cannabisnews.com: A 'Bit' of Pot, or 100 Pounds? 





A 'Bit' of Pot, or 100 Pounds? 
Posted by FoM on November 12, 1999 at 13:14:24 PT
By Jeff Jones Journal Staff Writer 
Source: ABQjournal
A nervous woman tried to dupe a State Police officer earlier this week by telling him the drugs a police dog smelled in her car was just a tiny bit of marijuana in a bag, a police report says. 
  It apparently wasn't. After the officer thanked her for giving him the bag containing marijuana residue, about 100 pounds of the drug was allegedly found in her trunk.   After handing over the bag, the woman -- identified as 35-year-old Joann R. Amidon of Glendale, Ariz. -- "quickly asked if they could go," officer Rudy Mora wrote in his report. After Mora said no, Amidon "exhaled and had a very sad look on her face. It was obvious she was disappointed with me still continuing the investigation."   Amidon went to jail. The hefty load of marijuana will be headed to the incinerator after the court case against her is completed. And Mora's police pooch, Lady, "got some good little belly rubs" for her work, Mora said Wednesday.   A criminal complaint filed against Amidon in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court said Mora pulled the woman's rental car over on Interstate 40 east of Albuquerque about 7 a.m. Tuesday. The car, a white Buick, was reportedly weaving, and Mora said it apparently had some sort of alignment problem.   "Tough luck, huh?" he said.   The criminal complaint said Amidon was "extremely nervous" and Mora noticed that one of her hands was "shaking very noticeably" when she handed him the paperwork he requested.   Two children were with Amidon, the complaint said, and Mora asked her to come to his patrol car while he wrote her a traffic ticket.   Amidon told Mora she was taking her kids "on a holiday," the complaint said. But Mora spoke with her oldest son, and parts of her story didn't match up.   Mora brought Lady, a Belgian malinois, out to smell for drugs, and the dog "alerted" to the trunk area of Amidon's Buick, the complaint said.   "I explained to Ms. Amidon that I would be getting a search warrant for her vehicle and she was being detained for further investigation," Mora wrote in the complaint. "Ms. Amidon then advised me she had a little bit of marijuana in the vehicle that belonged to her sister. I asked how much and she replied just a little."   Amidon allegedly showed Mora a bag containing marijuana residue and part of a pipe. She then "quickly asked if they could go," the complaint said.   Mora said he told her, " 'Thank you for that -- but I'm going to pursue this matter.' I trust my dog. The way she indicated and alerted to the car, there was something in there."   Amidon was booked into the Bernalillo County Detention Center on Tuesday and was released on $2,500 bond late Wednesday. Published: Friday, November 12, 1999 Copyright © ABQJournal.com 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 12, 1999 at 21:08:25 PT
I Mind Dogs Being Used
It really bothers me how they are taking man's best friend and turning them into police. They send dogs into places that they can get shot and killed and that bothers me too. I just got a little Rottweiler puppy to replace, as best can, my long time companion Rotty that died. I could no more see me wanting this dog to do work like that then anything.
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Comment #1 posted by Doug A on November 12, 1999 at 20:45:15 PT:
How sad...
that the police have resorted to exploiting innocent dogs to carry out their pointless prohibition enforcement. If the dog knew her actions would ruin someone's life, she would likely object to 'alerting' on herbs in someone's car. However, the police exploit dogs' naivete' and dupe them into thinking it's some kind of 'game'. A game for the dog, maybe, but years of jail and/or property confiscation for the poor person caught with nothing more than natural plant matter in her car.The police should be jailed for animal abuse and exploitation!!Besides, aren't the cops forbidden from searching someone's car at a routine traffic stop without consent? Obviously if the lady was asking if she could go, she was not giving permission for a search. (or did she initially give permission for the dog to start sniffing? the article does not say.)
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