Staying Safe – Avoid Getting Busted for Marijuana Possession

Next week I’ll be going to a benefit fundraiser for a local guy who is looking at jail time for growing medicine. That’s right…he had some beautiful marijuana plants growing in his backyard and was busted by local police. What kind of insane law makes a part of nature illegal? As Bill Hicks once said “Making pot illegal is like saying God made a mistake.”.  I’m sure most of the readers of this blog would agree. In the meantime we are stuck in a bizarre situation of having to hide like criminals whenever we light up. What’s worse, we can be thrown into jail at any time for it.

How does one stay safe? Growers and dealers really need to research this subject thoroughly. If you grow or deal and have not seriously studied and thought about your security please stop whatever you are doing and research it now! You are likely compromising your safety and freedom in some serious ways, Sometime in the future I may write such a guide, but this article is aimed at the common user. The vast majority of pot busts are for simple possession. How can you not be one of these unfortunates?   This is a actually pretty easy to do. The first thing is to know the laws in your state/country. I refer you to norml. For most, this will give you the motivation to take not getting busted seriously. And it will also let you know the amounts where if you do get caught it’s not so bad.

So what are some of the things you can do to stay safe? The first thing is to realize that the majority of people get busted during a routine traffic stop. There are some key elements that will keep you safe: When you drive don’t bring pot unless you really need to. If you do, bring only what you need. Try to avoid bringing paraphenelia as it is often a more serious crime than the pot itself. HIDE your pot well! A good method is to use a disguise stash can  or a car safe. Whatever you use it should be smell proof as many cops are highly trained to recognize smells. A small mason jar can work well. This is why you should also not make it a habit to smoke in your car regularly. The smell will get in the fabric.

Don’t drive when you’re super baked. It’s stupid and puts others at risk. Also, you’re more likely to do something dumb to get pulled over and you’re more likely to be searched if you are. When you are driving with contraband in the car be smart and obey all traffic laws. Don’t run yellow lights. Don’t speed. Don’t draw any attention to yourself.

Follow these car rules and your chances of getting busted go way way WAY down. If you DO get pulled over remember:

NEVER consent to a search (NEVER!) Be polite, but firm. The cop may get threatening. Politely explain that you are invoking your constitutional rights. Ask them if you are being detained and if not you would like to go on yor way. The copy may try to bully you but stand firm. There is not much they can do about this.

NEVER say anything incriminating. By law you don’t have to say anything to a cop but your name and address. If you are arrested never say anything except that you want to speak to a lawyer. Cops may say they’ll go easier on you if you cooperate. This is bullshit. They are not your friend and likely will bust you as hard as they possibly can no matter what you say or don’t say. You have your rights!

Hopefully you will never be in a situation where you have to invoke your rights but it’s good to know them. Take a few minutes and read the bill of rights , particularly amendment 4.

If you buy your supply, be very careful! Many small time dealers houses come under surveillance. Plus you need to drive home with it so it is always ideal to get the dealer to come to you. Many will! If you do need to drive home reread the rules above about driving with pot. I was busted once for pot during a pullover. After that I started following the rules above and have never had any issues since then. I have had requests to search my car that I have successfully denied (even when I don’t have anything I refuse). It pays to know your rights!

There is a growing trend to purchase marijuana (and other substances via mail order). I consider mail order to be one of the least dangerous ways to buy marijuana in smaller quantities. If the packager is careful and vacuum seals it properly, the odd of the contents being found out are very small. When they do find small quantities, the usual penalty is they throw it away. If for some reason they want to try to bust the person it was addressed to they will do a “controlled delivery” and have a cop disguised as a a mailman show up with the package for you to sign for it. No decent online pot dealer is going to make anyone sign for anything. So if you do order pot online and they show up at your door for you to sign for it you’ll know something’s up so just refuse to sign. Say you have no idea who it is on the address label. What are they going to say? No signature = no possession. This one loophole makes buying online a pretty safe bet. But if you are only ordering small amounts there is a high probability that they will just toss it. They may or may not send you a letter.

Of course you can get ripped off buying online but that is a subject for another article. All I’ll say is if you are buying on online black market sites look at the vendors ratings and comments closely and never, ever, (ever) finalize early!  There are also many legitimate mail order marijuana vendors like the medicine man dispensary.

I’d like to close by saying what I think is the safest route and that is growing your own stash. You can do this easily in a closet. With a very small investment you can be growing your own. And if you can resist the urge to tell everyone about it it is also very safe to grow small amounts like that. But you have to keep your mouth shut!! Tell NO ONE if at all possible. If anyone is pissed off at you and knows you grow you could have a serious problem. A good percentage of grow busts come from tips from jilted lovers. True!

Growing is also a great hobby and I highly recommend doing it. Stay safe!!!