The Greeneville Sun - News Story - Officer Charges Man With Smoking Marijuana
A Greene County man who was allegedly seen by a police officer smoking marijuana while sitting on the porch of a Greeneville residence late Thursday was charged with multiple offenses.

Arrest warrants filed by GPD Sgt. Steve Spano said he was on foot patrol at the corner of Sunburst Alley and Leonard Street when he observed a man later identified as Roger Dale Key, 51, of Snake Hollow Road, sitting on the front porch of a residence there smoking marijuana.

Officers said the GPD had been asked to perform “extra patrol” in the area and that Sgt. Spano was performing that function when he chanced to see Key smoking marijuana.

After arresting Key for possession of marijuana, Sgt. Spano received permission to search Key’s car and, according to arrest warrants, found inside it a bag containing marijuana, a second bag containing mushrooms that are classified as a Schedule I illegal drug and a quantity of drug paraphernalia items, including two pipes and a “grinder.”

How many times do we have to tell you people?  “No, officer, I do not consent to any searches!”  Why in the world would there be any reason for police to search your car when they busted you smoking a joint outside on your front porch?  The fact that Sgt. Spano received permission to search the car shows he had no probable cause to search without permission!

It’s bad enough that we’ve got Tennessee police patrolling the neighborhoods to protect us all from the menace of middle-aged men smoking a joint at home, but we don’t have to make their jobs easier by smoking on the front porch in plain public view instead of maybe the back porch, and we don’t have to give them bigger arrests with more charges by giving them permission to search something we know has Schedule I drugs in it!

Man Arrested For Unlawful Photography | TriCities
Nearly everyone carries a cell phone and it’s hard to find one without that camera feature. It’s convenient when you want to take that impromptu photo, but a Tri-Cities area man ended up behind bars after snapping a shot of a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop.

The cell phone photographer says the arrest was intimidation, but the deputy says he feared for his life.

“Here’s a guy who takes me out of the car and arrests me in front of my kids. For what? To take a picture of a police officer?” said Scott Conover.

A Johnson County sheriff’s deputy arrested Scott Conover for unlawful photography.

“He says you took a picture of me. It’s illegal to take a picture of a law enforcement officer,” said Conover.

Conover took a picture of a sheriff’s deputy on the side of the road on a traffic stop. Conover was stunned by the charge.

“This is a public highway,” said Conover.

And it was not a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy as Tennessee code states. The deputy also asked Conover to delete the picture three times.

“He said if you don’t give it to me, you’re going to jail,” said Conover.

The American Civil Liberties Union would not comment on Conover’s case without fully reviewing the allegations, but told us there is no law that prohibits anyone from taking photographs in public areas, even of police. Taking photos is protected by the First Amendment. Conover is ordered to appear in a Johnson County court on August 6th.

Look, officer, if Angelina Jolie has to fight though a throng* of paparazzi because they have a First Amendment right to take her picture, then you, a public servant in a public place, can be photographed, too.  As you’re so fond of saying to us, “if you’re not doing anything wrong, you don’t have anything to hide,” right?

Read the rest of this entry by clicking here

Raw Replay - Revisiting History
WKRN News 2 reports that “the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating after video shot from inside a Mount Joliet patrol car shows an officer choking a suspect.”

In the video, the officer has both hands around the neck of the suspect and is telling him to “stick your tongue out.” The suspect, James Anders, then passes out.

According to WKRN, “The incident began with a traffic stop. Officer Cosby said he smelled burning marijuana, ordered Anders out of the car and told him to spit out something he had in his mouth. … Cosby didn’t find any marijuana in Anders’ mouth but did find a small bag of the drug inside his car.”

Anders was arrested on charges of possessing marijuana, resisting arrest, and tampering with evidence. The charges were later dismissed because of the police officer’s behavior. Cosby was reprimanded and the tape was handed over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

This video is from WKRN News 2, broadcast July 1, 2008.

In the video you can hear the officer say, “It’s for your own good to prevent you from having an overdose.”  Well, thank goodness we have cops choking people to the point of unconsciousness to protect them from the non-existent danger of overdosing on a mouthful of marijuana!  The cop knew that the man had weed on him from the smell of the marijuana and he had no reason to suspect the man was trying to swallow any other drugs.  The cop just wanted an easier arrest and more charges, but ended up finding nothing in his mouth and then loses the whole case for misconduct.

Your tax dollars hard at work.

Of course the big event taking place this week is Sunday, April 20, or as I like to call it, “Cannabis Liberation Day”.  If you’re not holding your own free screening of Doug Benson’s Super High Me, learn about how you can get your DVD copy and make 4/20 a fun event that’s also educational and helps raise funds for your local NORML chapter.

Saturday, April 19, 2008 - Moscow, ID: Northern Idaho Hempfest, East City Park at 3rd & Hayes St., Moscow, ID.  Come to the heart of Northern Idaho for hemp education and advocacy, live music, food, and all kinds of vendors! The theme for the Hemp Fest this year will be Hemp and Marijuana - the straight dope - dispel the myths - fact and fiction… Contact Arlene at tyedye@moscow.com for vending and volunteer information. For more information, see http://www.barterfaire.org/.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Nashville, TN: Nashville Marijuana Movie Festival at the Belcourt Theater, 2102 Belcourt Ave., Nashville, TN.  Starts at 4:20pm (of course) with Reefer Madness, followed by Ron Mann’s marijuana prohibition documentary Grass, FlexYourRights’ Busted video, and the new release from comedian Doug Benson, Super High Me.  Admission is $20 at the door or $18 online with a discount for students, and all proceeds benefit NORML.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Arlington, VA: 420 Comedy Hollidaze at the Arlington Cinema and Draft House, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA.  Featuring Rob Cantrell from Last Comic Standing and Tony Camin from The Marijuanalogues and more.  Tickets are still available for $12 by calling 703-486-2345 or online.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Worldwide: Screenings of Super High Me are taking place at local NORML chapters from coast to coast.  Visit www.superhighmemovie.com/sample/screenings to find the showing near you.

Download the NORML Daily Audio Stash for 2008-04-07

We hope you enjoyed the Weekend Music Stash. In case you missed it, Cannabis Karri is putting together the last ten songs from our Daily shows and combining them into one weekend podcast for your partying pleasure. Tune in on the weekends and get your ganja groove on!

As usual on Monday here on the Stash, it’s Political Activism day, so we’ve got our Reformer’s Calendar right after the news. Then we’ve got the perfect set of local activists to represent tonight’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Representing the Kansas Jayhawks will be activist Laura Green from the Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition, who is fighting for a medical necessity defense bill to protect medical marijuana patients in Kansas. Then after the musical break, representing the Memphis Tigers (even though he’s from Nashville), we’ll speak with Terry Jarnigan who is announcing the formation of the brand-new Tennessee NORML chapter.

For our musical break on this Blues Monday, Cannabis Karri brings back one of our previous Stash bands, Giles from Northwest England. This traditional guitar-bass-drums trio performs their song “Mind Your Own Damn Business”, and we’d like to dedicate that song to our Federal Government!

And remember, if you are a business or non-profit who’d like your message heard on the Daily Audio Stash or the NORML Weekly News, you can advertise with us. We have rates for every budget and a 10% discount for non-profits. You can target your message to the focused audience of enlightened cannabis consumers you’re looking for. With over 28,000 daily downloads and hundreds of thousands of embedded players on websites worldwide, advertising with NORML is the most effective way of reaching your potential customers. Just send us an email at stash ‘at’ norml.org and we’ll have you on the air in no time.

So sit back and relax with your favorite strain, it’s time for your NORML Daily Audio Stash.