I’m getting damned tired of posting horror stories of marijuana prohibition, but while they keep happening, I’ll have to keep on posting. (It’s a little forensic today.)
"For Brian McGacken of Farmingdale, New Jersey, an evening of loud sex resulted in a 10-year prison sentence for growing marijuana. On Feb. 17, 2007, New Jersey state troopers arrived at McGacken's home, responding to an anonymous 911 call complaining of screams coming from McGacken's home. McGacken explained the noise was a bout of loud sex; his girlfriend appeared at the front door and corroborated his claim. But officers searched his home anyway, and found enough marijuana -- including potted plants -- to put him away for 10 years on charges of producing a controlled substance. Appealing the conviction, McGacken argued that, once police knew the noise was consensual sex, they no longer had reason to search his home. But the appellate panel at the Superior Court of New Jersey disagreed. On Monday, they dismissed McGacken's appeal, stating that "the potential for harm was too severe for the police to accept an explanation for loud screaming that could have been a cover-up of its true source." (Click here for more.)
I was arrested for possession in New Jersey while on tour. We were in a van on our way to NYC in the middle of the night when we were pulled over. The cops wouldn't believe that we "didn't have anything", so they threatened to empty all our gear out on the side of the road and conduct a full search. But they made us an offer. They said if we had drugs in the vehicle, we could hand them over and they would let us be on our way with no questions asked. We were running behind schedule so I decided to take them up on their offer and pulled out a small baggie of weed shake. They promptly cuffed me and placed me in the police car. They took me to a local jail while my band followed in the van and had to sit in the parking lot for about 6 hours until they charged me with misdemeanor. The reason I'm telling this story to you is because on the way to jail, I asked the cop why he lied about letting us go. He replied that they sometimes have to do that to catch criminals. I really didn't know how to respond, and I ended up paying a $750 fine along with $250 lawyers fee. I guess I learned a valuable lesson that day, don't you think?
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