It was just before noon when I was suddenly startled by a loud noise. As I went to see what was going on, I got no more than two steps when I looked up and had numerous Drug Task Force officers with guns pointed at me yelling to get on the ground. I was so startled and shaken up I had no clue what was going on. They immediately began asking where my guns and drugs were. I told them I didn't own or have possession of any firearms and didn't understand why they were in my residence. I told them they couldn't just come in based on smell. They then placed a search warrant in front of me. I was startled. I'm not a criminal and had absolutely no clue what was going on. In fact I was so startled I suffered a minor panic attack in front of the officers and had them scared as I was pale and very dizzy. I suffer from a form of pseudoseizures in which my anxiety can elevate quickly and I have an extreme panic attack, sometimes blacking out.
To help me calm my anxiety I use Cannabis. I find Cannabis does not lead me to use more and more to maintain a level as many pharmaceutical pills such as Xanax do. It also does not seem to have the negative side effects that I personally don't like about pills such as mood swings and back pain. The almost instant relief is the most important thing to me. When a panic attack sets in a pill takes far to long to help. The attack has already happened by the time you eat a pill if you can even swallow or move at that point. The problem is I do not live in a medical Cannabis friendly state and there for I am subject to prosecution if I am caught with any amount over an ounce and a half.
During the search/destruction of my residence the officers recovered what they claim is over a quarter pound of Cannabis. In my state this is a Felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison. It is my first offense. I was arrested, questioned, released, and later mailed a court summons. I have now been to court and accepted an agreement. I thought I would share this story to help protect my fellow mary lovers from the fate I was met with.
First off, I didn't make any deals which if you haven't been arrested, they will tell you that you can go free if you set up one big deal or two small ones. Don't be a bitch. I'm a true believer in the healing Cannabis brings and would never hurt another in reaction to someone hurting me. I didn't lie though. All the Cannabis was for personal use and I knew nothing as to why they were there. Something I did foolishly was just admit it was all mine on tape before asking for an attorney because I just wanted to be honest and had nothing to hide. My attorney said that hurt my case somewhat so just ask for a lawyer right away. Don't say shit from the moment they cuff you until you speak with a lawyer. Anyways, This is what I have found out about the case...
The local police claim that an individual on their own personal-will left a message at their station indicating that my roommate was involved in weapon and Cannabis trafficking. He is not and has never been involved in such things. Supposedly, the police contacted my apartment management who told them that there were complaints about my place but when I contacted the building management just a few days ago, they assured me that there has never been a complaint about the smell or anything related to Cannabis use, especially not to the "numerous complaint" level as the drug task force indicated on court documents. Management told me that we were great residence and we are welcome back (under city code we were forced to move out of the city for two years). So after supposedly hearing that it smelled like Cannabis from the management what did the police do next? They walked a K9 past my door, which obviously hit because I work from home and smoke quite often throughout the day and night. They didn't tape this K9 hit though, so how do I know they even did it? With the dog sniff at the door the police then went to one of their corrupt judge friends who obviously has never heard of The United State Constitution, and the judge granted them a warrant.
They didn't find any weapons obviously, and they didn't even find any pot in my roommate's room whom the whole warrant was obtained for. There was zero guns and zero Cannabis in the possession of my roommate which is the person who the police were supposedly looking for originally. The search warrant didn't state any individual however, just the residence so they can get anyone and everything. My roommate who wasn't home at the time was not arrested and was never contacted by anyone in relation to this situation.
I was fortunate to be working with an attorney and not a public defender on this case but even with him, I feel I still don't have any fourth amendment rights. The police won't release the name of the supposed caller who started all this, if one even exists. Half of me thinks they never got a call and merely discovered the smell of Cannabis one day while in the building and then took the steps to fuck whoever they could. I would have had to waive all the offers they give me and take the case to trial if I wanted to force them to disclose the caller's identity and then I would have lost the option to get the charge whipped from the record if I lost.
The first option they offered me was a year probation in which I would have to call a number everyday of the week except weekends and holidays to see if my color was picked, and if it was, I would have to drive and take a UA. After a year, everything would be whipped from the record. With the second option which I felt was the best for me, they offered me a year of 'administrative' probation in which I do not have to take UA's. I am not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition, or commit any other crimes for a year but I can still smoke Cannabis because there are no UA's which is good for me. What isn't good is that I had to plead guilty to the possession which I had already admitted on tape was mine. After the year probation period the charge will be whipped BUT the arrest and plea will be on record in my state and if I commit any drug crimes within TEN years, they can use it against me. I do plan to relocate to a medicinal friendly state so hopefully that won't matter.
I wanted to tell you this story because if your mailman, a pizza guy, the plumber, a jealous ex, anyone, ever decided to call the cops and they walked a dog outside your place and then did the same shit and busted one of you, well I'd be really sad. I just want people to be aware of how little rights we have and how the police state of our country is dangerous to non-violent citizens who have a better state of wellness thanks to Cannabis.
Feel free to let me know what you think. I'm sure may people would say I should have fought the case in trial. At the end of the day smoking Cannabis didn't get me in that much trouble. My problem was how much I had. I am very fortunate I can still smoke and have the chance to get the charge whipped after a year of probation. I guess this is just a warning to anyone over the limit like I was. You never know what snitch bitch is out there trying to fuck you or someone you know.
To help me calm my anxiety I use Cannabis. I find Cannabis does not lead me to use more and more to maintain a level as many pharmaceutical pills such as Xanax do. It also does not seem to have the negative side effects that I personally don't like about pills such as mood swings and back pain. The almost instant relief is the most important thing to me. When a panic attack sets in a pill takes far to long to help. The attack has already happened by the time you eat a pill if you can even swallow or move at that point. The problem is I do not live in a medical Cannabis friendly state and there for I am subject to prosecution if I am caught with any amount over an ounce and a half.
During the search/destruction of my residence the officers recovered what they claim is over a quarter pound of Cannabis. In my state this is a Felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison. It is my first offense. I was arrested, questioned, released, and later mailed a court summons. I have now been to court and accepted an agreement. I thought I would share this story to help protect my fellow mary lovers from the fate I was met with.
First off, I didn't make any deals which if you haven't been arrested, they will tell you that you can go free if you set up one big deal or two small ones. Don't be a bitch. I'm a true believer in the healing Cannabis brings and would never hurt another in reaction to someone hurting me. I didn't lie though. All the Cannabis was for personal use and I knew nothing as to why they were there. Something I did foolishly was just admit it was all mine on tape before asking for an attorney because I just wanted to be honest and had nothing to hide. My attorney said that hurt my case somewhat so just ask for a lawyer right away. Don't say shit from the moment they cuff you until you speak with a lawyer. Anyways, This is what I have found out about the case...
The local police claim that an individual on their own personal-will left a message at their station indicating that my roommate was involved in weapon and Cannabis trafficking. He is not and has never been involved in such things. Supposedly, the police contacted my apartment management who told them that there were complaints about my place but when I contacted the building management just a few days ago, they assured me that there has never been a complaint about the smell or anything related to Cannabis use, especially not to the "numerous complaint" level as the drug task force indicated on court documents. Management told me that we were great residence and we are welcome back (under city code we were forced to move out of the city for two years). So after supposedly hearing that it smelled like Cannabis from the management what did the police do next? They walked a K9 past my door, which obviously hit because I work from home and smoke quite often throughout the day and night. They didn't tape this K9 hit though, so how do I know they even did it? With the dog sniff at the door the police then went to one of their corrupt judge friends who obviously has never heard of The United State Constitution, and the judge granted them a warrant.
They didn't find any weapons obviously, and they didn't even find any pot in my roommate's room whom the whole warrant was obtained for. There was zero guns and zero Cannabis in the possession of my roommate which is the person who the police were supposedly looking for originally. The search warrant didn't state any individual however, just the residence so they can get anyone and everything. My roommate who wasn't home at the time was not arrested and was never contacted by anyone in relation to this situation.
I was fortunate to be working with an attorney and not a public defender on this case but even with him, I feel I still don't have any fourth amendment rights. The police won't release the name of the supposed caller who started all this, if one even exists. Half of me thinks they never got a call and merely discovered the smell of Cannabis one day while in the building and then took the steps to fuck whoever they could. I would have had to waive all the offers they give me and take the case to trial if I wanted to force them to disclose the caller's identity and then I would have lost the option to get the charge whipped from the record if I lost.
The first option they offered me was a year probation in which I would have to call a number everyday of the week except weekends and holidays to see if my color was picked, and if it was, I would have to drive and take a UA. After a year, everything would be whipped from the record. With the second option which I felt was the best for me, they offered me a year of 'administrative' probation in which I do not have to take UA's. I am not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition, or commit any other crimes for a year but I can still smoke Cannabis because there are no UA's which is good for me. What isn't good is that I had to plead guilty to the possession which I had already admitted on tape was mine. After the year probation period the charge will be whipped BUT the arrest and plea will be on record in my state and if I commit any drug crimes within TEN years, they can use it against me. I do plan to relocate to a medicinal friendly state so hopefully that won't matter.
I wanted to tell you this story because if your mailman, a pizza guy, the plumber, a jealous ex, anyone, ever decided to call the cops and they walked a dog outside your place and then did the same shit and busted one of you, well I'd be really sad. I just want people to be aware of how little rights we have and how the police state of our country is dangerous to non-violent citizens who have a better state of wellness thanks to Cannabis.
Feel free to let me know what you think. I'm sure may people would say I should have fought the case in trial. At the end of the day smoking Cannabis didn't get me in that much trouble. My problem was how much I had. I am very fortunate I can still smoke and have the chance to get the charge whipped after a year of probation. I guess this is just a warning to anyone over the limit like I was. You never know what snitch bitch is out there trying to fuck you or someone you know.
