Marijuana.com

t-1000

Here is a hypothetical situation. Me and two other people are at a park, smoking, and the cops show up.

There wasn't enough time to toss the herb, and we are searched. Only 1 out of the 3 people have any weed on them.

Who gets arrested/charged? All of us because we were all smoking, or just the guy with the weed?

Also:

If I am in an apartment or house, and smoking a joint, and the cops show up. At which point I swallow the rest of the joint, and the rest of my stash is well hidden. The cops come in, cuff me, and it is pretty obvious I am stoned. But, they cannot find any weed, including parephanelia.

Will I get charged with anything? What should I admit? Should I admit that I am high, but say that I don't have any weed? Deny everything?

***

Basically, I am looking to find out exactly what I can be charged for. If I can get something on my record even if I am smoking someone else's weed, or what. TIA

 

troublemaker_42

depends on where you're at.....in some jurisidctions, simply being under the influence of a drug is illegal. check www.norml.org for state by state laws

phuzz01

Technically, in my state I can charge all three. The one who has weed on him for possession, and the other two for conspiracy. You all were there, a crime was being committed, and the other two knew that it was being committed, did nothing to prevent it, and did nothing to report it. Am I actually going to do that? Probably not. But it is possible.

In order to arrest you, the police need probable cause to believe that a crime was committed, is being committed, or is about to be committed. If the totality of the circumstances and evidence show that there is a 51% chance or greater that a crime was/is/is about to be committed, then the police officer can arrest. To actually convict you, though, we need proof beyond a reasonable doubt. This is obviously a much higher standard. So, just examine your hypothetical situations with that in mind, and you can answer your own question. Of course, everybody is going to have a different interpretation of the evidence and whether it rises to the level of probable cause or proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

In your example, if I can smell a strong odor on you that in my training and experience is consistent with that of marijuana, and I can see that your eyes are glassy/bloodshot, and you have a green stripe down the middle of your tongue, then I would argue that I have probable cause to believe that you possessed marijuana in the recent past. Therefore, I could technically arrest you. However, if I don't actually find any marijuana on you, then I would say that I probably don't have proof beyond a reasonable doubt. So, while I technically could arrest you, if I am not going to be able to get a conviction, what is the point? Get what I am saying?

t-1000

but, in the first situation, where is the proof that an open crime was committed? One that I could have prevented/participated in. Simple possession, and the fact that we would most likely have red eyes and smokey breath are probable cause for a search, but not proof that a crime was committed. Am I correct?

Basically I want to know this because I would like to be able to smoke in peace. This requires certain procedures to keep me from going to jail for a relaxing smoke

phuzz01

Probable cause is probable cause. There isn't one level of probable cause to search and another level of probable cause to arrest. If I have probable cause to believe that a crime was/is/is about to be committed, then I have probable cause to search AND/OR arrest. Like I tried to explain before, that doesn't mean that a judge or jury is going to end up giving a conviction. That requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. It just means that I have the authority to search and/or arrest.

I'm not here to help you break the law and get away with it. I have no problems explaining the legal system or answering questions pertaining to your rights. But I am not going to tell you how to smoke without getting caught.

 

Buzzby

1)Don't smoke in public places.
2)Don't smoke in cars.
3a)Don't smoke where people are likely to smell the smoke.
3b)Don't smoke at all. Get a vaporizer. They produce very little aroma and it doesn't smell like marijuana smoke.
4)Be careful who you smoke with and who knows you smoke. When someone gets busted, one of the things that happens is he is asked to name names to get himself off the hook. Don't be one of those names.

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troublemaker_42

Listen to the man...he certainly knows what he's talking about! While basic, following those simple suggestions will save you a world of trouble in the long run. I won't pretend to be perfect and say that I adhere to each and every one of them all the time, but any risk is cut significantly if these suggestions are followed.

grillmeats

BuzzBy, you should create a guide to the Rookie Smokers, who believe they will never get caught.

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I use to like this site, but it out grew my interests. If you want to pass a test, Quit Smoking, I have!

troublemaker_42

LOl....what can I say? I was caught (by the police no less....first traffic stop EVER) my first time less than a year after smoking the first time. I learned rather quickly that "oh, it'll NEVER happen to me" was only wishful thinking! Of course, it WAS a valuable learning experience, and I've gotten a hell of a lot more careful about things since then!

reggie_the_dog

If you are in public and want to smoke the way i do it (have never had a problem this way) is to roll a single joint before i go out, then when i want to get high i just smoke the joint, if my friends are with me we all just roll 1 joint each and do not pass the joints around, instead smoking them individually like a cigarette. I have found that you can smoke in big cities right out in the open like this, if a cop or an undercover comes up eat the roach, or do as i do, smoke on bridges or next to the lake/ocean, if a cop comes rip the joint up and let the cannabis fall into the water. Oh yeah i forgot to mention, do not have any other weed on you, only your 1 joint.

As for smoking in a car, yes it is fun, it is warmer than outside if you still live with your parents, yes i still do it, but yes it is risky as all hell, i usually do not smoke in my car at all here in france, but my buddies smoke in theirs, so if i go out with them i may smoke up in their car here in France but we have decriminilization here so it is not so bad.

Back in the states if I am on the expressway in a big city i will still smoke up because the chance of getting stopped is smaller than in the countryside, if i am in the middle of nowhere I can just pull off onto a side road, walk a few minutes away from the car and smoke a joint (preferably someplace secluded in a forest) but you risk being one of a few cars to pass a cop in the countryside and if you are smoking up they may well smell it or see a car full of smoke.