It's the Police!

A cousin of mine recently got caught with a large amount of marijuana in the back of his car.  When i say a large amount, I mean a large amount, way past where a misdemeanor becomes a felony.  Besides that, he wasn't even charged.  The cop apparently let him off easy.    So when I came across the article "Smoked Out" by Lucas Miller, I was intrigued.  it is an article all about what different cops feel about the use of marijuana.  Miller also talks about his struggles dealing with marijuana in his personal life vs. his work life.  The tone was casual, though sarcastic at some points, for example, when talking about him catching his girlfriend's roommates buying weed on his personal time he states " This is far from the first party I've spoiled.  I was once told my presence at an event ruined it; since the guest of honor couldn't get high while I was there."  Miller then switches to a more serious tone when is is addressing the actual question he set out to address, "What do cops think of marijuana?"  His tone is business like as he tells the rest of the story, about how all cops feel differently, just as all people do.  This change in tone even goes so far as for Miller to say "Can i put a guy through the system for something my own father has done?  Well, yes I can."  Through out the entire article there is an underlying tone of sympathy for the minor offenders who get caught.  Miller seems to believe that things should be done by the book, but that the book needs some revising.   

The intended audience was the average curious teenager, who wants to know more about laws that seem to change on a case to case basis.  You can tell that this is his intended audience because of the strait forward, yet joking tone he takes with the reader.  The reader was intended to have a general education, with maybe a little drug knowledge to supplement.  I know that this is his intended audience because the younger crowds are the ones that tend to rebel and experiment with drugs, including marijuana.  In the end, you more or less find out what you always knew, different cops react differently to different situations, just like real people, because they are in fact real people.