Members of the illicit drug trade have been using Uber for years to clandestinely smuggle marijuana and other substances to their desired destination. The delivery method is, by all accounts, one of the safest ways to distribute black market goods without getting busted by the police. Notably, the company\u2019s vehicle requirements exclude any cop-magnet cars with \u201ccosmetic damage\u201d and \u201cmissing pieces\u201d from representing them on the streets. This means that most Ubers are relatively new and clean, so they are moderately inconspicuous in the grand scheme of highway travel.<\/p>\n
As for Uber drivers, these people are usually oblivious that anything illegal is going down. They are mostly unknowing accomplices, who were simply summoned through the app to be a chauffeur for a brief amount of time. Most have absolutely no idea that their wheels are being used to transport illegal substances. So even if there is a pesky run-in with law enforcement, the driver is not likely to display any of the nervous tells that are common with motorists in-the-know about the pound of pot stashed in the backseat. But Uber is not a fail-safe. Passengers have been busted for transporting drugs in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrug dealers will use whatever vehicle they can to get their drugs from point A to point B, so Uber or Lyft would surely be a part of that,\u201d Sergeant Victor Fazio of the Ventura County Sheriff\u2019s Department\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0MotherBoard back in 2016. At the time, Fazio admitted that while it was an \u201cinteresting phenomenon\u201d to use ride-sharing services to trafficking illegal substances, it was not a practice that had yet become widespread.<\/p>\n However, it is assumed that, over the years, Uber drivers have become privy to the concept of people using their vehicle as a means to transport drugs. Although most of them could care less if someone is carrying a small stash for personal use, some might be a little on edge to discover they are acting as a courier for small to medium-sized dope-slinging operations. In order to avoid being pegged as part to felonious activity, you had better believe that a driver would give up information on a passenger if push comes to shove. Uber has said in the past that it works with law enforcement when \u201cpresented a lawful request for information.\u201d Basically, if the cops suspect someone of using Uber to transport illegal contraband, the company will cooperate.<\/p>\n But it seems that the popular transportation network is getting a bit overzealous with its anti-drug policies. The world on the street is that Uber drivers can now get a person blacklisted from the app even if they get into a vehicle smelling like marijuana. This has happened in at least one state where marijuana is legal, according to a\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0from Mashable.<\/p>\n Although most of us probably haven\u2019t taken the time to read the fine print, Uber\u2019s Community Guidelines are clear about prohibiting passengers traveling with \u201copen containers of alcohol or drugs.\u201d The policy does not specifically address cannabis; however, it is apparently wrapped up in the mix. It is a rule that may have gone mostly unnoticed had it not been for a passenger by the name of Mike Mulloy, based in\u00a0Los Angeles, California and Boston, Massachusetts, catching heat in a recent message sent by the company. Mulloy received a digital communication from Uber over the weekend suggesting that one of their driver\u2019s had narc\u2019ed him out for holding illegal drugs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re reaching out because we have received a claim that you may have been in possession of an illegal substance on a recent trip,\u201d Uber\u00a0said<\/a>. \u201cWe take these claims very seriously,\u201d the company wrote, adding that \u201canother claim of this nature could result in permanent account deactivation.\u201d<\/p>\n Mulloy, who took to Twitter to chastise the company for the threat, says he did not bring any illegal substances into the vehicle. \u201cI smoked a\u00a0blunt<\/a>\u00a0before I got into your car,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Uber admits that its drivers have the freedom to report passengers for suspected drug possession. A spokesperson for the company\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Mashable \u201cwe have a zero tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol for both riders and drivers. If a driver suspects a rider has drugs or alcohol, they can report it to us through in-app support.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor a first-time offense, we send a warning to the rider,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cMultiple reports of problematic behavior may result in a review of their account status.\u201d<\/p>\n It is not clear whether the incident took place in California or Massachusetts. Mulloy has refused to elaborate.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, this has been a hot topic of discussion lately on RideGuru, which is revered as \u201cthe trusted resource, tool, and community for everyone engaged in rideshares, ride hails, taxis, and limos.\u201d When presented with the question \u201chave you ever ratted out a rider to Uber for smelling like weed?\u201d almost all of the respondents\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0marijuana has never been an issue unless the passenger \u201cdoes something\u201d to them or their vehicles. But Uber drivers demand respect. Smoking pot in their personal vehicles without permission will almost always lead to a negative report. But most say they would never turn someone in for just catching a ride while reeking of reefer. Yet, it depends on how brutal the smell. If it is as pungent as \u201cbody odor,\u201d it could still be a problem.<\/p>\n So, regardless of whether you are using Uber to shuttle an ounce of weed across town to a friend (or customer) or simply catching a ride home after a long night of getting smoked out with friends, it is probably wise to keep your cannabis-related connections to yourself. It has been our experience that most Uber drivers are cool \u2014 they are only interested in making money \u2014 but it only takes one to put your name on the radar.<\/p>\n Of course, there is very little that a large tip cannot remedy. Keep that in mind.<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>,\u00a0have you ever ran into trouble with a rideshare due to marijuana?<\/p>\n The post Are Uber Drivers Ratting Out Marijuana Users?<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Members of the illicit drug trade have been using Uber for years to clandestinely smuggle marijuana and other substances to their desired destination. The delivery method is, by all accounts, one of the safest ways to distribute black market goods without getting busted by the police. Notably, the company\u2019s vehicleContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4575,148,50,99,417,4926,4514,2895],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27777"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27777"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27778,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27777\/revisions\/27778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Are Uber Drivers Ratting Out Marijuana Users?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"