Whenever a legal cannabis market is about to roll out in this country\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter which state\u2014law enforcement starts getting squirrely. In their anxious minds, legal weed means that the roadways of their respective state are about to become a veritable hazard zone full of evil, reckless stoners, all red-eyed, laughing uncontrollably, on a dope-addled mission to slaughter as many women and children as humanly possible before the smoke clears. That\u2019s why, in the weeks leading up to the day when adults 21 and over can finally walk into a dispensary and buy marijuana, it\u2019s not unusual to hear a lot of jibber-jabber in the media about how law enforcement is aggressively \u201ctraining\u201d officers and \u201cramping up\u201d patrols. Cops can\u2019t stand the fact that they can no longer bust people for pot possession, so they set out to arrest high drivers and hand out cannabis DUIs instead. They want the non-consuming public to know that their brave heroes are coming to the rescue.<\/p>\n
Unlike in the case of alcohol, however, there isn\u2019t any technology to help police arrest motorists for cannabis impairment. There\u2019s no effective pot breathalyzer on the market, nothing that police can employ to show that a motorist was using marijuana before getting behind the wheel. These agencies, instead, often rely on field sobriety tests to get the job done. But there\u2019s one major flaw: These roadside exams are neither scientific nor accurate. No, instead of using science, police may try to assess whether a motorist is high by shining a light in their eyes, having them walk a straight line, touch their finger to their nose or stand on one leg. In most cases, no matter if the driver passed this stoner sideshow and circus act with flying colors, the officer is going to say that they noticed signs of impairment. From there, the shakedown gets even wilder.<\/p>\n
Police may then ask to execute a saliva test that determines the presence of THC metabolites. If there\u2019s pot in the driver\u2019s system, they\u2019re going to fail. Police can then drag them in for a more accurate reading, usually forcing them to give a blood or urine sample. The problem with these tests is the driver could have consumed marijuana weeks before being pulled over and still test positive for impairment. Some states have zero-tolerance laws, which means any amount is an arrestable offense. So, guess what happens if a motorist finds themselves in this jam? They\u2019re likely going to get slapped with a Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) charge, probably lose their license, pay fines, attend drug classes and do hours of community service.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, a recent study<\/a> finds that field sobriety tests for cannabis impairment are bogus. Even though participants who smoked marijuana did poorly in field sobriety tests, so did the placebo group. That means it doesn\u2019t matter whether a motorist is high, sober or just nervous, they are probably going to fail if they agree to one. Even the federal government admits<\/a> that these roadside testing methods<\/a> are \u201cunreliable indicators of marijuana intoxication.\u201d Nevertheless, police all over the country are still permitted to use them. Why? Because it\u2019s all they have.<\/p>\n Police will do anything to arrest someone for a cannabis DUI, especially in a newly legal market just getting off the ground. But before they can do that, they need a reason to conduct a traffic stop. And they are always looking for a reason, no matter how vague, to do just that. Almost anything is cause for one. \u201cA cop told me one time that he pulled me over because my license plate light was out,\u201d said Mitch from Springfield, OH. <\/p>\n It could even be that air fresher dangling from a motorist\u2019s rearview mirror that becomes their undoing. \u201cThe cop said it was obstructing my view,\u201d Keith, 37, said, referring to a strange traffic stop he experienced a few years ago in Minnesota. \u201cI had no idea that was a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Once police get a driver to the side of the road, they\u2019ll also be looking for ways to get inside the car. They can achieve this by establishing probable cause and again that could be based on just about anything. \u201cThis cop asked if I had any drugs, weapons or anything else he should know about. I told him no, but he asked to search my car anyway,\u201d Keith recalled. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t anything in the car, so I let him go ahead. I figured it was easier that way. He searched my car from front to back and found nothing. When he asked me if I wanted to know why he wanted to search it in the first place, he shined his light on what he said he thought was a joint. It was a French fry. That\u2019s when I realized the police can literally do anything to get what they want. It\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, it is.<\/p>\n Although the US Constitution is intended to protect the rights of citizens, on and off the road, make no mistake about it; it\u2019s us against them. And the police will do whatever it takes to score a win. Therefore, it\u2019s crucial for every motorist to understand their rights and be able to apply them in any situation where they are stopped by police. This is doubly true for those living in legal states where officers are working their tails off to arrest as many people as possible for driving high.<\/p>\n Florida-based attorney Andrew Simko, on TikTok under the handle @justaskandrew, says the best course of action is to never admit guilt. If a motorist is a recreational or medical marijuana user, they shouldn\u2019t even mention it to police. It\u2019s none of their business and any acknowledgement can and typically will fuel further interrogation.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t want to tell the officer you just smoked or anything like that,\u201d Simko says. \u201cThe worst thing you can say if an officer asks if you recently smoked marijuana is to say yes or that you drive high all the time, or that marijuana doesn\u2019t impair your driving.\u201d That\u2019s not going to bode well.<\/p>\n In places such as Florida, where cannabis is legal for medicinal use, police cannot test drivers for THC levels. So, even if police suspect that a motorist has been driving high, they can\u2019t prove it. \u201cLaw Enforcement isn\u2019t able to tell if you used marijuana that day or 30 days ago,\u201d Simko said. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s especially important to not admit to an officer you just used marijuana because they would not be able to find this out otherwise.\u201d In a state where police measure THC levels to make arrests, Simko says keeping quiet about pot consumption is crucial. \u201cIt is still important to not give the officer any additional information that can be used to build the case against you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Because building a case is what they\u2019re trying to do.<\/p>\n Yep, anything the driver says or does will undoubtedly be used against them. But that doesn\u2019t mean acting like a pretentious goon. \u201cWhen dealing with a police officer in this situation you want to be as polite as possible,\u201d Simko advised. \u201cBeing rude or combative towards an officer that pulls you over will only make things worse for you.\u201d Even a motorist\u2019s actions can be used against them in court if they happen to get arrested for anything, so ensuring the interaction is as pleasant as possible is paramount. \u201cYou have to expect that this entire encounter will be on camera,\u201d Simko added. \u201cJuries like people that treat other people with respect. If a jury sees that you were fighting with the officer the entire stop, this could increase the chances for a conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n Remember, the Fifth Amendment gives every motorist the right to remain silent. If an officer pulls a motorist over and starts asking a bunch of random questions, there is no obligation to answer them. In fact, according to a TikTok post from Pot Brothers at Law, there are 25 words every motorist should practice to protect themselves against a sobriety test. When police come up to the window, the driver should ask, \u201cWhy did you pull me over?\u201d Then, when the officer starts asking them questions, the driver should respond politely with, \u201cI\u2019m not discussing my day.\u201d If the cop proceeds with their roadside interrogation, asking even more questions, the next words out of the driver\u2019s mouth should be, \u201cAm I being detained or am I free to go?\u201d If being detained, the driver should say, \u201cI plead the Fifth,\u201d and from that point forward keep their big fat trap shut.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a good idea to have a defense attorney on hand just in case the situation spirals out of control. Cops don\u2019t always appreciate when motorists make their jobs harder and some may lash out with intimidation tactics. At that point, a motorist can say, \u201cI want my lawyer,\u201d invoking the Sixth Amendment. The officer is then legally required to stop grilling the motorist. That might not keep them from dragging the poor bastard to jail, but it will prevent the cops from building a case that can be won in court. Therefore, in addition to remaining silent, the motorist should be prepared to call a lawyer once they get to the station. The pros will be able to handle it from there.<\/p>\n The post High There, Officer: Surviving a Cannabis DUI<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Whenever a legal cannabis market is about to roll out in this country\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter which state\u2014law enforcement starts getting squirrely. In their anxious minds, legal weed means that the roadways of their respective state are about to become a veritable hazard zone full of evil, reckless stoners, all red-eyed,Continue 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":[50,327,1697,484,328,90,1593,5519],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67473"}],"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=67473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67474,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67473\/revisions\/67474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: High There, Officer: Surviving a Cannabis DUI<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"