Search and Seizure

Barry Cooper's new video Never Get Busted Again Vol. 1: Traffic Stops recommends consenting to searches, even when you have marijuana in your car.

As civil libertarians have struggled to explain, consenting to a search makes the search legal and destroys your chances in court if anything is found. It's deeply troubling that Cooper is targeting marijuana users with this reckless and shortsighted advice.

His only rationale is that a well-hidden stash could evade detection during the search, yet Cooper completely ignores the consequences of consent for those whose stash is discovered. And discovery is likely since Cooper's stash spots aren't very secret anymore. Asserting your rights is an indispensable skill during a police encounter and Cooper's failure to address this would be laughable if it weren't so destructive.

Flex Your Rights details the numerous threats posed by Cooper's ill-conceived advice.

Please help us counter this dangerous message. Waiving your rights in the war on drugs is never the answer.

A small story from the Columbia Tribune in Missouri caught my attention this morning. "Cavity Search Turns Up Mixture of Drugs," was the headline. A gentleman was busted by the cops and arrested "after police conducted a cavity search and found a mixture of drugs hidden inside his body." It was quite a haul: Roughly eight ounces of powder cocaine, crack, ecstasy pills, and marijuana.

Courtesy of Pete Guither at DrugWarRant comes this terrifying story.

From CNET News:

A new "meth gun," in development by Maryland-based CDEX, enables police to use ultraviolet light to detect trace amounts of chemicals left by methamphetamines and other illegal drugs.

Civil libertarians have been concerned for some time that drug war profiteers would begin marketing something like this. Of course, the obvious problem with this type of technology is that it will inevitably be wrong sometimes.