Couple Arrested for Possession of Marijuana as Hurricane Harvey Begins its Rampage
Preparing for a hurricane to sweep through your town is never an easy mission. It begins to become ever more complicated when you’re sitting in a jail cell. Unfortunately for a Texas couple that’s exactly the hell they were put through for possession of marijuana.
Corey Mendes and his wife Christy had made the decision to fight the storm in their home, buying supplies earlier in the day. One of the essentials they bought was an ounce of cannabis, which is still very illegal in state of Teaxs.
While getting settled in and bracing for the storm, the couple received word that their friend had gone missing during the day. Springing to action they jumped in their car and raced out to find their missing friend before Harvey came in full force.
As they raced down the streets a whopping 5 mph over the speed limit, an officer from the Nederlands Police Department pulled them over for “speeding”. At this point the cop smelt the fragrance of marijuana in their vehicle.
Corey and Christy claimed they had a joint in the car, but upon further inspection the officer found the ounce they had purchased earlier in the day. Stating they had forgot to take it out because they were in a panic over hearing about the disappearance of their friend.
In the state of Texas, a citizen may request to be given a court summons and be released without arrest for cannabis. Although this may seem like a no brainer in a time of extreme distress, their request was actually denied and Corey was hauled down to a cell with a possession of marijuana charge hanging over his head.
5 hours, 7 police officers, and way to much paper work later Corey was finally released. He reported that one of the officers told them they “had nothing better to do”, which is extremely ironic considering the couple was LOOKING FOR A MISSING PERSONS. I’m not sure if that’s part of their job description, but looking for someone that’s gone missing is most definitely every where else.
“It was just ridiculous that we were searching for a missing person in their city and they had nothing better to do” he stated. “Our community should know that while everyone was prepping for Hurricane Harvey, NPD was out arresting people for minor possession of marijuana. Cannabis consumers are not criminals or outlaws, we care about our communities and work to ensure our streets are safe.”
After the draining ordeal Christy and Corey made their way home, a feeling I could only imagine is better then the best food you or I have ever ate.
Neighbors report they’re active members in the community, lending a helping hand when ever the moment arises.
“We have since been rescuing people from dangerous flooded areas, housing displaced families in our home, collecting and distributing supplies to families and first respondents, conducted animal rescues, and we have now teamed up with an organization that does volunteer cleanup of damaged homes,” says Corey. “We also volunteered our time to dispatch rescue units and input data for response units when we couldn’t get out on the water.”
“I just thought the irony of us (citizens deemed criminals by our laws) helping our community during a major disaster seemed rather contradictory to why laws were set in place in the first place. For the safety of our community,” Corey stated.