that started as social distancing stops, resulting in the seizure of 500 pounds of cannabis and more than $20,000 in cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heavily patrolled the streets and we came across individuals that were together violating the stay at home order,\u201d a Jackson police department spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

But while cops were out looking for groups of people, the police did not report whether officers were wearing masks and making sure to stand at least six-feet-apart themselves. In New York City<\/u><\/a>, where cops in some neighborhoods are handing out free masks to people who aren\u2019t socially distant, a video from Brooklyn shows a throng of unmasked cops attacking and arresting a man for being too close to his friends<\/u><\/a>. After the incident, cops said that the arrest was both for breaking social distancing, and possession of one joint<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n