Feds Citing Thousands for Bringing Pot into National Parks

Even if you no longer have to hide your pot in Washington State or Colorado, definitely don't bring your stash into a national park there. Technically you're not supposed to be smoking in public anyway, even where it has been legalized. But my point, or rather the Associated Press's point is, feds are still being obnoxious to anybody they catch with marijuana on federal lands. Case in point:

TACOMA, Wash. — Karen Strand didn't think she'd get in trouble for having a small container of medical marijuana when she went hiking in Olympic National Park this summer.

President Barack Obama, she remembered, had said the federal government had "bigger fish to fry" than people who follow state marijuana laws, and Washington state had just legalized pot.

But a ranger pulled her over on a remote gravel road, and Strand wound up as one of at least 27,700 people cited for having pot on federal land since 2009, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal court data. The number of citations is small compared to the hundreds of millions of visitors to national parks, forests and monuments each year.

But it nevertheless illustrates one of the many issues Washington, Colorado and other states face in complying with last month's Justice Department memo that requires them to address eight federal law enforcement priorities if they want to regulate marijuana. Among those priorities is keeping marijuana use and possession off federal property.

There have been several citations in both Washington and Colorado on federal lands this year following the states' legalizaiton. Those arrested could face up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine, but cases are typically dropped down to an infraction costing a couple hundreds. And, no, they don't care if you are using it as medicine and have a legal prescription.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Barack Obama, she remembered, had said the federal government had "bigger fish to fry" than people who follow state marijuana laws...

She believed the words coming out of Obama's pie hole? She needs to stay of the wacky tobacky.

[royalphoenix]

rofl

[Cdr Lytton]

cited for having pot on federal land

No more pretense that it's public lands?

[Paul.]

Public != owned by you.

[Fist of Etiquette]

That property is being used to transport Schedule 1 narcotics. It should be seized.

[Cdr Lytton]

Not to mention the grow operations on same or similar property.

Uncle Sam: But I didn't know that they were there or raising MJ!!

Administrative law judge: Too fucking bad. Next!

[sarcasmic]

Public == everyone but you

[SIV]

Where've you been, Rip Van Winkle?

[royalphoenix]

Cdr Lytton, that land was leveraged many moons ago. peace

[HazelMeade]

Havn't the Rainbow Gatherings been bringing weed onto federal lands for decades?

I've never been to one, but I have to admit the spectacle of the DEA attempting to bust ten thousand naked hippies camped out in a forest sounds alarmingly appealing.

[Paul.]

They do a reasonably good job of it at Burning Man.

[HazelMeade]

I would guess that the smell of marijuana smoke is more concentrated at a Rainbow gathering, but then perhaps it's disguised by an even stronger smell of Patchouli.

[Zeb]

If there are enough people in a place doing something that is not particularly destructive, police seem to do OK with just letting it go and only going after people who are violent or otherwise dangerous or who are overtly dealing. THink of all the weed-fest type events in various cities where pot is not legal.

[SQRLSY One]

Does this apply to me not paying my taxes? That's not horribly destructive, so HOW do I go abvout it?!?!?!

[Zeb]

You know what I mean.

[Paul.]

TACOMA, Wash. ? Karen Strand didn't think she'd get in trouble for having a small container of medical marijuana when she went hiking in Olympic National Park this summer.

President Barack Obama, she remembered, had said the federal government had "bigger fish to fry" than people who follow state marijuana laws, and Washington state had just legalized pot.

As someone I'd bet all the way up to fitty cent voted for Obama, you'd think she'd have learned by now.

[Paul.]

Oh, serial question for the panelzeses...

Purchase/smoke Marijuana in Washington where it's legal.

Go buy a gun.

Answer questions about marijuana use on the federal gun form. Have you just lost your 2nd amendment rights? Still illegal at the federal level.

[Almanian!]

For purposes of gun purchases, I have never smoked pot. Srsly...

[Paul.]

Well, of course, but now you've lied on the form which is punishable by death and loss of second amendment rights.

[Zeb]

Well, the question says "are you an unlawful user of..." so maybe it sort of wouldn't be lying. Federal drug laws are unconstitutional, so they aren't real laws.

[Paul.]

Yeah, but I also believe the IRS is unconstitutional... watch what happens when I don't pay my taxes.

A friend brought this up to me and I initially waved it off like Almanian did. Meh, just lie on the form. But now you may have purchases MJ through a legitimate retailer, used a credit card and have your name on file somewhere. Imagine people mysteriously being rejected when they next go buy a firearm.

[Zeb]

It is certainly something I have thought about before (though I don't live in a state with legal MJ). But what are you going to do?

I would think that people would want to avoid using a card to buy pot even from a legit retailer because of possible federal problems. But they will probably need to ask everyone for ID anyway, so they can get you either way.

[Paul.]

But what are you going to do?

Not purchase a perfectly legal product using a credit card or if they require a driver's license or any identifying documentation to make the purchase. I can avoid the credit card and pay cash, but I'll bet they'll take and record the ID of everyone who purchases product-- just like cough medicine.

So sure, I may smoke some occasional weed here in Washington, but you're making the purchase, not me.

[R C Dean]

I swear I read somewhere that the feds are going after, or at least have taken the position that, having a medpot card disqualifies you under their background check.

[Paul.]

I wouldn't be surprised at all. At all.

[Cdr Lytton]

Yes. ATF letter here.

One of the sheriffs in Oregon tried to use the federal prohibition to disqualify a MM holder from being issued a concealed handgun license.

[Gene]

It's official, lie it is.

[jasno]

Mysteriously rejected? Fuck, in some states(CA for one) they'll send a S.W.A.T. team in.

[Episiarch]

There isn't the tiniest thing wrong about lying to the government in any case.

[Zeb]

No, certainly not. My conscience is clear on that count.

[Episiarch]

So...if I were to take Route 2 out to Lake Chelan, I would be passing through Wenatchee National Forest. Could I be pulled over by a federal ranger and be arrested for pot possession?

Looks like I'll be taking 90 later this month.

[Paul.]

My understanding is "yes".

[Episiarch]

That sucks, if true. Route 2 is so much more scenic than 90. And even the north end of Lake Chelan is in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. ARRGGGHHHH

[playa manhattan]

So don't consent to a search.

[SIV]

Judge K-9 will issue a warrant on the spot.

[jasno]

Watch out for indian reservations as well. It's been a while, but there was the story of the guy in AZ who was pulled over on the interstate by tribal police and subsequently had his new car confiscated.

http://reason.com/blog/2012/01.....-cars-of-m

[jasno]

WTF? Don't you snow monkeys have CBP checkpoints near the border like we do in CA/AZ/NM/TX?

[Episiarch]

Seattle is 3+ hours from the border with Canada to the north and 3+ hours from the ocean to the west. And ICE doesn't care about northern checkpoints for the most part anyway as far as I know, though they have been known to hassle people on ferries.

[Cdr Lytton]

But it's only about 80 air miles from the border. Good enough for CBP's constitution free zone.

Here's some goodies from the Olympic Peninsula:

Jose Sanchez is a resident of Forks and correctional officer for the Olympic Corrections Center. In 2011 in Forks, Border Patrol agents stopped the vehicle he was in, saying its windows were too dark ? even though the driver's side window was not tinted.

Since when is window tinting a federal concern? Oh right, FYTW.

In an earlier incident, Sanchez and a family member were traveling in a vehicle near Forks, when Border Patrol agents stopped the car and interrogated him about his immigration status. Though agents told him that his vehicle was stopped because its windows were too dark, the agents did not ask for his insurance or registration. When he provided those documents, the agents refused to inspect them.
In yet another incident at Forks, Sanchez was traveling home in a vehicle which was followed by Border Patrol agents. When he arrived at his house, the agents approached him. But when Sanchez began to record the encounter with his cell phone, the agents backed away.
When Sanchez called the Border Patrol office to complain about being repeatedly stopped and interrogated, the office supervisor told him simply, "We have certain cars that we need to pull over."

[Cdr Lytton]

Another one of the plantiffs:

Ernest Grimes is a resident of Neah Bay, a correctional officer at Clallam Bay Corrections Center, and a part-time police officer. In 2011 near Clallam Bay, a Border Patrol agent stopped the vehicle in which Grimes was traveling, approached with his hand on his weapon, and yelled at Grimes to roll down his window. Without offering a reason for the stop, the agent interrogated Grimes about his immigration status. Grimes, who is African American, was wearing his correctional officer uniform at the time.

[Outside the Box]

"But a ranger pulled her over on a remote gravel road". How do you get busted from *that*? Unless you're dumb enough to *tell* them that you are smoking or to give them permission to search your car, you can't get busted just from being pulled over... just put it in your pocket or under a blanket or something.

[Zeb]

A really surprising number of people are dumb enough to consent to a search just because they ask.

[Paul.]

In her case, "Pot's legal here, sure, search away!" is possibly what happened.

[Paul.]

I think the 1/2" dia. spliff hanging from her lips while the Bob Marley music blared from her VW van might have tipped the ranger off.

[R C Dean]

That was my question. Make sure he doesn't have a drug dog (which I don't think rangers do, but who knows?), and if he doesn't, don't tell him or consent to a search of the car (unless you have put your pot in your pocket).

[jasno]

Drug bears?

Hell, all they have to do is get the bears hooked on marijuana... they'll find it. Good luck refusing that search. How hard would it be to associate the smell of pot with food in the mind of a bear?

[R C Dean]

Reminds me of when I got pulled over once driving to a hunting trip. I could tell the cop (highway patrol, very professional) wanted to search the car.

He asked if I had any weapons in the car, and I said, sure, I'm going hunting. There's this knife here, there's another one back there, probably a third in that bag, and of course I've got a rifle in that there rifle case. Black powder, you know, but I've got a red dot sight on it, ever used one of those?

He wanted to see the sight. When I told him worked even better with both eyes open (seriously, and way cool - the scope disappears and the red dot just hangs in your unobstructed FOV), I thought he was going to offer to buy it from me.

[Paul.]

Did you reach for the weapon to show it to him? Wait, I answered my own question, you're alive, so I guess you didn't.

[R C Dean]

Hell, I reached for one of the knives (it was in the glove box), and dragged out and opened the rifle case. Don't recall handling the rifle.

The great thing about muzzle-loaders is there's no good way to check whether they are loaded or not. If you're familiar with the gun, you can use the stick (forget what its called) that you use to seat the loads, but if you don't know how far it goes into the gun empty, it doesn't do you any good.

[Brandybuck]

CHiP: "Do you have any weapons on you?"

Me: "No, I was planning on chasing down the deer and strangling it with my bare hands."

[jasno]

Ted Nugent? Is that you?

[sarcasmic]

In my limited experience with medical mj smokers, they're pretty flamboyant about it.

[Brandybuck]

The Buck Stops Here. "Here" being the Office of the President. For eight years the Democrats blamed Bush for everything wrong under the sun, down to the point of blaming him for rush hour traffic. But for these past five and a half years the Democrats can't find anything at all to blame Obama for. Not the escalating wars, not the deepening recession, not the increased deportations, and certainly NOT the stepped up enforcement of drug policy. That's still all Bush's fault.

Next person that claims Democrats are better than the other party when it comes to marijuana is getting my fist in their face.

[SIV]

That would include most of the Reason staff.

[Troy muy grande boner]

I'd take it to trial. I know a federal judge isn't going to want to deal with a trial for a misdemeanor possession case.

[SweatingGin]

"Bigger fish to fry"

Helen Lovejoy: Oh, I think it's lovely that he said that, and that you believed him!

[Death Rock and Skull]

What if I'm in a state park, in a national forest, in Colorado?