BUCKLE UP OR GET BUSTED

Many of the hundreds of thousands of citizens arrested on cannabis charges annually in our country could have avoided the ordeal if they’d only obeyed the criminal-defense lawyers’ age-old adage: “Break only one law at a time.”

With a recent Supreme Court case being decided in their favor, law-enforcement agencies throughout the US have found a new way to bust cannabis consumers: seat-belt-law violations. With every state except New Hampshire requiring the occupants of a motor vehicle to wear seat belts, law enforcement has a new arrow in its quiver—in addition to the existing DUI, illegal-drug, auto-registration and insurance-compliance checkpoints. It’s just one more weapon at the cops’ disposal permitting them to “interface” with otherwise freewheeling motorists engaged in the commerce and enjoyment of America’s No. 1 domestic cash crop.

In many states, the driver of a car can be arrested on the spot for failing to wear a seat belt, which automatically leads to a “custodial search” of the driver and vehicle. It’s exactly what happened this past June to a local pizza deliveryman in Charleston, WV, who got stopped at a seat-belt-check roadblock with cannabis in his car, leading to his arrest.

Also, be on the lookout for much more than just seat-belt checkpoints. Our fickle friend technology is constantly introducing new bits of electronic wizardry for the cops to use in snagging drivers and passengers who haven’t buckled up. A few weeks ago, I took a weekend bike ride in central Pennsylvania. Around nightfall, I found myself on an unfamiliar country road. Eventually, I came to an intersection where a local cop was parked. I rode over to inquire: “Where the hell am I?”

As I approached, he removed a pair of funny-looking glasses and gave me some unfriendly but helpful law-enforcement guidance: “Go back the way you came.”

A tad miffed, I asked him what were the glasses for—in-car porn viewing? He indicated they were new night-vision goggles. As cars stopped at the intersection, he was using them to observe whether each vehicle’s passengers were complying with the seat-belts laws. The officer mentioned that he had “arrested a couple of seatbelt-less kids the other night at the intersection for dope” after observing them through the night-vision goggles.

“Dope?” I asked.

“Marijuana.”

“Oh, marijuana,” I replied. “No kidding! Marijuana. Imagine that.”
Everybody got it? Obviously, buckle up to prevent injuries. But be doubly sure to buckle up in order to avoid an equally painful marijuana mishap.

Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML Visit norml.org, or call (888) 67-NORML.