Marijuana - Not what you think!

[CA Cop]

No, I'm not asking whether or not I can get hired as a LEO after smoking pot for 5 years... ;)

Although some cops will write everyone, my experience has been that if somebody has a minimal amount, some will confiscate it and let them go with a warning.

For those of you who do cut em loose sometimes, what do you do with the pot? Some of the deputies I was discussing it with recently say that they pretend not to see it, because if it were to come up later that they found it and didn't do anything about it, they'd have to answer for it. Others confiscate it and then just throw it away. But then somebody brought up the fact that if it were ever to come up later (from the suspects perhaps) that you confiscated pot from them, and it didn't end up in evidence, it could look like you took it home and smoked it (or whatever). So some say, book it every time, no matter how small - just to cover your ass.

Just wondering what everyone else's opinion is?

[DelC]

I agree. Book it every time, no matter how small - just to cover your ass.

[dmclark]

If you don't book it...what did you do with it? Sell it? Smoke it? That's what Internal Affairs would ask.

Years ago, I was transferred to a new office as a Baby Agent and had a real old timer for a boss. As I got my new G car (seized vehicle), I cleaned out the vehicle and removed the spare tire to vacuum out the trunk.

Lo and behold, I found about a pound of weed under the wheel well, obviously not discovered in the search and subsequent processing. I immediately called the boss and told him what had happened. HIS response? "Hello, Hello? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!"

After repeating the info several times and getting the same response, it was evident what he was telling me. He didn't want IA all over us and the case agent in the seizure for a pound of weed.

I flushed it all down the toilet and thought about it for months. Just wondering when the IA boys would come aknockin'.

I wouldn't do that today. Things are much different now and not as loose.

Book it!

[Kahuna5150]

I agree with the above posts. BOOK IT! If it's enough for you to notice you should book it for evidence (if you cite or arrest) or for destruction (if for some reason you take no legal action). I do know some officers that will have the suspect empty the marijuana onto the street and then rub it into the ground with their foot. I guess the theory is that if IA or any other questions are asked the suspect can't say the officer took the marijuana as it was destroyed at the scene.

Personally why take the chance? Marijuana is hardly illegal in CA anymore (with our legalized medical marijuana) so now we have to ask (on top of the normal criminal questions)... "Do you have a prescription or doctor's letter/recommendation to smoke marijuana for some medical reason?".

My department has actually been ordered to return marijuana to suspects after the court ruled their possession was not illegal under CA law. I have several friends at different departments and S/O's (Butte Co. is one) and they have also been ordered (and actually returned) marijuana. Sounds hard to believe, but I've seen the court order and it done first hand!

BOOK EVERYTHING! Not worth your job! Nothing worse than being on the hot seat when it was the suspect you were trying to cut a break to that's now putting you in the seat.

"No good deed goes unpunished!"

Kahuna

[996s]

I usually book it all, sometimes though it seems you are too busy and i have in the past, if they only have 1 joint just told them to empty it out on the ground. There is alot of weed here. I guess you can pretend not to see it too. Some guys seem to do that.

[stein810]

detroit narcotics no cases a lot of the dope cases... so anymore i just let the person go if i am not going to arrest them on the pot they have on them. however if they have a pretty big amount i will lock them up on it..... i usually take the narcotic parphrenalia i find on crack heads and throw it into the sewer.

[Raven231]

Well Jessica regardless of your feelings it is still illegal to posses marijuana, where I work its a simple 5 minute process of confiscating the marijuana and pipe that usually accompanies it and writing the guy a ticket. Only time marijuana users get arrested is if they are driving and under the influence or if they have a large quantity or are selling it.

Raven231