Marijuana.com

c0nfl1ct10n

I was recently arrested for a marijuana charge. I've never really been in any trouble with the police before and have no idea what I should do. I really really don't want to tell my parents as it will screw a lot of things up. Likewise though, I am in desperate need of some advice as to what course of action I should take. Apparently, the reason I was pulled over was because I was a car length apart from the car in front of me, when according to the officer I should have been farther away from the car, especially since there were no other cars on the road. I was not participating in any illegal activities at the time, however had smoked in my car several hours earlier. The officer explained to me that my car smelled and to step out so that he could search it. I was well aware the full time I had about a 2 gram bag of marijuana on me in my hoodie sleeve pocket, however had no idea there was anything in my car because it was that messy. Right away the first thing the officer found was an empty sandwich bag that he claimed reeked like marijuana (which it probobly did, however was empty). At that point he searched my friend and I, finding nothing more. After thoroughly searching my car for about 10 minutes, he found a half of a blunt in a white owl bottle that had fallen out of my friends pocket into the car. He asked who the half blunt belonged too, and being that my friend was already out on bail I decided to take the blame. I had hoped that since I was cooperating fully and being extremely polite, he would just throw the half blunt out and let me go with just a ticket of some sort. Fat chance. It seemed finding the half blunt only served to convince him further that there would be a huge stash in my car. It was at this point he really starting searching my car hardcore, including the trunk. Quite literally another 15 minutes went by, with him having further found only 2 cigars and an empty baggie. He then asked me to walk over to his car where he told me he was then going to place me under arrest and have my car impounded. It was actually after the cuffs were already on that he spotted my hoodie sleeve pocket and checked it as a last resort. At that point he found the 2 gram bag, though still seemed like he believed I was hiding much more somewhere.

So now here I am at the police station with this officer explaining to me the minimum sentences for the charges against me, which include a mandatory loss of license for a year. If I lose my license for a year, I can't go to school. If I don't go to school, my parents will make me pay rent and look for a reason to kick me out of the house. If they find out I was arrested, they most likely will just kick me out of the house. It's not that my parents are heartless, but they have caught me with marijuana several times in the past and are 200% intolerant of it. I live from paycheck to paycheck, paying all my own bills including car, gas, insurance, cell phone, etc...Theres been a couple times where I've been a few hundred bucks in debt and after failing for a while to work myself out of it received help from my parents. I love my parents very much, however we dont see eye to eye on hardly anything, making it quite hard to get along at times. I guess what I'm trying to say is my life, weather it be my living or financial situation, is anything but secure.

Now, go figure, the officer offered me a solution. He said though the law does not allow him to make any promises, he can probobly make all 4 charges against me "go away" should I choose to cooperate through being an informant. A narc. At the time I agreed completely, regardless of the fact that it goes against everything I believe in. He suggested doing a possible takedown of somebody where the both of us will get arrested at the same time which made sense at the time, but does not make any sense now that I think about me walking out of the police station while some dealer watches me leave from a cell. Though I did not mention that at the time, the officer assured me there would be no way that my name would ever be revealed to the dealer and even on paper I would become "just a number." He wanted names immidately though I failed to come up with any, stating I did not want to give out names of people that were possibly not dealing or maybe not even smoking weed anymore. He said he understood that I was just nervous, and come next meeting we would get farther.

I have no idea what I should do. Don't get me wrong here, I love smoking weed. I've smoked every day since I was 14, and am now 19. HOWEVER, a marijuana charge, however unserious it may seem to others, is an extremely big deal for me. It not only stays with me for the rest of my life as a criminal record but instantly destroys a few career fields I was hoping to possibly explore sometime in my life, weather that be a long time from now or in the near future. If it were this simple, I would literally be willing to go so far as not take another hit the rest of my life (eeeek...) if it meant those charges would be dropped.

I'm only 19 years old, am in my second year of college, and have never had any trouble with the police before, though that didn't seem to help me out when I was being arrested. I really don't want to narc on somebody, however I would probobly be willing to if it meant the charges would be dropped. Again though, it's not that simple. The officer never made any promises about the charges being dropped, and seemed to care much more about him making another arrest then me having a ride to school and place to live. To further complicate things, I've been getting weed from my friend lately because he lost his job and I've been smoking him out. In return, he's the middleman and would find whatever bud I needed. Therefor, I honestly do not know who I could rat out. I know some people that used to deal, though I haven't had contact with them recently. There is only one person I know that deals and I still get bud off regularly. The only problem with this, is the kid is making a lot of money dealing and has been nothing but nice to me and trustfull when other weren't nearly as trusting. Now that I have this kids trust and could most likely get him taken down without him ever knowing it was me, it makes it 100x harder to rat him out. If it comes down to either me or him getting a weed charge, I'll take the selfish route of choosing him, however honestly don't even know if my morals would allow me to follow through on something like that. In addition to this, the officer explained to me that I would need to get him two names, otherwise it makes no sense to trade one arrest for another.

So, that's my story, and I don't have the slightest idea as to what route to take. The whole situation has left me extremely conflicted between morals, emotions, and the plate life has handed to me. I have no idea what to do, can't afford to get an attorney, and dont want a public defender for fear of my parents finding out or possibly the cops finding out and getting the impression that I am no longer willing to cooperate.

Ps. I have four charges against me including 2 motor vehicle charges and a paraphanelia charge, and a marijuana charge. The thought of getting these all dropped for cooperating is appealing though seemingly unrealistic. In addition, this cop seems to think Im going to be spending my new years partying my ass off like every other 19 year old and will have a good oppurtunity at that point to establish who I will narc on. Only problem with this is Im not dorming like I was last year and pretty much am completely anti social now that I live at home. I know a lot of people, but don't consider any of them my friends nor do I really hang out with them. So, that being said, I am left with extremely limited options. Hopefully somebody here can enlighten me upon a better approach towards this whole situation in addition to what my realistic options are that will make things work out.


PPS. On a bit of a better note, I've still been smoking and due to this whole situation have been having the most extreme revelations and discussions about life and religon the last couple days. Regardless of how this turns out, I know in the very least I will learn a lot and mature from it.

 

BartSimpson

Sorry Son, not much good news is going to he heard here. But we need to know what state you are in to really help you out.

FIRST RULE FOR YOU: Do not talk to the police further without your lawyer present! Period! You must hire this lawyer and not expect a public defender.

I recommend that, to make yourself feel a little better, you search (use the search function) this site a little with some of those key words in your post - driving, teenager, pot (the trifecta). There are a number of threads here similar and some work out, others are not such a good ending. One fine fellow got off last week with Disturbing the Peace.

The parent thing isn't going to get any better. Doing a bunch of homework right now (pot-friendly lawyers, costs, alternatives) will help your case with your parents when you present it to them. You will likely need to tell them at some point. Use your smarts now - become an expert right away - you sound like a smart kid. This is your advantage.

oneluv4boognish

I know when i needed a "pot friendly lawyer" Mamabudz showed me how on NORML's website they have a link to each state and attorneys that are somehow affiliated with them...that might be a good place to start. I don't have that link anymore, but I'm sure you could find it just by going to their site...or maybe if Mamabudz stumbles onto this thread she can send you that link...and a cookie

sf59

The first thing you need to do is check www.norml.org. From there you can determine what the penalties may be for your situation. Hopefully you live in a state where a first offense qualifies as a misdemeanor. In some states a first time offense can be absolved from your record by doing community service. This may also protect your license.

I was nailed with a paraphernalia charge, but I had a clean record and was offered two deals by the DA. Deal one was take care of it today and get a fine, a six month revocation and a blight on my record. Deal two was getting involved in a first time offender program, doing community service(2-4 hours a month for a year), and the charge ultimately expunged from my record. I know you are also facing other charges, but they are somewhat minor and can be ironed out. It's going to be painful and probably costly if a lawyer is involved, but you will get through it.

Most importantly, the police are using you to further their career and bust record. The only thing cooperating with them will do is get some unlucky soul a felony charge for sale. Bad idea. They can tell the DA you cooperated, but the DA decides how to charge you and they might not care that you cooperated. In my humble opinion sending someone to prison is not worth avoiding a misdemeanor charge under any circumstance. You can work yours out, but a felony is a life wrecker for the person involved.

oneluv4boognish

In addition to the last post....ever hear that old phrase "snitches get stitches"??? It tends to be true from time to time. The last thing you want to do is piss off a dealer, especially one that has clout in the "community"....trust me it's just not worth it.

 

troublemaker_42

A minor possession charge that may or may not have future implications for you, or a felony distribution charge for someone who in reality was basically doing you a favor, by providing you with marijuana? A fine and loss of license for you, or the possibility of PRISON(not jail, dist. is a felony in most areas) for the person you narc'd on?

Look at it this way.....when you started smoking pot, you knew damn well it was illegal, and that there was a chance you'd get caught. The fact that you've been caught by your parents previously on several occasions should have reinforced that idea. The way I look at it, YOU ASSUME THE RISK when you first decide smoking pot is something that interests you. If that has future ramifications, so be it. I have a degree in criminal justice, which isn't doing me a whole lot of good becasue i have a possession arrest on my record. i too was offered "a way out" and to be honest, I could care less about the person who was supplying me at that point and time. However, it wasn't HIS FAULT I got aarressted, it was MINE. therefore, any consequences should natrally be faced by ME, and they were. Yeah, it sucks, my parents were disappointed, and it was inconvient. however, I'm still here, and doing alright. I can also sleep at night knowing I didn't push MY problems off on a third party to save my own ass. Thats straight up greed.

As for the whole "oh, they'll never know it was you" routine.....BULLSH*T. Word of "deals" like the one you're considering travels fast, far, and wide. As "confidential" as they may make it seem, word gets out, or people are at least intelligent enough to put 2 and 2 together, and your name will forever be remembered as that of a rat, snitch, narc, etc. you got yourself into the situation....be a man and face the consequences.

As far as your driving privledges go.....you'd most likely be able to get a "work/school" permit that allows you to drive from your residence to either of those two locations and back

Cassius

If a marijuana charge is this serious to you, why would you wish it upon anyone else? Especially someone who was kind enough to sell you the drug you wanted?

Sounds like an extremely selfish position to me. YOU were the one who smoked in your car. YOU were the one who left your car trashy so you didn't know if there was marijuana in it or not. YOU were the one carrying marijuana in your hoodie. YOU were the one that got pulled over when all of these things were true. It's like you were asking to get caught, and now you want to shift all the trouble you've caused yourself onto your dealer?

I hope your morals really do prevent you from narcing on someone, because it would be a really ****ty thing to do.

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grillmeats

This reminds me of the guy who said, 'Why Me?' It's your fault for getting caught. It is time to step up and take the beating you deserve. Get a lawyer and tell your parents the whole story.

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negaDuck

Look, I agree with everyone on this post about how narcing is tha most horrible (one of) things u could do to someone else, but don't u guys think u may be a little bit harsh?? Remember how u felt when this happened to u tha first time?? I know i was scared and trying to think things through with all my options. At that point and time, I WISH I had a forum like this to ask for advice and voice my opinions. Yeah, we are all adults in this area tha first time we buy our first sac...(remember that feeling too??? mmm...yeah)...but some compassion IS needed at a time like this.


c0nfl1ct10n-

Lemme tell u now, snitching IS THA WORST THING YOU CAN DO IN THIS SITUATION!! You will not get out of it, if your charges get dropped, your name will be found. If your name isn't leaked, you won't be able to buy from someone else ever again without a massive twinge of guilt.
BartSimpson said "you sound like a smart kid" and I agree, intelligence is a rare thing, and yours shone through your worries in a way that should make you proud. There is little in this world that is truly ours, and little that we truly have to live with...your word and conscience (sp?) are some of them. You already know tha right answer to your question...don't narc. Your integrity as a human being, an intelligent one at that, isn't worth a simple pot charge. I agree that u need to stand up and take it like a man (woman?) you got yourself into this and you need to get yourself out, there are many different carreer tracks out there, but only one you...and that is who you have to live with until you leave this realm. Smoke a bowl and have a revelation, sit in front of a mirror and look into your eyes...you will see your soul, and tha right answer will rise to tha top of your mind and heart like tha best cream.

Do tha right thing, take your own punishment...don't let them see ya sweat!

oneluv4boognish

I agree with the whole "integrity" aspect of not being a narc. Am i the only one around that has seen people that snitched get their asses beat to a pulp? Mind you i don't know the dealer so i can't say...i've just always dealt with sellers that don't just sell dimebags here and there ya know what i'm sayin? These are weight pushers, even though i don't buy weight cause of being a mother they're still established in their business. I've seen people get shot for snitching on a dealer. So maybe worry about your integrity, but i'd be worried about your safety too. All around snitching is a BAD thing to do. And he's right..you are smart...so don't be a dumbass!