 While many Americans are lucky enough to live in a state with some form of legalized marijuana use, not everyone is. There are still many states where cannabis is not legal in any form, or perhaps it’s only legal for a medical program, which often could be limited.
So whether you’re in one of those states, or travel to one, it’s absolutely imperative for cannabis users to be aware of, and obey, the local laws for cannabis use. Simply using the plant in the wrong place could have terrible consequences. One example of that happened earlier this month, when someone visited the state of Georgia. Georgia does not have a recreational program, but they do have a medical one. Unfortuanately it’s a limited one, with a very low THC threshold of just 5%. There are also a few of the big cities in the state that have decriminalized it, but not everywhere. A North Carolina resident learned the hard way about Georgia’s cannabis laws, and their enforcement. Using a dab pen landed him in jail, and lost him his car. The North Carolina man, Austin Banks, was in the city of Rincon, Georgia - which is just a short distance from Savannah. And on January 30th, 2023, he visited the Rincon Wal-Mart. While he was there, an anonymous tipster contacted the police and complained of him smoking weed from a “dab” pen in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Police came, an arrest was made, charges filed, and assets were seized. Newsweek obtained the police report of the incident, and said it looks like Banks only had a small amount of THC product with him for personal use. Their police report described Mr. Banks as having on him a vaporizer pen, and what they called “5 amounts of dab,” which they say were able to all fit in the vaporizer single pen case. (That certainly sounds like it was a rather small amount for personal use.) However, the police charged him with a felony, specifically, intent to distribute. They took him to jail, and seized his car. This is called asset forfeiture, and unfortunately it’s legal in most states. So, for smoking cannabis from a small vaporizer pen, and having a small amount with him for personal use, this man was charged with a felony and lost his car - permanently. That is what can happen if you don’t pay attention to, and follow local jurisdiction’s rules on cannabis. This event was actually brought to the public’s attention by the Rincon Police Department themselves. Sadly, they thought this was all hilarious, and they are actually quite proud of this disproportionate punishment. The Rincon Police Department has their own facebook page, and posted about the incident on January 30th. The post is still up! The post was written comedically, as if the whole thing were a funny joke. They said Mr. Banks was provided “with transportation to a local Effingham County bed & breakfast,” which is actually their jail. They also said he had “donated” his car to the police department, and also mocked the fact that he had paid off the car in full just one day prior to their taking it. Here’s their full post: ”The Rincon Police Department had a sizable donation today by Austin Banks from North Carolina. Mr. Banks drove down to patronize our local Walmart and an anonymous caller helped him learn about our charitable program. He had no idea that if you get caught with enough of certain controlled substances, in this case concentrated THC referred to as Dabs, you can donate your vehicle to the police department. This was extremely generous since he had just purchased the Mercedes in full one day prior. With Mr. Banks being from out of state, we provided him with transportation to a local Effingham County bed & breakfast. We would like to extend this program to whomever wishes to participate although there are certain restrictions. Rincon’s beloved Lt. Snitch is available to see if you qualify.’A dabba dabb’ll do.’” The facebook post has received more than 5,000 comments on it, which is enormous when compared to their usual posts, which at best get just over 100 comments, but often get only one or two. Most commenters were highly critical of the police in this case, although there were a few who expressed gratitude for the police handling this alleged ‘drug trafficking’. Of the critics, one mocked the police back, saying “Hey, look at us, we stole a car because of plants!" While another wrote, "I don't think we can legally call ourselves a free country anymore." And many said that it was, “unbelievably unprofessional behavior to joke about stealing a man's car and putting him in jail for *any* reason, least of all for carrying a substance that is legal in many places." Until laws can be changed, cannabis users must pay attention to this unfortunate case, and take it as a very serious warning. It shows how extremely important it is to follow local laws on cannabis posession and use, or face the potential of a similar negative outcome. Comments are closed.
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