[MastahNikku]

Last night, on Halloween, I was arrested for possession of marijuana. It wasn't mine, but the guy I was with wasn't man enough to admit it was his. Even so, the cop was very immoral and trigger happy. I was pulled over for "speeding" even though he waited till I was almost out of site, I guess to tag me, before he even turned on his lights. He said I was going 62 in a 45, even though I was watching my speedometer and it said 55. Then he asked me to step out of the car, and arrested me the second I stepped out without telling me my rights. All he said was there was an odor of marijuana from my car, even though he unnecessarily handled me with cuffs before he even found any weed, I cooperated with him and told him what was up. So I get fined 1,090 dollars for "speeding" and possessing a "dangerous" drug. I've read many studies that show marijuana is less dangerous and addictive than alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine. Earlier that day I commuted to school(The University of Maryland) and worked at a deli until 10pm. I wasn't partying at all, I was working my butt off and wanted a little relaxation. Meanwhile this cop, who has been sitting in his car all day, maybe does a little bit of paper work that a middle schooler could do is having a power rush over me. Pigs are flying in my eyes, flying off our taxes and our expenses. I can't tell you how many times I've seen police cars speed without their lights on, way faster than I was going. I thought no one was above the law, but the pigs fly right over it. This is not directed to all cops, I've encountered cops who smelled marijuana on me before. They told me to spray ax on myself and stay out of trouble because they had REAL crimes to worry about. And now my parents wont look at me and they think I'm a criminal, even though I wasn't harming anyone other than myself. This is justice? Arresting some college student smoking a little pot on Halloween night after working all day. When pigs fly freedom rings indeed... with cuff chains...

[Wolfman]

Last night, on Halloween, I was arrested for possession of marijuana. It wasn't mine, but the guy I was with wasn't man enough to admit it was his.

I don't believe the whole "I was holding it for a friend" bullshit. Who the hell holds onto someone else's pot? And if you were stupid enough to hold onto someone else's pot, you deserve what you get.

Even so, the cop was very immoral and trigger happy.

Did he shoot you?

I was pulled over for "speeding" even though he waited till I was almost out of site, I guess to tag me, before he even turned on his lights.

To tag you? Maybe he had to put down paperwork or something?

He said I was going 62 in a 45, even though I was watching my speedometer and it said 55.

That's not something to gripe about. You were still speeding, and you just admitted it. And he probably has evidence that you were going 62.

Then he asked me to step out of the car, and arrested me the second I stepped out without telling me my rights.

Doubt it.

All he said was there was an odor of marijuana from my car, even though he unnecessarily handled me with cuffs before he even found any weed, I cooperated with him and told him what was up.

Yeah, they can do that. And you admitted that there was pot, so what's the issue?

So I get fined 1,090 dollars for "speeding" and possessing a "dangerous" drug. I've read many studies that show marijuana is less dangerous and addictive than alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine.

There's something called "social danger" you should be aware of.

Earlier that day I commuted to school(The University of Maryland) and worked at a deli until 10pm. I wasn't partying at all, I was working my butt off and wanted a little relaxation. Meanwhile this cop, who has been sitting in his car all day, maybe does a little bit of paper work that a middle schooler could do is having a power rush over me.

Or you were breaking the law, and he was doing his job. And you have no way of knowing what that cop was doing.

Pigs are flying in my eyes, flying off our taxes and our expenses.

Irrelevant.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen police cars speed without their lights on, way faster than I was going. I thought no one was above the law, but the pigs fly right over it.

Cops speeding in their Black and Whites without their lights on is a condition used when they need silence to get near something.

This is not directed to all cops, I've encountered cops who smelled marijuana on me before. They told me to spray ax on myself and stay out of trouble because they had REAL crimes to worry about.

Or they're too lazy to do their jobs.

And now my parents wont look at me and they think I'm a criminal, even though I wasn't harming anyone other than myself. This is justice? Arresting some college student smoking a little pot on Halloween night after working all day.

Well, you are a criminal.

[J Oswald]

The OP reminds me of that whiny libertarian who claimed he was attacked by a cop in a Gorkiy thread.

[Bounce]

Pigs are flying in my eyes, flying off our taxes and our expenses.

I find this part strange. Police are paid ~60k a year in Australia, if police make 60 arrests a year of this magnitude, they essentially pay for themselves.

[Lightman]

Yes, marijuana should be legal and such. This thread amounts to man-childike whining.

[benpenguin]

The OP reminds me of that whiny libertarian who claimed he was attacked by a cop in a Gorkiy thread.

lol that's my first thought

[grassroots1]

Sorry for your experience.

The OP reminds me of that whiny libertarian who claimed he was attacked by a cop in a Gorkiy thread.

Not me. That guy dealt with the cop like an idiot. This person sounds like they were perfectly polite, by their own account, it was just that the cop was in a bad mood or felt like flexing his testicles or something. I'm sorry for your experience, it really sucks when cops want to assert their authority and be the big man. I'm not sure that what he did was legal, if he asked you to leave the car and immediately cuffed you, even if there was an odor of weed.

Anyways, probably not the smartest thing to smoke in the car, if that's the case. I like your metaphors too.

[Rei Murasame]

I think that the OP made just about every mistake that could possibly be made.

It's really amazing.

He's holding someone else's marijuana on his person, with the weed-smoking person in his car, while high himself, travelling over the speed limit. Gets seen by the police travelling at that rate, and when the policeman comes up to his window to ticket him, he apparently leaves the window down and then obeys when the cop arbitrarily asks him to leave his vehicle.

He is then surprised to find handcuffs slapped on him.

I've encountered cops who smelled marijuana on me before. They told me to spray ax on myself and stay out of trouble because they had REAL crimes to worry about.

So let me get this straight. You've almost been brought up before on the exact same thing, but were let off because the police couldn't be bothered to enforce the law that day (and everyone knows what the real reason for that is), and rather than take that as a chance to count your lucky charms and amend your ways, you repeated the crime - while taking no precautions against being noticed - until you eventually ran into a policeman who would enforce it?

It looks like you were testing to see if 'white' privilege (read: you having the Ulster-scot phenotype) would get you off the hook 100% of time. That is flagrant and wanton arrogance, so I give you no sympathy.

Also, marijuana should not be taken without a specific order from a doctor. It is supposed to be used for very specific things, it's not a recreational drug:

• Inhaled marijuana smoke disrupts mitochondrial energetics in pulmonary epithelial cells in vivo
• Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Enhances Breast Cancer Growth and Metastasis by Suppression of the Antitumor Immune Response
• Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Inhibits Antitumor Immunity by a CB2 Receptor-Mediated, Cytokine-Dependent Pathway

When people tell you that it has health uses as an argument for using it recreationally, that is deceptive. Codeine has health-uses too, that doesn't mean you can go around just eating the pills without a prescription, whenever you want.

It is also illegal to operate a vehicle while under the influence of any drug. You appear to have been basically driving under the influence of marijuana. That drug impairs you in literally every way that is related to the safe operation of a vehicle. What happens:

• Impaired tracking.
• Impaired motor co-ordination.
• Impaired visual functions.
• Impairment of carrying out complex tasks requiring divided attention.
• Being unable to compensate for SDLP, which is to say, staying in the same lane while maintaining the upper end of the speed limit. Marijuana users tend to try to compensate for that failure by slowing down, which is suboptimal and will confuse other drivers anyway.
• Poorer monitoring of the speedometer is observed in some studies - which you actually quite hilariously validated in your first post.
• Increased decision time when overtaking.
• Increased time needed to brake when a light changes or a car in front brakes.
• Increased time to respond to a changing light or sudden sound.

You may claim that you can compensate for all that and maintain road safety, but it is completely understandable that police are not willing to let you take that risk. Because it's fucking ridiculous.

And now my parents wont look at me and they think I'm a criminal, even though I wasn't harming anyone other than myself.

And potentially anyone else driving on the road with you that night. If you had killed somebody's child, then what excuse would you have?

[grassroots1]

Yeah but Rei you're about the most up-tight person in terms of drugs... that I've ever spoken to.

[Rei Murasame]

And for good reasons, though.

Plus, a lot of the pro-drug people are so irresponsible, as we see in this case where the police let him go before, and then he reappears next time with it behind the wheel of a car.

[SecretSquirrel]

there's absolutely nothing good about recreational drug use, even though I would legalize all narcotics. And driving under the influence of something is a major major MAJOR offense, as is speeding.

It's bad enough already knowing that 100 million drivers who are barely capable when stone cold sober and at the speed limit are driving all around me. But drugged up and speeding? Seriously? You want sympathy?

[Eran]

First, there is no suggestion in the OP that the driver was (or even was accused of) being "under the influence". Merely possession.

Second, studies showing Marijuana can be dangerous are, in and by themselves, meaningless.

Everything has some danger in it.

The relevant question is of relative danger. Relatively speaking, Marijuana is virtually harmless.

And Marijuana emphatically IS a recreational drug. Some people might feel it ought not be used as such, in which case they are most welcome not to use it recreationally. But the vast majority of its many millions of users around the world feel otherwise.

[Wolfman]

Those are reasons why pot should be legal, not excuses to break the law.

[Eran]

Why should one need excuses to "break the law"?

In other words, on what do you base any moral imperative to obey the law, other than prudence not to get caught?

Obviously, some laws are moral (e.g. laws against murder or theft), but then murder and theft would be wrong even without such laws. But if a law has no independent moral weight (e.g. laws against the recreational use of Marijuana), why is it wrong to break them?

[Wolfman]

on what do you base any moral imperative to obey the law, other than prudence not to get caught?

Communitarianism.

[Rei Murasame]

Hold on a sec:

First, there is no suggestion in the OP that the driver was (or even was accused of) being "under the influence". Merely possession.

There is every suggestion, look at how he worded it:

Earlier that day I commuted to school(The University of Maryland) and worked at a deli until 10pm. I wasn't partying at all, I was working my butt off and wanted a little relaxation.

And now my parents wont look at me and they think I'm a criminal, even though I wasn't harming anyone other than myself. This is justice? Arresting some college student smoking a little pot on Halloween night after working all day.

He was definitely smoking it before he got into the car, and so long as the interval was not longer than 240 minutes between then and him being behind the wheel, it means that he was under the influence.

Second, studies showing Marijuana can be dangerous are, in and by themselves, meaningless.

The studies do actually contextualise it, so you can't use this argument.

But the vast majority of its many millions of users around the world feel otherwise.

Well they are wrong, and an awful lot of them also - if statistics are to be believed - think that they can safely drive a vehicle while high, and they are wrong about that too, since they are well-represented among the demographic of people-who-kill-people-with-cars.

[Daktoria]

Last night, on Halloween, I was arrested for possession of marijuana. It wasn't mine, but the guy I was with wasn't man enough to admit it was his. Even so, the cop was very immoral and trigger happy. I was pulled over for "speeding" even though he waited till I was almost out of site, I guess to tag me, before he even turned on his lights. He said I was going 62 in a 45, even though I was watching my speedometer and it said 55. Then he asked me to step out of the car, and arrested me the second I stepped out without telling me my rights. All he said was there was an odor of marijuana from my car, even though he unnecessarily handled me with cuffs before he even found any weed, I cooperated with him and told him what was up. So I get fined 1,090 dollars for "speeding" and possessing a "dangerous" drug. I've read many studies that show marijuana is less dangerous and addictive than alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine. Earlier that day I commuted to school(The University of Maryland) and worked at a deli until 10pm. I wasn't partying at all, I was working my butt off and wanted a little relaxation. Meanwhile this cop, who has been sitting in his car all day, maybe does a little bit of paper work that a middle schooler could do is having a power rush over me. Pigs are flying in my eyes, flying off our taxes and our expenses. I can't tell you how many times I've seen police cars speed without their lights on, way faster than I was going. I thought no one was above the law, but the pigs fly right over it. This is not directed to all cops, I've encountered cops who smelled marijuana on me before. They told me to spray ax on myself and stay out of trouble because they had REAL crimes to worry about. And now my parents wont look at me and they think I'm a criminal, even though I wasn't harming anyone other than myself. This is justice? Arresting some college student smoking a little pot on Halloween night after working all day. When pigs fly freedom rings indeed... with cuff chains...

Try roadhead next time? It's just as relaxing, gets your danger fix, and there's nothing the government's ever gunna do about it...

...but yea, you're driving on public roads buddy. Better luck next time.

[Lightman]

Yeah but Rei you're about the most up-tight person in terms of drugs... that I've ever spoken to.

It's pretty reasonable to say that one shouldn't drive high. The height of reasonableness, even.

[SecretSquirrel]

No, Lightman. Driving a massive metal vehicle at high speeds on public land where there are pedestrians and animals and other vehicles while intoxicated on mind-altering substances is not merely "unreasonable"

It is downright evil. It's like playing with fire in an orphanage.

[Daktoria]

To be fair squirrel, the real issue is how public roads shouldn't exist in the first place. Roads encourage society to develop a certain way which can be frustrating to certain people and encourage them to smoke pot (or at least consider driving around pot smokers). :-P

Still, cops are jerks. The only reason we have cops is because other jerks are around. We pay certain jerks to cancel out others.

If we got rid of the jerk attitude in general, none of this would have happened. The OP probably wouldn't even have been driving, driving a friend who smokes, or smoking himself.