How to hide your weed
"How to hide your weed" was the title of an article printed in the Dallas Observer last year, reproduced here, about former East Texas cop Barry Cooper. Cooper spent eight years as a narcotics officer in Texas, and now is making his living promoting his "never get busted" dvd's that teach users tips and tricks to avoid drug arrests. Cooper's dvd's go beyond the Just Cause Law Collective's advice on handling police encounters, and delves into topics such as where to hide your stash, how to grow pot without getting caught, and how to spot undercover officers and informants.
Cooper's dvd's have been fairly controversial. As you can imagine, the law enforcement community is not pleased with him and, at the same time, he is not completely accepted by those in favor of legalization because, although he has a great message, there is not much doubt he is in it for the profit.
On his website, he answers the question, "am I teaching people how to break the law?:"
No. It is clear the law is already being broken. 18 million Americans smoke marijuana daily and 93 million Americans admit to using marijuana at least once in their life. Barry is teaching how to keep from going to jail for an unjustified law that is already being broken daily by millions of non-violent citizens.
The inevitable controversy that comes from his existence provides a platform to speak out against the failed war on drugs. Speaking out against the war on drugs, in turn, gives him more press to sell more of his dvd's, but despite this it is a powerful message that he is able to carry:
Barry now admits during his tour of duty in the war on drugs his conscience often bothered him while seeing everyday, hard working, non-violent citizens torn from their children and spouses and placed in jail during a raid or traffic stop.Barry explains, "I knew what I was doing was wrong but my need for fame, adrenaline and peer acceptance overrode my good conscience." Barry now realizes this is a war on people not a war on drugs. He explains "This war on people is a failed policy. We have more prisoners of this war in jail then ever before yet even the DEA admits we have more potent drugs and a larger supply of drugs available than ever before."
Cooper's dvd's have received positive and negative feedback from the blawgosphere - Windypundit likes them, Jon Katz has some issues with them and instead recommends Flex Your Rights' Busted video, which is free and may be more reliable from a legal standpoint.
