All of the civil forfeiture laws name five things specifically, all of which are legal to own and possess except one -- cash, real property, vehicles,
firearms, and drugs.
The laws are written in language using supposition and innuendo such as "knew or
should have known" that the alleged activity was going on. In some cases, the reporting of the activity to the police is used as proof that the person whose property is being charged knew of the activity. Case in point:
In L.A., a man owned a vacant lot in which drug users and sellers congregated. He reported this to the police and was told they were powerless to stop the activity and he would have to fence the area. He did. The druggies cut the fence and continued their activities. The property was seized under asset forfeiture and he was told that he knew that the activity was occurring and he did nothing to stop it. They used his police report as proof that he was aware of the activity.
There are many horror stories of this type and
http://www.fear.org (Forfeiture Endangers American Rights) fights these laws every day.
The Seizure and Forfeiture laws have turned our police into bounty hunters.
THIS CASE is ongoing now, and involves the taking of children to incentivise people to hand over their cash. The feds are now involved; but why it takes from 2008 until now to stop these acts is beyond me.