MACAULAY CULKIN: BUSTED IN OK

Macaulay Culkin made the mistake of traveling through Oklahoma last week with some marijuana in his possession. I haven't heard yet how much, but it doesn't really matter in this state. Our law states that an ounce or less is a misdemeanor but it never seems to be charged that way. If you possess less than an ounce but are within a certain distance from a school or park (which you almost always are) you have committed a more serious crime. If you have money, rest assured it will be confiscated. In a case last spring, the occupants of a car were pulled over returning from their accountant's office with cash from their income tax return. The police said they found evidence of pot on the floor of their car and used that to take their income tax money and let them go! The alleged culprits had a receipt for the money but could not afford an attorney to fight the issue so the state won again.

Last week I got a call from a man from New York who was traveling through Oklahoma on his way to Las Vegas with $20,000 in his pocket. He was not aware that his traveling partner had a couple of joints on him until the both of them were on their way to jail. Even though the money had nothing to do with drug proceeds, it will likely cost him at least $20,000 for attorney's fees and travel. I doubt he will ever see his money again.

A few years ago I got a call from an older lady who was moving here from Arizona. She had everything she owned in a bus that was being driven by a young man she had hired to help her move. While she followed him in her car, police pulled over the bus and found a few joints on the employee. Now all of this lady's belongings are sitting in a forfeiture lot. She stayed for a few days trying to straighten things out but got the distinct impression that if she pushed the matter much further she was going to end up with the same charges. She called me to tell me that she was leaving with only the clothes on her back and was never going to set foot in this state again!

Being the person who is listed on the National NORML web-site as a contact for OKNORML, I get these kinds of calls quite often. People from other states just cannot believe that such small amounts of pot can bring them disaster. So I'm writing this today as a warning for anyone who was thinking about traveling through Oklahoma with or without pot. If you have an out of state license plate you will most likely be stopped and even if you don't have pot on you they will take any money you have leave you the chore of trying to prove the money is innocent of a crime.

I love this state. It is a beautiful place to live but our laws and law enforcement officers are hell-bent on financing more and better toys with which to fight this drug war so travelers are fair game.

Norma Sapp
Director OKNORML