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Kansas Police shutdown cannabis oil activist’s Facebook

103 points by romefort 11y ago

zimbatm 11y ago
> The Garden City Police Department had cannabis oil activist Shona Banda’s Facebook account shutdown because she was using her social media network to raise money for her legal defense On what grounds is it illegal to raise funds ?
- brandonmenc 11y ago
  Probably on the grounds that it's hard to push around a defendant who has a lot of money for lawyers.
- nailer 11y ago
  It would be interesting to see Facebooks take on this... any FBers on HN?
- themartorana 11y ago
  Probably the same grounds that prosecutors and police use to seize all liquid assets of a defendant before they are even tried, so they can't afford to pay for a defense lawyer.
- tptacek 11y ago
  It's not.
jjar 11y ago
> On March 24, cannabis oil activist Shona Banda‘s life was flipped upside-down And I'd like to take a minute Just sit right there I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air
- mrmondo 11y ago
  This made me laugh
- snowy 11y ago
  It made me laugh too. I don't know why you are been down voted. I guess there is no room for humor.
  - mrmondo 11y ago
    There is a culture of down voting for no-value-add. I think people use it as an opportunity to shape the community which may be fair enough.
- lfowles 11y ago
  There is indeed a Bel Aire, KS. Continue. http://www.belaireks.org/ http://www.belaireks.org/
charliefg 11y ago
This is the best thing that could have happened
- aneeshm 11y ago
  Yep. Let's Streisand her GoFundMe: http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r
  - userbinator 11y ago
    $20,500 of $15k Raised by 820 people in 4 days That was fast. Edit: now up to $20,735, an hour later. She's certainly getting lots of support.
roarkjs 11y ago
> The Garden City Police Department had cannabis oil activist Shona Banda’s Facebook account shutdown Citation needed
- researcher88 11y ago
  Her profile appears in my friends' list but when you click on it, it goes nowhere and opens back up my feed.
  - joshuapants 11y ago
    Great, but where does that prove the police were involved? The source article mentioned no evidence for that, and it doesn't strike me as the most reputable source in any event.
    - yebyen 11y ago
      Are you suggesting the page was shut down on purpose to prompt internet mob support already? If so, seems it worked.
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
    - adekok 11y ago
      She doesn't seem to have taken it down. Facebook doesn't generally take down random peoples accounts. The simplest explanation is that it was taken down against her will. Likely by someone with pseudo-legal authority to do that. i.e. "legal" authority, even if the application of that authority doesn't actually follow the law.
      - joshuapants 11y ago
        I simply think that when presented a dubious claim with no evidence from a shady source we should be skeptical.
tptacek 11y ago
Wait, how, exactly, does a local police department have someone's Facebook page taken down? Is there any source anyone can find that verifies that's what happened? Radley Balko did some reporting on this story, after Ben Swann broke it, and neither of those two reporters said anything about Facebook. Other reporting I've found actually points to Facebook advocacy pages for for Banda, who currently does have Facebook pages.
- RexRollman 11y ago
  I don't like Facebook but I am finding it hard to believe that they would take down someone's page based on a police request. You would think that a Judge's order would at least be required.
  - fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
    I have a little problem believing that Garden City PD was actually able to make contact with someone at fb who could do that, but I'd at least hope that fb has a system in place for law enforcement to make contact with a fb staffer who could expedite proper law enforcement requests. I don't have any problem believing that fb would take a page offline after some sort of "administrative subpoena" or other similar sketchiness. I also don't have a problem believing that a judge could be found in a small Midwestern town who would sign off on something like that. But I don't see anything to indicate that's what has happened. If I had to guess, I'd guess that Banda consulted an atty who promptly told her to 'shut down all the things' lest she make her legal defense much more difficult and expensive.
    - Tomte 11y ago
      At least in Germany, Facebook doesn't even comply with court orders. The Facebook Germany office just tells courts to talk to the Irish office, in the knowledge that international judicial assistance is a big obstacle for smaller cases and likely won't happen.
- bsenftner 11y ago
  I suspect the person who wrote the article does not know the difference between Facebook and the Internet. Or is one of those that simply calls the Internet "Facebook". Yes, they exist, all over in fact...
aaronbrager 11y ago
> her next custody hearing is set to take place on April 20. How… appropriate
sergiotapia 11y ago
I wish it were 100% legal like beer already. So many people use it, and it harms just as much as alcohol. Stop putting normal people in prison with murderers and rapists. I've never done drugs before in my life but I know a ton of professional that do. These are lawyers, doctors, accountants and the occasional taxidermist. Do these people belong in jail? Fuck that.
- narrowrail 11y ago
  >I've never done drugs before I can only assume you mean cannabis is a drug, when, in fact, it is a plant. Keeping with the idea that cannabis is a drug, am I correct to assume you have never had a Pepsi or a cup of coffee?
  - tmerr 11y ago
    If you're going to be pedantic at least do it well. Going by the dictionary definition of drug: "a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body" both caffeine and cannabis fit the bill.
    - narrowrail 11y ago
      Cannabis is a plant that contains cannabinoids that are drugs. As a chemist, I typically don't refer to unrefined plant material as a drug. Because people don't typically consume caffeine raw, most people don't consider coffee consumption "doing drugs"; so, I believe cannabis deserves the same consideration. Language matters, and I don't consider it to be pedantic to make this point (however subtle the distinction is). Edit: And, for reference (since you missed the definition of cannabis): Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three different species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- nickles 11y ago
  > and it harms just as much as alcohol While I agree that marijuana should be legalized, note that there is some consensus that alcohol causes more harm (societally and to the user) than marijuana [1]. While the societal damage would change if it were legalized, marijuana is still less harmful to users than alcohol. [1] http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/drugs_cause_most_harm http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/drugs_caus...
aetch 11y ago
This article only mentions Facebook in one sentence. No supporting facts or links...?
nilved 11y ago
Is there another source that is neutral?
- markbnj 11y ago
  The Washington Post, at least, independently confirmed the account of the school's actions on the day of the program. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/04/17/state-seizes-11-year-old-arrests-his-mother-after-he-defends-medical-marijuana-during-a-school-presentation/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/04/17/s...
justanother 11y ago
Nevermind the Facebook page, they took her son into custody and questioned him without parental consent or legal representation? I truly hope this ends badly for the 'authorities' responsible, as it sounds to me like kidnapping.
- cmurf 11y ago
  Kansas is what happens economically and socially when Republicans are completely in charge. No balance. They are throwing the book at this woman, and punishing her via her kid. That was their first and second course of action. And this particular batch of social conservatives get vindictive when they're made to look bad, so I'd expect her mistreatment to get worse before it gets better.
eric_h 11y ago
> her next custody hearing is set to take place on April 20. Oh, the irony.
goldenkey 11y ago
Lets hug of death her GoFundMe. They are attempting to destroy her ability to attain funding for a defense. Thats what the motive here is. http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r

103 points by romefort 11y ago

> The Garden City Police Department had cannabis oil activist Shona Banda’s Facebook account shutdown because she was using her social media network to raise money for her legal defense On what grounds is it illegal to raise funds ?

brandonmenc 11y ago
Probably on the grounds that it's hard to push around a defendant who has a lot of money for lawyers.
nailer 11y ago
It would be interesting to see Facebooks take on this... any FBers on HN?
themartorana 11y ago
Probably the same grounds that prosecutors and police use to seize all liquid assets of a defendant before they are even tried, so they can't afford to pay for a defense lawyer.
tptacek 11y ago
It's not.

jjar 11y ago

> On March 24, cannabis oil activist Shona Banda‘s life was flipped upside-down And I'd like to take a minute Just sit right there I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air

mrmondo 11y ago
This made me laugh
snowy 11y ago
It made me laugh too. I don't know why you are been down voted. I guess there is no room for humor.
- mrmondo 11y ago
  There is a culture of down voting for no-value-add. I think people use it as an opportunity to shape the community which may be fair enough.
lfowles 11y ago
There is indeed a Bel Aire, KS. Continue. http://www.belaireks.org/ http://www.belaireks.org/

charliefg 11y ago

This is the best thing that could have happened

aneeshm 11y ago
Yep. Let's Streisand her GoFundMe: http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r
- userbinator 11y ago
  $20,500 of $15k Raised by 820 people in 4 days That was fast. Edit: now up to $20,735, an hour later. She's certainly getting lots of support.

roarkjs 11y ago

> The Garden City Police Department had cannabis oil activist Shona Banda’s Facebook account shutdown Citation needed

researcher88 11y ago
Her profile appears in my friends' list but when you click on it, it goes nowhere and opens back up my feed.
- joshuapants 11y ago
  Great, but where does that prove the police were involved? The source article mentioned no evidence for that, and it doesn't strike me as the most reputable source in any event.
  - yebyen 11y ago
    Are you suggesting the page was shut down on purpose to prompt internet mob support already? If so, seems it worked.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
  - adekok 11y ago
    She doesn't seem to have taken it down. Facebook doesn't generally take down random peoples accounts. The simplest explanation is that it was taken down against her will. Likely by someone with pseudo-legal authority to do that. i.e. "legal" authority, even if the application of that authority doesn't actually follow the law.
    - joshuapants 11y ago
      I simply think that when presented a dubious claim with no evidence from a shady source we should be skeptical.

tptacek 11y ago

Wait, how, exactly, does a local police department have someone's Facebook page taken down? Is there any source anyone can find that verifies that's what happened? Radley Balko did some reporting on this story, after Ben Swann broke it, and neither of those two reporters said anything about Facebook. Other reporting I've found actually points to Facebook advocacy pages for for Banda, who currently does have Facebook pages.

RexRollman 11y ago
I don't like Facebook but I am finding it hard to believe that they would take down someone's page based on a police request. You would think that a Judge's order would at least be required.
- fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
  I have a little problem believing that Garden City PD was actually able to make contact with someone at fb who could do that, but I'd at least hope that fb has a system in place for law enforcement to make contact with a fb staffer who could expedite proper law enforcement requests. I don't have any problem believing that fb would take a page offline after some sort of "administrative subpoena" or other similar sketchiness. I also don't have a problem believing that a judge could be found in a small Midwestern town who would sign off on something like that. But I don't see anything to indicate that's what has happened. If I had to guess, I'd guess that Banda consulted an atty who promptly told her to 'shut down all the things' lest she make her legal defense much more difficult and expensive.
  - Tomte 11y ago
    At least in Germany, Facebook doesn't even comply with court orders. The Facebook Germany office just tells courts to talk to the Irish office, in the knowledge that international judicial assistance is a big obstacle for smaller cases and likely won't happen.
bsenftner 11y ago
I suspect the person who wrote the article does not know the difference between Facebook and the Internet. Or is one of those that simply calls the Internet "Facebook". Yes, they exist, all over in fact...

aaronbrager 11y ago

> her next custody hearing is set to take place on April 20. How… appropriate

sergiotapia 11y ago

I wish it were 100% legal like beer already. So many people use it, and it harms just as much as alcohol. Stop putting normal people in prison with murderers and rapists. I've never done drugs before in my life but I know a ton of professional that do. These are lawyers, doctors, accountants and the occasional taxidermist. Do these people belong in jail? Fuck that.

narrowrail 11y ago
>I've never done drugs before I can only assume you mean cannabis is a drug, when, in fact, it is a plant. Keeping with the idea that cannabis is a drug, am I correct to assume you have never had a Pepsi or a cup of coffee?
- tmerr 11y ago
  If you're going to be pedantic at least do it well. Going by the dictionary definition of drug: "a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body" both caffeine and cannabis fit the bill.
  - narrowrail 11y ago
    Cannabis is a plant that contains cannabinoids that are drugs. As a chemist, I typically don't refer to unrefined plant material as a drug. Because people don't typically consume caffeine raw, most people don't consider coffee consumption "doing drugs"; so, I believe cannabis deserves the same consideration. Language matters, and I don't consider it to be pedantic to make this point (however subtle the distinction is). Edit: And, for reference (since you missed the definition of cannabis): Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three different species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
nickles 11y ago
> and it harms just as much as alcohol While I agree that marijuana should be legalized, note that there is some consensus that alcohol causes more harm (societally and to the user) than marijuana [1]. While the societal damage would change if it were legalized, marijuana is still less harmful to users than alcohol. [1] http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/drugs_cause_most_harm http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/drugs_caus...

aetch 11y ago

This article only mentions Facebook in one sentence. No supporting facts or links...?

nilved 11y ago

Is there another source that is neutral?

markbnj 11y ago
The Washington Post, at least, independently confirmed the account of the school's actions on the day of the program. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/04/17/state-seizes-11-year-old-arrests-his-mother-after-he-defends-medical-marijuana-during-a-school-presentation/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/04/17/s...

justanother 11y ago

Nevermind the Facebook page, they took her son into custody and questioned him without parental consent or legal representation? I truly hope this ends badly for the 'authorities' responsible, as it sounds to me like kidnapping.

cmurf 11y ago
Kansas is what happens economically and socially when Republicans are completely in charge. No balance. They are throwing the book at this woman, and punishing her via her kid. That was their first and second course of action. And this particular batch of social conservatives get vindictive when they're made to look bad, so I'd expect her mistreatment to get worse before it gets better.

eric_h 11y ago

> her next custody hearing is set to take place on April 20. Oh, the irony.

goldenkey 11y ago

Lets hug of death her GoFundMe. They are attempting to destroy her ability to attain funding for a defense. Thats what the motive here is. http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r http://www.gofundme.com/rw8p88r