I am working at my friend's smoke shop in LA, the city I was born in, and I went to school in Berkeley. I've been smoking weed for about 10 years now. I am comfortable smoking pretty much anywhere; hotboxing my car, taking a walk down the street, etc. I am reasonably careful about it; obviously if I see a cop I won't smoke, and if there are a lot of people around I won't smoke. If I am walking on the street, I'll make sure to wait till no one's around and I'll duck into a corner or recessed doorway before I take a hit.
My friend, the owner of the store, is a Kurd from Iraq. He's been in this country a long time; most of his life possibly (he's in his early 30s). He doesn't care about people who use drugs responsibly; I've known people who snorted meth in front of him. He's fine with it as long as they have their lives together. We sell drug paraphenalia in the shop.
However, the other day, he got really concerned because one of our friends started leaving his used pipes in the store and in his apartment in a drawer. The guy didn't want to have it at home because he doesn't like to smoke there and my friend doesn't mind if the guy smokes in his apartment or in the store (when it's closed and we're hanging out together).
My Iraqi friend was afraid that the police might raid him at any time in his store or in his apartment. He feels that police can easily get a warrant simply by smelling weed in the area (our neighbors in the next store over smoke weed all the time since they haven't gotten some beauracratic (sp?) stuff taken care of in order to get the business up and running and they are bored). He feels they can go into his store or apartment at will to look for weed or used paraphenalia and if they find it he'll be in a ton of trouble.
I said once "This is California; they don't care here. It's a Democratic state." This was a dig at his extreme love of the Republican Party, but I also always believed the Democrats were more in favor of social (as opposed to financial) freedom. His response was "the Democrats try to keep us from smoking cigarettes" implying they oppose social freedom.
Anyway, what is the law, both theoretical and practical, re: weed and the police in CA and especially LA?
Originally posted by AThousandYounghttp://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4525&wtm_view=penalties
I am working at my friend's smoke shop in LA, the city I was born in, and I went to school in Berkeley. I've been smoking weed for about 10 years now. I am comfortable smoking pretty much anywhere; hotboxing my car, taking a walk down the street, etc. I am reasonably careful about it; obviously if I see a cop I won't smoke, and if there are a lot o ...[text shortened]... retical and practical, re: weed and the police in CA and especially LA?
Simple possession is still a crime although only with a $100 fine penalty. In New York, simple possession is a mere violation (akin to a traffic infraction) and the law requires an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal if you have no prior criminal record. Basically, that means the charge is dismissed in 6 months.
Possession of drug paraphernalia can get you a $300 fine. A used pipe is quite likely to be considered drug paraphernalia. Moreover, I don't know the situation in CA, but every once in a while some local police chief here feels a need for some publicity and raids "head shops" which can be liable for health and safety inspections as a commercial establishment under a far less stringent legal standard than the "probable cause" required for a criminal investigation. In extreme cases, a shop could be closed.
Bottom line: tell yer buddy to store his used pipes elsewhere - the owner doesn't need the potential aggravation.
