The Germ Comes Clean

Even more signs that the apocalypse is nigh: Ex-junkie rock stars who are arrested for carrying soap turn out to be…carrying soap, not "date-rape drugs," as the fuzz claim!

Yes, former and current and future Germs drummer Don Bolles, last seen at Hit & Run getting busting by Orange County cops and improbably claiming he's got the complexion of a "15-year-old girl," has been cleared of all charges. Really, who could have ever anticipated the headline: "Drug test exonerates punk rocker"?

The LA Times reports:

It was soap, not dope.

That's the verdict from additional testing of the peppermint-scented liquid that got punk rocker Don Bolles arrested on drug charges this month.

Bolles, 50, the legendary drummer for the Germs, spent three days in jail after Newport Beach police said they found GHB, the date-rape drug, inside a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in Bolles' 1968 Dodge van.

Police ran a field test on the yellowish goop after stopping Bolles for a broken taillight on April 4….

"Police departments nationwide should immediately stop using the ODV field test for GHB," Bronner's president David Bronner said.

More here.

Comments

[Jake Boone]

Really, who could have ever anticipated the headline: "Drug test exonerates punk rocker"?

Truly, the end times are upon us.

[Jennifer]

I hope he sues the hell out of the police department.

[D.A. Ridgely]

What? You didn't title this thread "Clean and Sober"?

[VM]

DAR - two marks! well challenged!

although it's an understandable mistake - both rhyme with "on a rope".

Most law-and-order types did have trouble graduating from Dr. Seuss level of discourse.....

[keed keed]

[Kwix]

Additional info from StopTheDrugWar.org a couple of days ago:

" "Don and our soaps shouldn't have to wait a month to clear this up," says [Company President David] Bronner. "Our customers need to know now this whole soap opera is a mistake by police who tormented an innocent 50 year old man with jail. We purchased the same NarcoPouch? 928 GHB field test made by ODV, Inc. that was used by the police, and ran tests on our soaps. We confirmed that the test is useless when used on soap since every test came back positive. We also tested other common brands of soap including Johnson & Johnson's popular Neutrogena brand, as well as Colgate-Palmolive's popular Tom's of Maine brand, which gave the same false-positive tests as well. What kind of justice system allows police to use field drug tests that deprive citizens of their God-given liberty, that test positive for something as common as soap? What kind of policies and regulations are in place on police drug-testing practices and products, such that a US citizen can be tossed in the slammer over Easter weekend for possession of soap? ..."

[?]

Bolles, 50, the legendary drummer

Legendary...where?

[Max]

Let's not leap to the conclusion that Don Bolles is "innocent" just because he happened not to be carrying GHB in this one instance.

[R C Dean]

I wonder how many people got strong-armed into jail on the basis of a false positive from this test?

[Timothy]

RC: Probably quite a few, especially those who are poorer, darker, and less famous than Bolles.

[FrankieC]

"Legendary...where?"

The Germs are legendary. Sorry that you're world is so small that confuses you!

[gaijin]

Bolles may not have been guilty in this instance, but surely he's done something wrong, at some time, that he got away with...so the cops are just evening the karmic score...could never happen to me.

[highnumber]

I'll admit that my punk rock tastes run a little more toward everything not L.A. burnout punk rock, but I've always thought of the Germs as being legendary strictly for Darby Crash's antics in The Decline... and for his early death than for any musical output.
Maybe my world is small too.

[jb]

Good point, RC and Timothy. Good point, and one which will be instantly forgotten.

[Jason]

I'll admit that my punk rock tastes run a little more toward everything not L.A. burnout punk rock, but I've always thought of the Germs as being legendary strictly for Darby Crash's antics in The Decline... and for his early death than for any musical output.
Maybe my world is small too.

yeah, they are definitely overrated,but two songs to check out: "Forming" and "Lion's Share".
Classic stuff.

[Lamar]

I think "legendary" means that cool bands covered their songs and made them famous after the fact. The Melvins and "Lexicon Devil" come to mind.

People need to publicize this false positive business. The cops have no reason to change because the false positive gives them probable cause to arrest and do a protective search of everything under the sun.

[shockcorridor]

Lexicon Devil and Communist Eyes are pretty cool songs, but overall it was more about the personna of Darby Crash. Their music pretty much, you know, sucked. I always found the Circle Jerks the most fun of the CA punk scene. Darby's story of being educated in Scientology/EST/hippie influenced schools and how that completely twisted his head is pretty interesting.

[parse]

RC asks: I wonder how many people got strong-armed into jail on the basis of a false positive from this test?

Timothy answers RC: Probably quite a few, especially those who are poorer, darker, and less famous than Bolles.

Yeah, probably thousands, how prevalent use of Neutrogena and Tom's of Maine is among poorer, darker, non-famous folks. Jerk, knee, jerk!

[lunchstealer]

I sometimes think that the police intentionally don't clean out their field test equipment just so that they can get some false positives to bring people in on. Then they get them to plead out before they can ever find out that they were screwed. Great for the conviction numbers.

[jbut]

Let's not leap to the conclusion that Don Bolles is "innocent" just because he happened not to be carrying GHB in this one instance.

That's what the justice system is all about, these days. "He's probably not all that innocent ... let's lock him up and find out!" Instead of the more traditional "waterboarding", they probably "surfboarded" him while in custody, knowing the Newport Beach police ...

[Wile E. Coyote c/o Acne Corpor]

Have the complexions of 15-year-old-girls improved in the past generation?

[BakedPenguin]

Let's not leap to the conclusion that Don Bolles is "innocent" just because he happened not to be carrying GHB in this one instance.

No one is innocent...

[Eric the .5b]

I sometimes think that the police intentionally don't clean out their field test equipment just so that they can get some false positives to bring people in on. Then they get them to plead out before they can ever find out that they were screwed. Great for the conviction numbers.

That's a damned interesting possibility.

[Plant Immigration Rights Suppo]

The Date Rape Drug is the ONLY drug I think ought to actually be illegal. It is not used for recreation - um - at least not informed consentual recreation. It is only used to violate the rights of another person.

[highnumber]

As far as I know, P.I.R.S., you are ignorant about GHB. I have no first hand experience (honestly), but word on the street is that people do use GHB to get off. Experienced people have said on these pages that it would not be effective as a "Date Rape Drug."
(That's due for a lonewackification: DateRapeDrug)

[highnumber]

And shouldn't Don Bolles being parlaying this into a gig with GBH?

[highnumber]

being should be "be"

Duh.

[LarryA]

Let's not leap to the conclusion that Don Bolles is "innocent" just because he happened not to be carrying GHB in this one instance.

We used to have this little "innocent 'til proven guilty" thing, but now...

OTOH finding a punk rocker with soap does tilt the "is this reasonable" scale.

[Warty]

1968 Dodge van

That's the most punk thing I've ever heard.

[David Ross]

Mind you, misdemeanor charges of "smellin' like a fairy" will still stand.

[Isaac Bartram]

Mind you, misdemeanor charges of "smellin' like a fairy" will still stand.

Godamn liberal California. That's a felony in Florida.