By Dominic Holden, NORML Board Member
Originally published by the Seattle Stranger’s Slog.
Last week White House appointee John Walters claimed on C-SPAN that finding people in jail for “first-time nonviolent possession of marijuana… is like finding a unicorn … because it doesn’t exist.” I had a hunch that some of the 775,138 people arrested for pot possession last year were actually unicorns…
But the drug czar probably assumed that it’s a freebie to call people with criminal convictions anything he wants, because they’re likely to be too ashamed to defend themselves. That’s certainly true, but it didn’t take me long to find credible people willing to vouch for the existence of first-time, non-violent marijuana offenders—excuse me, unicorns.
In just one hour, I’ve found five people who have seen the Drug Czar’s unicorns with their own eyes. Here are Slog’s exclusive unicorn reports:
Andy Robertson, criminal defense attorney for 10 years at the Rosen Law Firm in Seattle.I have had it happen where [my client] goes to jail where they have one joint on them, and they have never gone to jail before. This is their first and only brush with the law. I don’t think that I have ever had a case where the person charged for marijuana is anything but the most peaceful person you can imagine.
A judge who I spoke to recently said that about every afternoon, he’ll put at least one person a day in jail for possession of marijuana or paraphernalia. He’s bee pro tem-ing for at least five years.Sunil Abraham, public defender for the King County Defender Association. When asked how many people he has personally encountered with no prior record who have served time in jail for a nonviolent marijuana-possession charge, here’s what he said: I’d say 50 people and they have all done time in jail. I’d guess that if you obtained the booking history for the last 100 marijuana arrests for somebody who has no criminal history, 80 percent of them do time in jail. It may be one day, but they serve time in jail. [Police] don’t commonly arrest for marijuana and release; you are going to go to jail.
Alison Holcomb, drug policy director of the ACLU of Washington.
According to data compiled by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and requested by the ACLU of Washington, Washington police agencies reported 11,553 arrests for possession of marijuana in 2007. Misdemeanor possession of marijuana carries a mandatory day in jail, and up to ninety. Data obtained from the Washington State Patrol’s Identification and Criminal History Section reveals that 3,588 convictions for misdemeanor marijuana possession were entered in Washington courts in 2007.
Muraco Kyashana-tocha, works in the law offices of Jeffrey Steinborn and Douglas Hiatt, the city’s leading marijuana-defense attorneys. I know of two cases that were handled … in the last year. They were both over in Redmond. I know both of them by name. One gram [possessed] by one of them, and 12 grams by the other one. They were squeaky clean: no record no juvenile record. I know a lot of people who went to jail while their case was processing. They may be in jail over the weekend for three days. A lot of the people charged with misdemeanor [possession] cannot afford $3000-5000 for legal representation, so they are doing time.
Jeffrey Steinborn, the city’s leading marijuana defense attorney. Walters is either shamefully ignorant, or intentionally lying to us. Sometimes we get lucky because a big shot in white shirt shows up. Sometimes the prosecutor will say the statute is mandatory, so they say, “Fuck you, your client’s going to jail.” Sometimes the judge will convert that to community service but the law says they can’t. To avoid that day in jail is the exception rather than the rule.
Surely, more of these magical animals walk among us. Have you seen a unicorn? Are you a unicorn? Put your unicorn-sighting story in comments or send me an email.
Funny how we hear stories from public defenders, attorneys, people’s brothers, but never the actual unicorns themselves. To be honest, serving 12 hours or a day in general lockup with a dozen other people until they process you hardly counts as spending time in jail. Your in jail when they take all your clothes and you are forced to wear an orange jumpsuit, eat nasty prison food from a cafeteria tray, shower with dozens of other men, and live in a cell with someone named Bubba. I’ve been toking every day for the past 8 years. I think John Walters is a skeevy, two-faced, lying…you get where I’m going with this, but on this _ONE_ comment I really do have to agree with him. I got charged (In Connecticut which is one of the worst states for pot laws) with possession, possession within 1500 feet of a school zone, possession of paraphernalia, got let off with some community service. Got arrested again, two months later, in the same place (College dorm room), same charges, same outcome, community service. Perhaps I am an anomaly but I know several others who got arrested for similar charges and no one ever did any jail time.
get the word out people
I know a unicorn serving a life sentence for simple possesion. He has been sentenced to life as a second class citizen because he had a little marijuana when he was 19, now he cant get college grants or financial aid and he has a hard time finding decent work. He has also never been in trouble for anything else in his life. So FUCK YOU Waters, you are a constitutional criminal and I hope you are brought to justice.
Hi,
When I was 20 years old,I was busted for buying a small amount of marijuana from a dealer.I was told if I coughed up the pot I would be given a ticket/bench appearance ticket.I ended up being cuffed,tossed in the back of a cargo van,and driven around for hours,sometimes at high speeds.All night long the van was being filled with guys like myself.I spent 3 1/2 days in jail,I lost my job,and I almost lost my NYC housing rent controlled apartment,which I had to fight in court to keep.I am now in a highly revered proffesion,which I had extended probation due to that prior arrest.Yeah,I am a unicorn of sorts….We in America are no longer individuals,but one festering mass controlled by another.
PS- I had no priors of any kind..
A FRIEND OF MINE IS IN JAIL, SERVING 40 DAYS FOR POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA HE HAD A HALF OUNCE, AND IT WAS IS FIRST OFENCE DOES THAT QUALIFY AS A UNICORN?
I got pulled over for speeding and the cop found a pipe wedged down in my seat (I had lost it a week earlier). He took me to jail and I spent the night there. I didn’t have any marijuana with me at the time.
Hi, that’s a Pegasus not a Unicorn. It doesn’t even have a horn.
Seriously, though, this is some ridiculous misinformation. It is amazing that this kind of stuff can be spread to the public and people will probably just buy it hook, line, and sinker.
What I find the most annoying is that the prohibitionists do not debate. They declare from on high. They know that the people do not support what they do, but they frankly do not care. The arrogance of power…
i am a fabled unicorn even if i only spent a day in jail that is a day i will never get back i was goin to kansas with a buddy we pulled off the road to sleep in oklahoma woken up by cops searched the found less than a bowl of some dirt weed on me i was arrested spent a day in jail i had 60 bucks to my name and when the police officer had me sign the paper with my invetory it said they only found 3 dollars on me i told them i had alot more money than that he left then came back with a large ball of money and was like is that more like it ended up giving me more money than i had shady police man
no prior run ins with the law
i am disabled and was recovering from a dec. 07 hip replacememt. 3 weeks after the operation,i was in a vehicle that went in the ditch.a wisconsin state trooper pulled a full unopened can of soda out of my drivers coat and hit me in the stomach from five yards away.two locals frisked me and found 2 hydrocodones and some morphine witch i had a prescription for.in my other container was a half gram of weed.i was arrested,cuffed,and put into acell with shit on the walls and piss on the floor without my pain meds or the other 6 scrips i`m on.i spent 14 hrs in that shithole.when court came the judge said because i suffered enough that night,my fine was 0$$.he also told me because of mandatory minimums i lost my drivers liscense for six months.iwas a unicorn one day and it was not all that pretty!!
i’m a unicorn and i know plenty more whose lives were almost ruined by our justice system. the first and only time i was arrested was when i was 18 and i was just sitting on the sidewalk waiting for some friends and the cops pulled up, searched me, and found my EMPTY bowl. after being violently cuffed & thrown in the car i was kept in a holding cell for 18 hours where they refused to give me my medication. they finally let me out when they realized i wasn’t gonna rat on anyone. i didn’t even get a phone call to find a ride home. this is the only time i ever got in trouble with the law and i didn’t even have actual pot on me. just a rezined up pipe. so yeah, peace?
I was arrested about 8 years ago in Westland, Michigan as a first-time offender for possession of marijuana. The prosecutor pushed for a 90 day jail sentence but thanks to my lawyer (who cost me $2,000) I got off with 90 days probation, community service, and mandatory Narcotics Anonymous meetings. For a person who was minding their own business and enjoying a smoke, this was all rather draconian.
I’m a two-time unicorn, and I served a total of 3 weeks in jail…ouch! First time was for paraphernalia – a brand new water pipe (never used) got me put in jail for 3 days! There goes that job…
Second time, in the car with a guy who had 2.5 grams – all three of us went to jail, I ended up staying for a little over 2.5 weeks. My friend lost his car, as this city (Duluth, GA) has some of the most forfeiture crazy cops in America! Thankfully, this time I had a cool employer who hated Prohibition as much as most people…
So, if I have a horn growing out of my head, then John walters has foot-long nose growing out of the center of his face. We need to tar and feather him on the White House lawn.
Well if you have 25 pounds of it you automatically get 3years in Florida.In case people are in the dark if you get a mms of 3years you will do every second of 3years
I have to disagree with D, he should read what judge sentenced him to I think he’ll find that the time he spent in fake jail was counted as time served. the only difference is he did his time before he was convicted.
I’d say just about everyone convicted of Possession is a Unicorn.
I hate to suggest anyone I never met is being less than honest but D’s casual description of his arrest sounds more like way a cop would describe it than a person who actually went through it.On the other hand maybe he’s been arrested many times for me at least I considered county to be jail, really I don’t know what the fuck else you would call it.
I am not a unicorn, however I did get busted with less than one gram of pot during a summer in Yellowstone National Park. I was on federal land so it was a federal class A misdemeanor. I was not taken to jail but given a ticket and a court date 6 months later in Mammoth, Yellowstone Natonal Park. They cut me a “deal” where I was given 1 year supervised probation and a $1000 fine. I had no prior record and was a college student. This deal meant that the conviction would never be entered. I was made to piss in a cup in direct view of a probation officer a total of 16 times during 9 months. I had to call a number everyday at noon to see if they wanted me to pee. If the answer was yes I had to be there within an hour. Needless to say this effected my job. If I wanted to travel for the weekend I had to get permission from my probation officer who seemed to always be out of the office and was not fond of returning my calls. My freedom was stripped and I lived in fear during that time. I was let off early as I did not and do not break any other laws. I am still sick to my stomach when I remember those nine months. I was made to feel like a criminal for simply smoking a bowl. I was disgusted to later read in the paper that 93 workers in Yellowstone were charged with simple possesion of marijuana that summer. The current federal system for the punishment of small volume marijuana possession is intolerably flawed. I DEMAND CHANGE!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE!!!
To the first person who commented, even a day in jail is too long for marijuana possession.
There was a case in South Florida where a young man was put in jail for the weekend for pot possession and ended up being raped by his cell mate. So to say that being put in a holding cell is something to bat an eye at compared to real prison, is a bit of an overstatement.
Bottom line is that the Drug Czar and many other drug warriors are pretending that marijuana possession charges don’t happen, yet when asked if we should then decriminalize small amounts and make it official they say that is outrageous.
I don’t get it… every site we go to everywhere we go 99% of people agree with us…
Where is the opposition?
Are they doing some kind of guerilla debate warfare where they are just hiding in the bushes waiting to suicide bomb us or what?
Why don’t they come out and debate..
maybe we need to find them on their forums where ever they are to find some opposition.
You know, when I was in third grade, the girls all liked to say we were a no-boys-allowed club and called ourselves The Unicorns — because, let’s face it, pretty much every eight-year-old girl is somewhat obsessed with unicorns and fairies. I’d LOVE to be the one to tell Walters that once his comment has circulated a few times, unicorns and pot will be permanently linked in the minds of thousands of kids. XD
John Walters said that if anyone finds a person in jail for minor possesion of marijuana he’d buy them a steak dinner. Hope you like steak. All 800,000 of them.
D Says: “Funny how we hear stories from public defenders, attorneys, people’s brothers, but never the actual unicorns themselves. To be honest, serving 12 hours or a day in general lockup with a dozen other people until they process you hardly counts as spending time in jail. Your in jail when they take all your clothes and you are forced to wear an orange jumpsuit, eat nasty prison food from a cafeteria tray, shower with dozens of other men, and live in a cell with someone named Bubba. I’ve been toking every day for the past 8 years. I think John Walters is a skeevy, two-faced, lying…you get where I’m going with this, but on this _ONE_ comment I really do have to agree with him. I got charged (In Connecticut which is one of the worst states for pot laws) with possession, possession within 1500 feet of a school zone, possession of paraphernalia, got let off with some community service. Got arrested again, two months later, in the same place (College dorm room), same charges, same outcome, community service. Perhaps I am an anomaly but I know several others who got arrested for similar charges and no one ever did any jail time.”
You’re obviously a very SMALL percentage in the cannabis using population of this country. Don’t think that you’re invincible because you’ve been caught and let go a FEW times. All it takes is the right cop, and the right prosecutor, to land you in jail. Do not disagree because of one or a few personal experiences. Never a good idea.
My friend got kicked out of school for possession of 1/2G and he only had 1 semester to go …
The first time I was arrested for weed or anything I was fishing on a pier in palm beach florida. I lived in nearby lake worth. I had a joint in my cgarette pack and was approached by police who said somone complained about rowdy behavior. I assured them it wasn’t me but they searched me anyway and found the weed, I was arrested and taken to jail for 3 days. On the way to jail the cop told me the palm beach locals don’t like white trash on thier island and I should find somwhere else to fish. If I hadn’t had the joint he probably would’ve ran me off some other way but they shouldn’t be able to use these unjust laws to discriminate but then again wasn’t that the governments original intention. Now I know how minorities have felt for years.
In Virginia, the FEDS are taking over simple misdemeanor pot cases, and putting people away… The feds can give you a year and a $250,000.00 fine… If the person is a pot smoker, AND a LAWFUL gun owner, the FEDS are putting people away for up to TEN YEARS and $500,000.00 in fines… If you get a little ticket for possession that would be NOTHING under state law, the feds take it over, take away your lawfully owned guns, and indict you on a felony… Look up 18 USC 922 (g) (3) for yourself if you think I am kidding… Even if they don’t HAVE any pot and just admit being a user… It can ruin you.. I guess we all better dust off our jack boots, learn to goose step, and starting doing what the feds want us to do… Drink liquor, beer and wine… Seik Hile!
Dude, everyone knows Unicorns are real. I know one that simply had some green stuck in the lint of his pockets, and he is in jail for five years. It might not have been the first time, but still, five years for pocket lint? Unicorns are everywhere, and probably just tend to hide their dilemma’s because of fear of further reprimands. I don’t think its pot smokers that are unicorns, I think Walters is just a Jackass!
I was not jailed for a first time offense but I met someone who was. six months in jail and a $1000 fine. this was in the state of New Jersey.
I was recently arrested for seven tenths, thats right 0.7 grams! Add another tally to the prisoners of the war on pot.
I was arrested in a No Tolerance County in Texas. I watched everyone in court that day get 2days to 90 days in jail, plus probation, plus N/A treatment, plus a fine. I plead no contest and received time served, and a $695 fine. I also had to pay a $9000.00 bond off. I was caught with 3 grams and paraphernalia. I kissed butt and didn’t give an excuse to get off. I was mine and didn’t denie it. I did spend a few hours in jail till I was bailed out. I don’t think I am a unicorn but I saw unicorns in a herd that day. I was they only one who didn’t go do jail time that day.
I was arrested for possession of a small amount (one roach) of marijuana, and was held in jail overnight until I made bail in the morning.
If no one had come to bail me out I would have spent several days waiting for an arraignment.
I have never been arrested for or convicted of any crime, before or since.
Let’s face it, finding a “public servant” appointed by this adminstration who knows what they are talking about or speaks the truth, THAT is like finding a unicorn. By that, I don’t just mean it’s like discovering a non-existent fictional character. It’s like finding a big dumb animal that is unlikely to reveal any truths about life and more likely to shove a giant horn up your ass.
Heres a wacky story for ya’ll. My dealer was being monitored for some time for suspicion of dealing. Every day he park as far away from our school as possible just so the pigs wouldnt have the right to serch his car. well one day he had to go in on an off day at school and parked out front and a passing cop recognized the car. Since it was on school property and my dealer was a student he was allowed to go through all his belongings. all he found was a burnt nub of a roach and his car got impounded and he was in jail for a week until his dad posted bail. heres the clincher, there was 3 pounds in his bass speaker in the back of his blazer. they didn’t even bring dogs over to do a proper run down of the truck. We had to burn a couple down in celebration for that but his record still follows him and makes it hard for him to get a job which just solidifys his future as a “drug” dealer.
I was awaken by 6 cops in my hallway knocking on my bedroom door. With a search warrant. Not a “no Knock” warrant. Amazing? They walked through open doors in a little small town. Sound like a regular drug house uh? My daughter had some old friends over early in the day and one of them had some pot with him and got caught shortly after leaving my house. He had gotten a ride from our house with someone else and that person was with him and went to jail. He then brought the police out to show them where he had picked up the kids that was here. That was enough to get a search warrant and come into my house at 4a.m., pull my daughter out of the bed by her hair with a gun pointed at her head. What did they find. 1/2 joint and a couple of really old pot leaves pressed in a book. Wow. She went to jail early on a Thursday and didn’t get to see a judge until the following Tuesday. She was facing 26 years in jail. She was charged with poss. of less than an oz, felony manuafacturing and felony disctribution. Here in Georgie they charge you with anything they can so they do not have to prove a case in court. You have no choice but to plea out. This little trip to jail ended up costing $10,000 w/ lawyer/fines/ct cost/probabtion cost etc…She could have lost all of the rights as a citizen. No guns No Voting No college grants or scholarships. Since we have the H.O.P.E. scholarship here in Georgia she could have lost that. So that stupid 1/2 joint could have cost her the future that she is now working towards. What is wrong with this picture. How can I explain to my kids that every president since they have been alive are admitted pot smokers, but they have made rules through out time that tells my kids if they try it and use it and get caught they are criminals and will have the possiblity of a very grim future. No way could they ever consider becoming President. Do not get me wrong, I would rather not find pot in my childs room, but if I do it should not be a criminal issue it should be a family issue. I give one bit of advice to you all coming from a 43 year old lady that grew up in the Bible Belt. Talk to people about this issue. Hell 75% of the american people including us that live in the Bible Belt and vote more conservative feel the same way about the crazyiness of it all. Want a real change- Vote for anyone that is not Republican or Democrat they have both been in charge for way to long and they have screwed all of the issues up in someway or another.The crisis in the housing market and the banks would probably be averted to a great degree if we as citizen could vote on legalization and taxation of marijuana. Do not be afraid to speak out. I had just started a business when this all happened and I have not shut up since about the crazy crap. People are more open than you think. Most of us grew up in the 60-70’s. Most of the old folks are not going to be able to stop this movement. There are to many that would either support it or not care. We just held election in July for the sheriff and guess what we will no longer deal with the Ghestappo in our town as of Jan.1, 2009. The entire town was cheering at the courthouse the evening we brought a new sheriff to town. VOTE PEOPLE. GET INVOLVED!!
I had no criminal record until a few years ago, at age 31, when I was caught with less than a quarter ounce of marijuana in my truck, which I used to fight chronic back pain from a deteriorating disk in my lumbar vertebra. Without marijuana, I have to pop pills which are bad for my liver and kidneys, just to be able to work. With it, my pain is reduced from disabling to barely noticeable. Anyway, I didn’t end up doing time, but I did end up spending a year giving more money than I could afford without help from friends and family to my already wealthy county sherriff’s office, attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings, which I did not need, and paying for counseling and classes. Now, I have trouble getting jobs because of this minor incident, where I harmed no one. We definitely need de-criminalization of what is almost universally a harmless, pain relieving, stress reducing plant. But, that would cut into billionaire pharmaceutical, alcohol, and tobacco profits. It’s just like oil vs. wind/sun/etc. Nature is a crime, because the common man can use it without paying their overlords.
I sat in jail for ~30 hours for a first offense (no prior record) marijuana possession.
Let me tell you, it certainly isn’t a place that you ever want to be. 30 hours felt like days.
“Your in jail when they take all your clothes and you are forced to wear an orange jumpsuit, eat nasty prison food from a cafeteria tray, shower with dozens of other men, and live in a cell with someone named Bubba.”
And yes, all that happened within my 30 hours visit. Except there was no Bubba, but instead many large men who still could have kicked my ass.
I haven’t quite been turned into a unicorn yet but I know several people in my home town that have been pulled over for one reason or another, searched, and arrested for simple possession.
I have been threatened by the evil wizards. Once I was making my way home with some friends, was pulled over for no reason and ordered immediately to get out of the car. We were all searched and the car was searched. We were told flat out that as soon as he found our phantom marijuana, we were going to jail…so I don’t think they are getting the memo about not sending first offense simple possession offenses to jail.
One day…
One day we can walk freely on the planet and not have to worry about evil wizards turning us into unicorns.
I have a pretty unique story, I got a dui and possession charge at the same time. I made the stupidest mistake of my life by driving myself and three friends to breakfast after a long day and night of boozing and upon searching the car the cops found two old roaches in the ashtray. What’s ridiculous is, apparently the state of RI considers the two roaches to be a far more severe crime than driving after 10 hours of drinking. I’m completely remorseful and ashamed of myself for driving that night and endangering lives. I haven’t had a drink since that night 3 months ago, sadly the dui was the wakeup call I needed. I pleaded guilty to only a traffic charge and got a six month license suspension and “driver retraining”. No record, no probation, no alcohol counseling.
The two roaches were another story, I got six months supervised probation with drug screens and drug counseling, and a criminal record meaning a second offense, of any amount, would be a felony.
What Walters ignores with his “unicorn” comments is that probation for pot smokers is a travesty in itself. Here in RI probation is a very slippery slope. It doesn’t take another conviction to violate. Basically any police contact would get me locked up for 30 days, not to mention a failed drug test or a missed meeting. It’s bad enough that I can’t leave the smallest state in the country, but I’m afraid to even leave my house knowing that thae cops who I told off when I was drunk that night can essentially have me locked up for nothing. Also, as a recovering alcoholic I have to live with the irony that I can legally drink even though I know it will probably ruin my life, but one puff of weed will dirty my urine and get me locked up for a month. In the two months while I was awaiting trial, smoking a bowl a night was a huge benefit to my sobriety. This is a society that gives methadone to heroin addicts, but if an alcoholic wants to smoke a harmless bowl instead of drinking he’s considered a criminal.
Enough Unicorns for you yet Mr. Drug Czar? or do you need a dozen more to change your warped mind?
I was stopped a couple months back for speeding and the cop smelled marijuana in my car during a traffic stop on I5 around lewis county, WA. The officer found around a quarter of marijuana in the car. The judge fined me $750 dollars and ordered me to spend 24hrs in jail for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. This was my first time in jail. The judge, Mr. Buzzard, almost forgot the 1 day mandatory minimum in Washington state for marijuana possession. At the end of sentencing, he said oh yes and 1 day MMS in jail also. So this scientist is now having a very hard time finding employment with this marijuana possession charge on my record. So yes, these unconstitutional laws are truly ruining peoples lives.
I see being a prisoner as being locked in a cage and not allowed to leave. I don’t see what showering with 12 men has to do with it. By that rational I guess your not really, really in prison until your first anal rape.
My son is still seeing a probation officer. He pissed poorly and has been in Judge McGowan’s court in Pulaski County Arkansas since 2000, for selling 1/2 ounce marijuana to a police officer (or his informant). My son was just a pot smoker back in 2000. Since then, he’s been given methedone by a state clinic. He’s gone through Xanax withdrawal (including seizures) in the county jail and the courtroom. There are so many people in Judge McGowan’s drug court that they fill the hallways of a fairly large old courthouse. The performance by Judge McGowan and the lawyers, walking around in spiked-heeled shoes and monkey suits is quite unbelievable, compared to the crowd waiting to get into the courtroom; they’re in t-shirts, jeans, work clothes, and nursing uniforms: they’re America. The lawyers and Judge McGowan they’re just the face of America. I say that it’s time for America to “lose face.”
Jeaney
Also, my son cannot vote because he sold 1/2 ounce of marijuana to a police officer.
Jeaney
My friend went in his dealers house to get a bag when he came out he was ambushed by a swat team like he was americas most wanted fugitive. I cant remember what his penalty was but ill never forget what the officer said to him. He had crotched it and the officer padded his crotch and said to him ” there is no way your balls are bigger than mine”.
its stupid to go to jail for pot no one should why should we get fucked over for smoking a plant as a friend of mine always put it”god made pot,man made beer who do you trust”
I was arrested in 2005 for posession of less than 1 gram. After I violated my probation fot failure to complete the mandatory ‘drug counseling’, I had to do 6 days in county to have my probation revoked.
I AM A UNICORN……….
I am almost the exact unicorn that Walters describes. I was arrested when I was seventeen, not at choir practice, but at a marching band function. That day changed my life forever…it’s really hard to comb your hair with a horn sticking out of your head.
‘Victima haud ulla amplior
Potest, magisque opima mactari Jovi
Quam Rex iniquus’
I’ve never been arrested before but did anyone hear about that story in Alabama where that 19-year-old was getting sentenced to 36 years in prison because of a 2oz sale of marijuana.. THAT is CRAZY..
I don’t understand, the government can tax and sell something that kills over 480,000 people a year combined, but yet marijuana has never claimed a life on it’s own and is ruining over 800,000 peoples lives a year because of simple posession.. Where is this justice??
As much as I hate to say it, these stories are somewhat useless when posted here. Preaching to the converted, I believe.
Anyone who seriously supports marijuana criminalization will not be here to read any of this, and JW surely isn’t reading these comments.
And on the off chance they ARE here reading this stuff…it isn’t with an open mind. I assume, they would assume…it’s all a pack of lies from potheads.
Someone else mentioned taking this information (debate) to them, and that is what needs to be done, IMO.
We all know the unicorn statement is bullshit and we all know that people suffer needlessly.
Be careful out there!
What humors me is the fact that anyone could be so hasty and fallible as to assume that marijuana users are violent, let alone claim that non-violent marijuana users cannot be found. Haha. Isn’t the stereotype the exact opposite of that? Hence peace-loving, pot-smoking hippies?
In 2007, I went to jail for two days a month after my 18th birthday. (my first time ever in jail obviously) Not for weed, no, seeds and stems.
I’m one of the angrier unicorns!
NORML: I think it is time for a national rally in DC how about next spring when the cherry trees bloom? I will be there.
I was at the end of my road and with my friend rolling a joint when a car pulled onto the road i thought it might be one of my friends so i kept rolling but as it kept getting closer and didnt turn at my house- the last one on the street i knew it was a cop. i was arrested along with my friend. i had 2g’s and papers . first time offence lands me a court date on the 27th next month.
I left the USA and lived in the Netherlands for nearly 15 years in order to avoid becoming a unicorn by medical necessity. I have a severe neuromuscular disease, similar to MS, which responds well to cannabis.
I began life in Holland in 1993, and end it in 2007, when I began to think medical marijuana in California was there to stay.
from 1993 to 2007, annual arrests have nearly tripled.
So, I am a pegasus, rather than a unicorn, because I flew away to another land where I would not be persecuted. I ended up with 2 foreign languages, and a career abroad, all while I was able to smoke cannabis freely, without looking over my shoulder.
I wonder what these virulent allegedly patriotic drug warriors think as I tell them I won the war?
Eric Johnson, Los Angeles
hey,
a lil under a year ago i was busted at school for a lil bowl full & a seed. my 1st ever offense & i was put on probation for a year, got 48 hours community service, & 6 weeks moral kombat (a class that tries to teach you that ALL drugs are bad). Luckily i wasnt put in jail but in my eyes that is a major punishment for such a minor offense. so in closing let me just say EAT SHIT JOHN WALTERS!!!!
why are they arresting all the potheads…. more people get drunk & drive, kill people… have you ever heard of someone high & driving killing somebody? NO!! you’ve heard of all these murderers, & rapists, they’re the ones the law should be focusing on… the ones that actually do damage… not us!!
it is ridiculous how the federal govt can so openly oppose something that the majority of the nation feels is harmless. what gives them the right to dictate unconstitutionally what we do to ourselves in self medication. i dont think the whole drug war should stop… the hardcore drugs can be to damaging but certainly marijuana is an exception!!! i mean come on lol they largely cannot control what is happening because almost everyone self medicates with mary jane. even if people dont they dont really care. it is the left wing radicals…. the minority of them…. that can control us through the use of local militias like police. i can tell you now that they are fighting a losing war and will eventually realise that this is stupid. as time goes by one by one the old left wing radicals will die/retire of old age (may they be forever tormented in whateve hell they sprang up from)and the eventual stance of the main federal govt will change… aready the local govt’s see that mary jane is a friend rather than an enemy. STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN!!! GREEN REBELLION!!!! IF THINGS DONT GET BETTER IN THE FUTURE!!!!
http://www.erowid.com support the communities of the righteous!!!
our forefathers made this country for the people. they even told us if the fed govt starts to trample on us we have the right to bring them down.
if things do not get better it is our constitutional right and responsibility to revolt for the common good. not war but a peaceful revolt if you please.
sorry i didnt mean the whole rebellion thing to sound so scary what im asking for is non-militant non harmful people to come together for the better of our govt and not bring them down but to allow them to understand thier wrongs.
i invite all the corrupt politicians and anyone who is agaisnt marijuana reforn to debate me and the people with me… i have a small organization started called the GRA who want to outmatch wits with any of washingtons best anti marijuana debaters. i invite them and i will treat them as brothers becaus all though they r ignorant and lie and benefit from such madness i beleive one day they will see the truth.
I was at a party late last year in Dallas, Texas, when the police were called by a neighbor. They arrived in force, called everyone outside, made everyone lay down on the ground (it was raining), searched everyone methodically, and then discovered they guy next to me had a joint in his cigarette package. I didn’t know this guy, never had a single word with him, but because I was laying down next to him, I was arrested along with him.
I spent from Friday night until Tuesday afternoon in jail, went to court, wasn’t allowed to even talk to the judge, was found guilty and fined $2,500 — I didnt have that kind of money — so I spent the next 14 days incarserated.
I lost my job, my apartment, my funding for my student loan, my car was repossessed, my pending contract for the Marines was trashed (I had been accepted into OCS after my pending graduation), my whole life was completely trashed. I ended up moving into a friend’s car for nearly 6 months while I tried to save some money for an apartment.
Now I work construction and fast food (2 jobs), live payday to payday, have no way of getting a loan for college, and dammit — I have never even smoked Marijuana.
Are the laws bad? Damn straight. They are FUCKED up, right along with this administration.
My country abused and abandon me, and I have absolutly no respect for this farce of a democracy any longer.
After reading this dribbled from our current administration, I’ve decided to burn the flag I received from my Father’s funeral (died in Nam) in a ceremony and show it on YouTube. What else have I got to do? Go to school?? Ha.
I’ve applied for a work permit in Canada. If I can get to Canada and live a few years, they will pay for my school! (Neat how that works isn’t it?) Then my next step will be to denounce my American citizenship then stop by a boarder and take a healthy dump on the American side
In the meantime, would someone please fire that dumbshit Walters?
Unicorns are the physical symbol of truth,purity, and love created from the human mind dating back before christ. This physical symbol depicted as a horse with a horn exists within ancient literature,art, and political symbols all around the world. The unicorn representing truth, purity, and love with in humanity symbolizes strength and majesty.
Mr Walters,
What we need in office is a man or even a woman who has “moral values”. Not a person that can be corrupted by money like most are. Mr Walters, I think it’s time you step down from office and give this position to a person with moral values and does not lie or do as they are told to do.
If you believe in the afterlife you might think you are getting away with alot here on earth but you will be judged by God one day and then what? How will you explain your greed for money? It says a poor man has a much better chance of getting to Heaven than a rich man does, but it seems you do not get the message. But you act like you are a God fearing man. If I was you I would be afraid of telling all the lies you have told to the public daily.
Let a person with honesty hold that position like Dennis Kuchinich, someone who tells the real story and dont fabricate lies just to make more money. You just might find you would have a better conscience if you just told the Truth. As it says, “The Truth shall set you Free.
This is what is wrong with America and the so called people who try to run it.
Why should us tax payers bail out those who are just greedy and steal? If they are no smarter than that to run a buisness then they need to get out of it. Just like you need to get out of office for lying.
God said all herbs was put here for good and I trust God’s word, not yours.
I would consider myself very peaceful person, I’ve never been in any trouble besides expired tags once… nothing violent…
But the fact that Walters would straight up lie to the American people and perhaps even prolong the decriminalization of marijuana possession, makes me fucking mad. Who knows how many unneeded arrests there will be because of his complete idiocy. Fuck you John Walters, lets get him fucking fired and thrown out of the White House for good.
NORML, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP
Looks like I’m a unicorn. I was arrested with an ounce and got charged with Possession with intent to Distribute. I was never in jail before in my life. I have never had any sort of violent offense on my record, and to this day I still don’t. I find it funny how the government can make all these allogations about being violent and being a marijuana user when I see absolutley no connection what so ever. I’ve never seen anyone smoke a joint, go crazy and start beating they’re wife because she dropped the last beer and you have to wait ten minutes to open it otherwise it’ll foam all over. Yet smoking PCP can make you strip yourself naked, run through the streets yelling nonsense and when the cops try to arrest you, it takes 8 of them and 10 shots from a tazer to get you down. I think our country needs to focus on the matters at hand like how our economy is about to crash and create another depression, yet we’re still spending billions on the “War on Drugs”… What a waste of tax payer money.
It all depends on the cop! Several years ago, a couple buddies of mine went out on the lake with my jet ski and another jet ski. They stopped at a secluded beach and fired up a joint. What they didn’t know was that the lake patrol was watching them from a distance. As soon as they got back on the jets, the lake patrol stopped them, took them to the nearest dock and searched them and the jet ski’s. Fortunately, I was not with them that day, although if it had not been for another emergency, I would have been.
Unfortunately, the lake patrol cop was a prick to say the least. He was not liked and had a grudge against jet skiers in general, so he was out for blood. But, the lake patrol also called for backup to help with these crazy pot smoking criminals that might be dangerous, who knows, they might have had a gun hidden in those swimming shorts… LOL Anyway, the backup that was called was also a park ranger that we all knew very well, a very cool guy. He was the one that searched my jet ski and I knew it had some roaches in it.
I didn’t even know that any of this happened until I came back out to the lake and arrived at my camper where two patrol vehicles were waiting. I got out of my car, walked up to the ranger I knew and asked what the hell was going on, he then proceeded to tell me how sorry he was. I was like, sorry for what? Then he told me what happened and that he had no choice but to arrest my friends (whom he also knew) because “the other officer” insisted. The “other officer” being the dick head that spotted them smoking. In so many words he was telling me that if it had been up to him, they would not have been arrested, after all, all they caught them with was a tiny little roach. But either way, they became unicorns that day and I had to bail them out! All in all they only spent about 6 hours in jail, but it still cost them a few thousand to get everything settled when it was all said and done.
Of course after the cops left, I looked in the storage of my jet ski to see if they took what I had in there and too my surprise, there were still two joints in my jet ski. Then I knew that the ranger was not just a cool guy, he was really cool, since he left my weed in the jet after searching it. No way he could have missed it after all it was in plain sight in the storage compartment!
Just goes to show that it really depends on who the cop is. Had the “other cop” searched my jet ski I would have likely went to jail with my friends.
Brad Ritter has a good point, our economy is rapidly headed towards towards a crash and long depression, and so far the war on drugs has cost this country’s tax payers around fourty billion dollars between state and federal funding that seems like a very extraneous amount of money that could be used try and re-fuel so to speak our failing economy, not to mention that the tax revenue that would be gained from legalizing it would likely exceed that of alcohol and tobacco, so if politicians are looking for a way to fix our economy one piece of the puzzle is right under their noses, and i’m not saying it’s a permanent fix but it will generate revenue that can help to rebuild our economy and get our country back on the right track towards bettering ourselves rather than attempting to fix other countries
I do an will speak the truth…. I was 17 and got arrested for a grams worth of marijuana in high school. I was searched after I dropped my rolling papers in front of a security guard outside behind the school. I was arrested, handcuffed and brought out the back of the school because my mother said, “over my dead body will you bring my son out threw the front of the school when schools getting out!” So they brought me threw the back, placed me in a holding cell, pressed charges and I was released. I had to perform 40hours community service raking leaves at a church. All in all, I didn’t go to jail, but it still cost me sooooooo much time and money being out of work for that time, well, I’d say its just like being in jail “FINANCIALLY!” But I know in other states THE CoPS ARE ANIMALS AND JUST CAN”T WAIT TO TAKE AWAY THE FREEDOM OF ANOTHER AMERICAN CITIZEN TO SHOW OFF THERE “POWER!” These towny cops upstate and in the boonies have nothing better to do than act tough and wana feel like there important by ruining the lives of freedom loving americans like myself!!! ROT IN HELL WALTERS!!!
I just wanted to say that maybe we should consider the idiocy in our country making marijuana illegal in the first place. When our forefathers came to this land they all grew hemp. George Washington himself had numerous diaries that indicated his use of marijuana for not only rope, but also for medicinal and recreation use. The real and true reason why it’s even illegal is because the paper companies saw a big fucking problem with hemp. Do you realize that there is no real and substantial evidence in support of the illegalization of marijuana? Pathetic when all we can come up with are miscontrued facts and corrupt court systems. All I have to say is that if this is true, and people are honest to god going to jail for a first time offense, how many tax dollars are we wasting? In a time of a major recession and oil crisis, on the day our stock market drops 800 points,perhaps we should budget accordingly. Let’s stop sitting back and watching the misappropriations of funds and require more of our leaders. We could save billions by not prosecuting pot heads.
I wonder what kind of amphetamines he has to overdose on in order to see unicorns in every other cell of the jail. It’s time we had an intervention!
RevRayGreen if you violate your probation you are NOT a unicorn by any means. A unicorn is a first time, non-violent pot offender. Violating probation removes you from that demographic because your on probation for your first offense and violating your probation would be your second offense.
“I was arrested in 2005 for posession of less than 1 gram. After I violated my probation fot failure to complete the mandatory ‘drug counseling’, I had to do 6 days in county to have my probation revoked.
I AM A UNICORN……….”
Well I’ve just been sentenced to 1 year house arrest, 4 years probation, 100hours community service,60 days on the county farm.Oh and $2600 in fines and court cost. For my first offense. Not first drug offense first offense period my record consisted of a speeding ticket 8 years ago.
I’ve always considered my self a patriotic American, But now…Dose anybody know what countries won’t extradite for weed offenses? It’s not like I’m a us citizen anymore I’m thinking I should look for a friendlier place.
You know somewhere that freedom isn’t just a slogan.
Walters is a jerk. If we ended this so called war on
drugs( really cannabis)we would not have to bail out anyone of those greedy CEO’S. We should stop aressting the sick in this country.All around us they are using Medical Cannabis and growing HEMP. This goverment wants us to stay under their thumb and everyone in jail so they can watch us better.
VOTE YES ON MEDICAL CANNABIS . Then leave us alone , we are not hurting anyone!!!!!!!!!
While it’s important that we hear from/about unicorns, I think the big picture HAS to be that as long as varying State/Fed(?) laws allow for prison/jail and other associated punishments for simple possession, we MUST work for decriminalization. Sure, SOME people are getting “leniency” now, but what about later??
Some people in some States caught will be punished in varying degrees relative to other States, based on differing criteria, and that should be unacceptable.
Another point that reflects the need for law changes ( regardless of what’s being currently dished out to many ) is that MAYBE the Law is only being “lenient” because the prisons are full, and when there are new prisons and capacity, they’ll go back to hammering simple possession cases again.
Until pot is legalized, or at the very least decriminalized and treated as a monitorable/ticketable offense and victims caught treated better than those who maim and kill everyday speeding, or running red lights and stop signs, we MUST continue to demand reforms. The arrests and punishments associated with current laws violate the fundamental “punishment fitting the crime” principle we USED to hear about until the draconian drug war laws circumvented it.
Beware in OKLAHOMA!!!! We are full of unicorns!!!
In some cities it is still a misdemenor, but in Oklahoma City it is a FELONY to have any amount of Marijuana. To have any marijuana is a CDS (Controlled Deadly Substance) charge. When has Marijuana killed anyone. We have to get these laws fixed!!!
I can only say this, watch this. (zeitgeist,the movie) open your mind and eyes to the truth, (they) dont want you to belive. its true.
Come to kentucky we have more “Unicorns” than horses. Lol but yeah there are shit loads of unicorns!!! call 270-769-8473 if ur from kentucky or around kentucky or no people in kentucky i am making a change!!!
Unicorn here from Florida not only was I arrested and sent to jail but,I’ve paid thousands of dollars to stay free and placed on probation for a first offense misdemeanor.(A few grams of pot and paraphernalia) I’ve found that even the people that work for the C.O.R.E. programs, and “Rehab” programs, don’t morally have a problem with pot. Its a way for the gov to try and control your life.
Given time, and knowing how the ONDCP perverts data, don’t be surprised to see them claiming one day that so many are still using pot because they’re NOT getting locked up or locked up long enough!!
Many Congressmen and Senators would immediately buy that lie, love to hear it, and push for tougher sentences to sound “tough on crime”.
Let’s get these laws changed !
Thanks NORML !!!
I didn’t even realize that I was just a unicorn among a whole herd of unicorns until I was unfortunate enough to witness the drug czar’s stupidity. wow.
I nearly became one this summer but i kept a cool head and my mouth shut and those smelly pigs were forced to let me go. I do however have two potential unicorn friends, who have pending court dates. 🙁
I found a unicorn mien drug czar! A man paralyzed from age four doing something that made him feel better and you killed the poor young man. When you die you will be haunted by the souls of men like this one.
Can you find one? The drug czar said anyone jailed for possession was a unicorn and did not exist?
Help end the War On US (drugs)
Twenty-seven-year-old Jonathan Magbie died while serving a 10-day sentence for marijuana possession in a Washington, D.C., jail. Magbie, a quadriplegic since age 4, used his chin to operate a motorized wheelchair and required a ventilator to help him breathe. The jail could not provide the medical help he needed, and by the time he was taken to a hospital, he was dead. Magbie was a first-time offender who told the judge that marijuana made him feel better and that he didn’t think there was anything wrong with using it.
Cherokee Fred Hussein
Fighting this war daily please help THEY LIE WE FIGHT!
hood1@hoodstuff .com
Can you find one?
I am lucky I do not need drugs legal or so-called illegal. I have health and wealth so I consider myself very lucky. But what about the millions of Americans that take drugs everyday the rich take the legal the poor get the illegal drugs. They seek the same relief for there suffering be it physical or mental. But why treat the one (rich) and jail the other (poor)? Who has the right to say your choice is illegal and I will put you in jail? Who made these laws and for what reason? I have read every comment on this site and others it gives me hope! More Americans are becoming aware of the truth. You have looked at history and understand the truth today. Our leaders are enslaving the poor for pure greed. They feel (house/senate) that they have the right to overrule a vote by the people in states were medical marijuana has been make legal by OUR VOTE they do not!
They continue to sacrifice the poor, black. Hispanic, and powerless Americans while the rich bible thumping hypocrites look the other way. Our leaders (house/senate) using fear propaganda pass laws that take away our freedom guaranteed by the constitutions and bill of rights and we do nothing. They own the media and you only hear what they feel you need to hear; freedom of speech is in jeopardy. They say if you take the blue pill you go to jail if you take the red pill it gives billions to the so called legal drugs dealers and that is ok, because they fund our re-election. Stop enslaving our fellow Americans and respect a majority vote by the people or there will be War On US (drugs).
I am ready to fight for the right of all Americans use the old “TAXATION WITOUT REPRESENTATION” logic it applies today for sure!
As Brad Ritter, Jonathan, and educatedactivist have eluded to, our economy is going down the toilet. It occurs to me that the great depression was one of the reasons for the repeal of alcohol prohibition. Perhaps, if we play our cards right, an emphasis on the financial benefits of legalization will begin to sway some otherwise recalcitrant heads. Think hemp, medicine, bio-fuel. Of course, those considerations didn’t stop our idiot Governor from vetoing AB 2279 (the right-to-work for medical cannabis patients bill). But perhaps, that single act will finally cause him to lose any chance at re-election.
As for Unicorns: we need to start a Unicorn Society, where folks will feel safe and be safe to share the stories of their run-ins with the law, and get active together to change the laws.
I too am a unicorn… screwed over by circumstance.
I got stopped on my way to work in a tiny town and had one single joint that i normally smoked on the way home at the end of the day. The cop (i later found out) had a grudge because the week before he was demoted from detective to beat cop due to “city finances”.
He had decided to arrest anyone he came across who gave him half the opportunity. There was a guy in the cell that got busted with two roaches in his ashtray.
Needless to say, i was arrested on the spot, and even though my fine was paid within an hour of me being locked up, they didn’t release me til the next day.
I am a unicorn and I exist.
Traveling through Idaho late one night my gf and I get pulled over. She didn’t dim her headlights. So the Highway patrol officer approaches the car and asks for the usual info. Ok no big deal, I haven’t been smoking in the car. 25 min later he comes back and wants my info, we are driving a rental and my name is on the insurance so no big deal. Another 25 – 30 min goes by. Now he comes up to the car and asks my gf to get out so he can make sure she is safe to drive. Ok, sure, why wouldn’t she be safe to drive? She is dead sober. 30 min go by, I can see the officer giving her a sobriety test. It has now been 1.5 hours since the cop pulled us over. Finally he comes up to my side of the car and asks me to get out. He then tells me he arrested her for driving under the influence of marijuana, according to the cop my gf failed the sobriety test. WTF thats crazy!! She doesn’t smoke. But none the less, I had LESS THAN SINGLE GRAM in the car. The cop searches the car, we both go to jail. My gf failed the piss test because she ate a brownie the week prior to all this, she never smokes but will occasionally eat some munchies with me. So we are both in Jail, 3 hours away from home, and my bail is $20,000!!! Her bail was only $2,000 for a DUI charge. luckily my parents came to the rescue, a real fun call to make at 4:30am. We are currently fighting this case , wish us luck 🙂
i go to trial monday, i will likely be a unicorn by next week. 18 years old, no priors, had to put off school to work to pay my lawyer, im opting to do jail time rather than deal with probation in my first year of college. I can’t believe this system, a victimless “crime” and my life is done. thank g-d im moving to israel after college, because finding a job or financial backing for my business plans in this country are gone. A public servant of sorts, i got arrested a week after orchestrating a benefit concert that raised thousands of dollars for victims of genocide in two african countries. it means NOTHING! I’m currently working on a bill i’d like to propose to my state legislature (virginia) to advocate controlled legalization as a economic stimulus package. on that note i invite anyone with any well referenced research on the subject to please post it here to ease my labors. thank you
I decided long ago that to stay off the radar, I would grow my own. I’m an old Marine, and for 20 years have been self-sufficient. I’ve never been a dealer, but have always been good for a “care package” if I had a friend in need. A disgruntled acquaintance with carnal knowledge turned me in recently, and as a result, I may lose my home of 15 years and my 4-year-old son. This Unicorn just paid $4,000 to bond out after a week in jail (Bail was set at $30,500). I need financial help to win this battle, and I’m willing to let my case set a new precedent for the State of Georgia. If anyone reading this has the means and desire to help, my email is mday00@windstream.net. Thanks
I had a frined who in 2004 was serving 6 months for a simple possesion charge. He ended up serving the rest of his life. He became ill while locked up and the Carroll County Serriffs Dept. refused to get him treatment. Two days latter he was dead. I dont know; what he was sick with or his criminal record, but, niether matter my friend is dead.
R.I.P
Robert Tart, they took your life but not your soul.
I know that the mj industry can be violent. It’s not that mj makes one violent, obviously. It’s that prohibition creates violence. Look at alcohol prior to prohibition. If tobacco were illegal there’d be tons of robberies at gunpoint.
The reality is that mj is a very lucrative industry and that the players can’t depend on any kind of legal protection. As a result, non-violent folks must arm themselves to protect themselves and their property from harm. This sucks.
I don’t believe the lawmakers are ignorant. I think they know mj is harmless. I think they’re addicted to fed funding for prohibition efforts. I’ve heard that much of this funding is funneled in by the alcohol industry but I don’t have firm sources on this info. Anyone?
july 20th, 2008
11 days after my 18th b-day i was arrested for less than a gram of marijuana at my job (kfc). i was sent to jail for 24 hours and for you saying jail is not a big deal, go there then tell me that. granted i was treated much differently than other prison inmates but you still feel all the same effects of jail.
it was obvious i was fired since i was arrested at work. i was charged with an F6 Felony for 2 counts of marijuana possession (first offense). being arrested in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s county is one of the worst. he claims to be “america’s toughest sheriff”. look it up.
in exchange for my case i have to go to TASC for 3 months and my case will be dropped. a second offense of any drug is an automatic felony. i am a unicorn.
– Chris
I’m currently serving 9 months on home detention (electronic ankle monitor, daily face checks and Breathalyzers). I pay $300/month for using this “alternative” to jail. I can’t walk out my own front door without prior approval. I need written documentation for every place I go. I can’t go to my parent’s house for Christmas this year. I might not be behind bars, but this is seriously messed up.
I was in possession of 20 grams of marijuana, and 5 grams of hash. Charged with three felonies. Possession (over 2 grams of hash is a felony). Maintaining a common nuisance (because it was in my house). Dealing (no one seemed to give a damn that there was no evidence at all of that). I pleaded to Felony Possession, they dropped the other two charges. No prior criminal history whatsoever, adult or juvenile.
For less than an ounce of marijuana, I am now a felon. Walter’s suggestion that marijuana penalties are little more than a scolding is a repugnant lie. By virtue of his job, he must know perfectly well that what he said is untruthful, which makes his lie a grievous violation of public trust. He, therefore, is the danger to society. Not me.
22 no priors, I am a full time student working a minimal wage job, trying to go to school to better myself. I got a charge because a under cover watched me take a pain pill (mine i had a script and was in a sling at the time) while i was getting out of my car for a nine inch nails show. Cop demanded i show him my script it was sitting next to my friends pipe in my center console (we were getting out of the car to go into the show and had not even smoked) now i am on probation paying out the ass for probation and dui classes(the teacher laughed and said i had no need to be there). I have never been in trouble before, i vote, i pay my taxes, I give money to the damn fraternal order of police; and now i have record and am fighting to not lose my student aid. Is it not time we end this prohibition, decriminalize, tax and start working on fixing the broken economy?
i’m now 26, but when i was 19 i was arrested for 3 and a half grams of pot fresh after 911 on a army housing complex, and spent one night in jail. I was sentenced to 6 months pretrial, and then one year of probation. Since it was a first time federal charge no fines were issued, meaning that tax payers payed for the costs of 2 urine tests a week for a year and a half…..sorry average joe, it wasnt my choice to waste your hard earned money!
I am a 17 year old girl. (16 at the time of the arrest) Good grades, good family, good friends. One day after school a friend picked me up, sold me a half o on a real good deal (first time I’ve bought that much). We go for some food and meet up wih 2 other friends into one of their cars. With nothing much to do, we parked into a local park parking lot. Friend started breaking up some weed for a blunt. A second after my friend jokes around about the cops, one rolls up right behind us. I nearly pissed my pants.. as did everyone else. Right away, the cop accused the driver of a DUI, though there were no apparent ways to prove of it. After the cop flipping out on my friend, accusing him of an attitude problem, and making him to rediculously silly sobriety tests, he demands the rest of us to get out one by one. He finds 3 oz on the driver (also a dealer), an oz on the passenger, and just enough weed for the blunt on my friend who was in the back with me. The cop also says, numerous times, “you aren’t being arrested.. we appreciate your honesty” and a bunch of other BS. There I am in tears along with everyone else, all being thrown on opposite sides of the ground, basically giving the public some kind of show. Embarrassing much? 2 other cop cars roll up and take us all down to the station. Fingerprints, mugshots, the whole 9 yards. It isn’t until I ASK MYSELF if I had been arrested, that I find out I actually was. (That’s right, a 16 year old girl has to ask the cop if she was arrested or not). I’m put in a holding cell until my dad picks me up. Now I am faced with a possiblity of probation until I am 21 and God only knows how much money in fines, and whatever else they decide to throw on me. The two who had the heaviest weight are going to face years in jail. It’s BS. It’s an effing plant. I shouldn’t be ashamed, but I am, and it’s all thanks to our bogus law system. Unicorns Unite?
hey everybody, soo many stories up here. mine is basically a horror story like everyone else s’. i was a drinker until i was 18, and had my license taken from me and minor probation for 6 months for a dui. i wasn’t drunk , i just had enough alcohol in my system on my 15 minute ride back to my house to get me that charge. I luckily didn’t loose my job with that one , kinda told them some little white lies about wat happened. so later on i found pot , wich made my life alot more smoother. rather then be drunk and not no what happend last night , or damaging my body more then i would ever believe, and not being able to work the next day , i would smoke pot and i would be 100% all the time . ever since i could remember i wouldn’t take medicine for my conditions , i just like idea of putting something in my body that i didn’t see made or know what it will do to my body in the long run. So pot was what Ive been waiting for. I had gotten my license back , got my job(career)back , making my loot , traveling ,having a blast with everything that came my way, including paying off my fines. everything went well until i was pulled over at 7am after work with a fellow employee smoking a blunt, which to make a long story short gave me another dui. I was soo terrified that this would ruin everything, and it did. The judge took my license for 2 n1/2 years, on probation for 2 more years . Right now my whole life has come to a stop , basically falling apart. I am forced by the state to go to a rehab 3 days a week for like 40+weeks and go to aa/na meetings twice a week.that’s 5 days a week i have to feel guilty for smoking pot. And on top of that I’m supposed to give in and talk about my problems with pot and have all this BS shoved in my face about how bad pot is by the rehab i go to, and most of it by people on dope and there for and coke n crack and everything else ridiculous. while i have been heavily monitored by the state i decided to drink again because i couldn’t smoke , i am a horrible drunk and caught 2 arrests on probation in one weekend . so i am never drinking again , but i am almost positive that i will be that unicorn too! will someone please come get me outta jail when weed is decriminalized , i cant wait to get back to my life, my dreams. peace out
I guess this was a while ago but in response to # 19 the opposition doesn’t know how to use a computer. We can’t change things yet because we just don’t have the numbers yet. Oh, and i suppose i’m not going to be a unicorn but my court date is in 4 days. My friend will definitle be though because it was his car. It sucks. We wen’t doing anything to anyone. I hope I still get into college and can get aid.
Hello, this is a response to number 1. I’m a unicorn. At 18, my friends and I were arrested for possession and paraphinalia. We all spent the night in jail in our custom made orange jumpsuits. We were taunted and my friend was actually called “fish”. (I didnt think they really did that) But yeah, it sucked, and we had less than a dime. My idiot friend answered yes when they asked if they could search the house. So for any doubts that this happens, I’ll confirm it. We should have received a ticket or whatever, but with a kingshit cop around, we spent the night in jail and had to get bailed by our friends. It happens. Free Mary Jane!!
Peace and love,
Tyler D.
i served 27 months in federal prision for less than 13 grams of weed and 8 other wise leagal guns 2 of witch belonged to my then pregnate wife we had a little girl and when she was 5 months old i was sent to prision i never pleded guilty and was lied to and manipulated by so called law enforcement from the start.i challenged the constutional vagness of the law 922 g3 as to what makes a on going user and when in time did i possess firearms and have access to . ifeel so sick that i allowed this so called law enforcement to lie and valadate there pathetic jobs and hurt my family like it did . i live with a passion to help the people to be aware of the unfaire law and consaquise of a crul and abuseive legal system .to read my case put harold scott baker in yahoo search go to 11 cercuit discion feel free to call me at251 223 3618 or email me at h.scottbaker@yahoo.com
I got arrested for having less than a gram of marijuana. As a result I was kicked out of my dorm however I was still allowed to commute. Had it not been for the fact that I got kicked out in the second week we would have lost all the money spent on me living there.
After that I got arrested a second time when an angry parent called the cops on me and my friends, because his son had snuck out to chill at my friend’s house. After hitting my car in a rage and boxing me in with his SUV the cops came and illegally searched me disregarding the fact that he hit my car. They then found a gram and arrested me for posession, which later cost me thousands in lawyers fees just to keep my record relatively clean.
Yes I am a unicorn. Free the plant free the people.