Tool or Profit Center?

The Daily Tribune out of Michigan considers the question in a new article on the state's medical marijuana industry. They focus on the use of forfeiture by Oakland County's Narcotics Enforcement Team.

For Oakland County’s Narcotics Enforcement Team, forfeitures totaled $924,358.06 in 2012. That total included $469,167.19 in cash, a share of federal forfeitures totaling $174,676.52, and 140 vehicles seized in drug raids and auctioned for $215,014.35, according to numbers provided by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

In 2013, NET operations cost $1,191,597.40. Forfeitures in property and cash seized totaled $834,519.97.

 But, according to Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe, forfeiture is just a tool against crime, not a money making venture.

“It’s not about making money; this is not an enterprise system; it’s not a profit-making business,” said McCabe. “The sheriff has always said he’s not in the business to make money. This isn’t a profit center.”

But, he added, “There are other places outside Oakland County that take a different approach than we do.”